Coming up short

A goal of mine for September was to walk 100 miles and I wrote about it in my September 1st blogflection here:

http://pierini-fitness.blogspot.com/2008/09/im-going-for-893-mile-walk-honey.html

Well the month is over and I only walked 66 miles, missing my goal by a whopping 34 miles.

So where did I go wrong to come up short?

I started off strong even though I didn’t walk on the first day of the month. The next day however I walked 4 miles, the start of an 11 day walking blitz before taking a rest. At mid-month I was at 45 miles, within striking distance of my 100-mile goal.

Then I started to miss walking days as a "work" mindset started to settle in my mind. An upcoming weightlifting competition convinced me to rest so I didn't walk for 5 consecutive days. Then, feeling “pressure”, I resumed walking after the competition and banged out a staggering 10 miles on September 21st, bring my total to 55 miles for the month. At that point I thought I would be good for 75 miles by month-end. That 10-mile day, however, dampened my drive and I took the next 3 days off, then only managed a single mile on the next day. Then another day off and I was running out of time. I closed the month out with 10 miles on the last 3 days of the month.

So I ended with 66 miles. In elementary school that would have been 66 percent on a test, giving me a D letter grade at best. Beats an F grade I guess. On a brighter note, several of my walks were with my wife in the evening. While the pace was slower, the company was great.

October is a new month and a chance to set another goal, one that is a little more realistic. A 75-mile goal sound reasonable to me so that is what it will be.

Well I missed my goal and I’m a little disappointed because I don’t like coming up short.

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum