THE BLOBLESSNESS PROJECT 2013

Focus on Fitness

The Bloblessness Project 2012 was supposed to have been about balance, and to achieve that, I added goals in areas other than just fitness. In retrospect, this more-is-more approach to goal setting had me spread too thin, feeling overworked and under accomplished. At the time I thought, “Shoot for the moon and you’ll land among stars,” when what actually happened was I aimed too high and more often than not missed the mark. Since the whole point of the Bloblessness Project is to adapt, I’m changing again. Back to the roots, back to a primary focus on fitness.

Goods and Bads

Another tweak this year is the addition of Goods and Bads. Several times over the past two years of The Bloblessness Project I’ve managed to squeak out achievement of the set goal, and very often reward myself with some treat. However, several other times I’ve fallen short of the established goal, and for this there has been no real consequence. Sure, I write about it here and you all freely mock me, and the digital stocks of embarrassment are not negligible, but neither are they quite enough. (Clearly, since I’ll go so far as to amend the goal to make it easier to reach without a second thought to any “consequence” that may result.) Goods are treats I’ll get if I achieve the goal, and Bads are punishments I’ll endure if I don’t.

Each month of 2012 has a fitness goal paired with a Good and a Bad. The goods are basically all material treats that I want and can usually not justify. The bads range from training punishments, to moderate humiliations, to donations of time and money. I should take a second here to explain that I’m not trying to equate donations of time and money with punishments per se. I’m all for donating. I want to be a donator. Everyone should do it! I’m only using it here as a cost to me of something that is valuable (time or money, neither of which ever really amass in comfortable cushioning amounts), since — let’s face it — you can grow accustomed to increased training demands, and you can become desensitized to moderate humiliations, but taxing time and money always seems to hit you where it hurts.

	GOAL	GOOD	BAD
JANUARY	30K (longest ever)	120 minute massage (longest ever)	120 minute foam roll (oh, hell no!)
FEBRUARY	ATX 13.1 PR = 2:20:00	ATX 13.1 Jacket	13.1 every weekend until PR
MARCH	31-day Challenge	New Lululemon	Donate Lululemon
APRIL	20,000-meter Month	New Swimsuit	Post swimsuit photo
MAY	WORK EXAM Event-a-week	Photo with swag from each event.	Volunteer time equivalent to skipped event
JUNE	40-mile Month (Running.)	New Lululemon	Donate Lululemon
JULY	DIET	Cheat Week	Cleanse Week
AUGUST	Intermediate Tri PR = [03:23:57*] (*Time to be modified from this Olympic — longer distance — PR.)	NO required running or biking workouts for October	Olympic Bricks every weekend until PR
SEPTEMBER	70.3	The right to wear 70.3 gear. (Oh, and bragging rights for-ev-er.)	Donate entry fee amount
OCTOBER	70.3	Matching kit.	Donate entry fee amount
NOVEMBER	100-mile Month (Biking.)	New Cleats	Spinning every day until 100-miles
DECEMBER	12 Days of Fitmas	No required workouts through end of year	Donate gift for every missed Day of Fitmas