Resolutions

I’ve been thinking. That is dangerous but I think I’m ready to try and actually get my shit together next year so I’ve decided to set myself a couple of goals.

#1 Fasted not furious

My weight has been creeping up a bit recently and I just want to lose a bit so I can enjoy my cycling uphill a bit more. No number on it just until I feel better about myself. Just before Xmas I did a week of intermittent fasting as a test. 16hrs fasted, 8 hr window to eat. Basically you skip breakfast and eat (healthily) in the afternoon and stop late PM/early evening, sleep, repeat. I know if I reign in the beer and add some fasted rides it’ll work. I’m not a big breakfast eater anyway so I didn’t find the fasting too hard. I was just hungry after a ride and started clock-watching until I could eat. Just took a bit of will power at times. I did seem to feel an effect in just a week but it’s on hold now until I start again this weekend. The scales are ready to go and I’ll report back when I see some tangible results.

#2 What a Novel idea!

I don’t know whether it will be fiction, non-fiction, a novel or a short story but I plan to write and publish a book in 2024. Yep, it’s happening. My neighbour keeps telling me to write one and last Christmas Sally bought me a book by a published author explaining how to go about it too. That’s how long I’ve been talking about it, so time to act on it. I read the first chapter and that fizzled out so my first job is to complete that book before I start my own. I have a few ideas dancing around in my head and it’s become a bit of an itch I need to scratch. I think a novel is a big ask so I might just break my duck and write a short story first and see what happens. So watch this space!

#3 Run Forest Run

I’ve tried Couch to 5K before. A couple of times, in fact, and failed. The plan here is to get to a point I can run a race in 2024 which I’ve never done before + accelerate the weight loss a bit too. One time I tried it was going really well and then I pushed a bit too hard and strained my knee running too hard down a hill and killed it. This time I’m going to use the Gym I’ve joined and add a session before or after the classes I do + one more outside. I figure that’s less of an outright commitment and a better use of my time rather than trying to fit them in around cycling, work, family etc. If I can get to week #4 again, I’ve promised myself a nice pair of new running shoes. The App is downloaded, my earbuds are charged and ready to go. Let’s see what happens.

Have you made any resolutions for 2024? Happy New Year to you all, enjoy the rest of your week.

Adios