April 2013 … it’s the month where all things I’ve ever thought about running were thrown out the door. I almost wanted to throw out my 13 goals for the year and start over, but I think that would be unfair to myself.

And I never mentioned here that I lost my job to kick off the month, but that’s another story for another time.

I still have these 13 goals staring at me that I want to complete, but I also will have new running goals in the next couple of months.

So let’s do a checkup on these goals. Some progress was made, and there was one minor setback, but all things considered this was a great month. 80+ running miles, 20+ miles on the bike, a few times in the weight room and a run with a deer head costume made for a good month personally.

Spot the deer head.

1. 5k PR – official or unofficial
I feel like I got slower throughout April, but that’s simply because I didn’t do any speed work the second half of the month.

2. Run at least 2 races I’ve never done before
One down with Disney, more to come.

3. Run a 5k – official or unofficial – with my friend Brandon
He’s trying hard to find me a job close to him. It’s all because he wants me to kick his ass every day at 6 a.m.

4. 50 consecutive push-ups
No max test this month, but I did have a handful of workouts with push-ups and several upper body workouts in the weight room.

5. Ride at least 200 miles
Good progress this month, which makes me wonder if 200 was a bit light. I’m now at 36 for the year, with much more ambition to get on the bike.

6. Weigh in at less than 180
I haven’t been on a scale since early March. I know from photos that I’ve made no progress. I’ve picked tomorrow as a weigh-in day to see where I stand. Then a plan is going in place.

7. Do a plank at least once a week
Right on target.

8. Run a race without a watch
As I’ve mentioned, this is pretty much done, although Disney was not something I “raced.” I thought I’d leave my watch at home for the Monument Avenue 10k, but I wanted to help pace my sister (see below). Another opportunity will come eventually.

9. Run with my sister Heather
Done! And she got a nice 10k PR in the process.

10. Do an exercise at least once per month that I haven’t done the rest of the year
Every month I get to the final few days and remember this. On Monday I did a set of one-legged squats. Tough stuff. Definitely need to do that more.

11. Eat at least one salad per week
I’m right on track for this, but I expect to triple my effort in in the next month. Lettuce is cheap.

12. Limit myself to one soft drink a month
April 20 at the Blue Ridge Half they had ice-cold Cokes. I was tired. A Coke sounded good. That was my second soft drink of the month. I’ll make it up in May by skipping the month. That will at least help me mentally on this slip-up.

13. Run ON the beach
I’m only a couple of hours from Virginia Beach. This will get done no matter what.