This was one of the topics in Takbo.ph forums and is quite timely since the New Year is just around the corner. I didn’t want to rush answering this question, and upon pondering about if for a few minutes (I didn’t hurry but I sure came up with something quick hehe) here’s what I got (Warning: this is more elaborate than my forum post 🙂 ):
- Run my first half-marathon
After running my first 16K a few weeks ago (Yakult 10-Miler) I figured that I am ready to push the boundary some more. A 6K increase in distance from 10K to 16K is no joke for me since I’d be increasing my run distance by more than half (60% more to be exact) and since I am still a “newbie” at this sport I didn’t know if I can, but definitely it’s worth trying. Now that it’s history I’d like to push it some more, after all a half marathon (approximately 21K) is “just” another 5K. Who knows maybe I can do a full-marathon before the next year ends. - Gain some weight
Some people think I’m crazy with this notion. I’ve always wanted to gain some more weight (more muscle mass, less body fat, although the latter is not a problem in my situation) that’s why I enrolled in a gym but when I discovered running that’s when things got more difficult. Running burns calories which I so badly need to gain mass. There were times I wished that I was fat so I have a lot of spare calories to burn. A weight management coach even asked me which path I’d like to choose: build up mass (gym) or stay as is (running). I chose both. I won’t give up running for as long as I can, and I won’t give up my goal of improving my weight. It’s difficult but it’s not impossible—so now I have to eat a lot! - Run outside Metro Manila and hopefully abroad on International Races
This is one of the most feasible of the goals I’ve set. I registered for the TNF Trail Run in Batangas so running outside the Metro isn’t really an issue. The real deal here is running abroad. I’d really love to join next year’s Singapore Marathon (to take the half) and hopefully I’ll have the resources I need to fulfill this one. Of course a local international race should come first before the latter. - Set new PRs: 5K (below 20min) 10K (below 50min)
Pressure! Pressure! With constant practice I should be able to break these since my current PRs for these distances were only a few minutes off. And 2009 ends in December so I still have time to improve. 🙂 - Stay injury-free!
If you follow my blogs you know that I’ve been injured and I really hated that downtime: you can’t run as fast as you wanted, as long as you wanted, and to summarize, it really sucks! Things happen and hopefully it doesn’t occur that often, or be as minimal as possible. - Run not only on weekends but also on weekdays (and log it)
I started running in 2008 but I only counted my races in my logs. Starting 2009 I plan to run more (even just on treadmills) as practice and log the distances. Hopefully with constant running my feet would be more resilient against injuries and eventually help improve my performance. Now I really have to add some more food on my diet! - Get a Garmin?
I just love those Garmin watches with GPS—my only problem: budget. In my running hierarchy of needs it wasn’t really at the top so I have to make extra effort to make this into reality. Training would be more fun with these watches since you can monitor a lot of stuff, more like technical ways of improving your run. Sharing your runs would also be more interesting since you can actual show where you ran.
Well those seven should be enough, I don’t want to make a long list and not accomplish a lot of it. I could always add some more when I completed them all. It’s nice to think about these things, it gives us a target and be more focused in achieving our goals. This are just my running related goals, there of course are more, but that’s a different topic altogether.
Writing your goals or resolutions and sharing it makes it more concrete—plus you’ll have witnesses to help (or coerce) you to fulfill those goals or resolutions. I’d love to hear what you have in mind; feel free to share it with the community, and maybe we all could help each other attain our goals. So, have you made your goals or resolutions yet?
runningpinoy 
“Writing down the things to be done is the first step to get things done.” Meaning… mas pressured ka ngayon. Hehehe. Im sure you are going to have a great running year. Go the distance, bro.
> ramdam ko nga ang pressure lalo na dun sa http://www.dailymile.com/ hehe 🙂
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log your miles in http://www.dailymile.com and add me (and jinoe) as friend. good luck on goals. kaya yan!
> thanks for the link! Ngayon ko lang nalaman yan kaso nakaka-pressure ng konti puro nag-LSD ang mga nakikita ako puro speed naman ako hehe. Mukha tuloy akong naglalakad compared sa mileage nyo hehe 🙂
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I did your number 2 resolution during the holidays. Problema talaga pagsabayin ang takbo at gym sessions. Now that I gained a little bit, I’ll burn it up again eventually during running. Don’t concentrate much for a mass build-up, add up core strengthening.
> that’s good! I gained little from the holidays. thanks for the tip! 🙂
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If you choose to have a fafable macho body, which is not bad, do not expect too much in long distance running. Who care’s if you’re a slow runner as long as you have a great body. Hehehe.
Amateur “bodybuilders” I hear often discourage running more than 1hour. They would often recommend to eat a lot and don’t really care what you eat. Oftentimes these bodybuilders would have big bulky bodies and also big bulky bellies. That’s not what we want. I’d rather have a slim but hard-rock body with 6pack abs like Manny Pacquiao. I think as long as you stress your muscles to its limits, it will grow by itself as long as you have enough protein intake. Your calorie intake must not exceed your output or else you’ll gain fat. Meanwhile, it’s ok to exceed protein intake as long as it’s not too much. Too much protein would also convert to fat.
> korek ka dyan! I have a gym-rat friend and I could never convince him to run! What can I do gym is my first love but running is my lifetime partner! And yeah I’d love to have a body similar to the current body of Manny Pacquiao. I just want to add some more lean muscles and further reduce my body fat further (even if I hardly have any 🙂 ).
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Good luck on your goals. Definitely a great start! Happy New Year and a safe and injury free 2009!
> thanks Wayne! Hope you have a great New Year too! A safe and injury-free 2009 for all of us!
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