This, again, is the Peloton calendar, but it works so well for these monthly posts.

I think I should lead off by telling you that one of the goals for 2025 that I did not include in the overall goals was to find some more steady work that I wouldn’t have to hustle for all the time the way I do the freelance work.

But I was afraid I wouldn’t find something that I cared about enough to apply to and be happy doing so I didn’t want to put the goal in writing if I wasn’t committed to following through.

Well, it turns out I did find something very good and I may or may not write more about it at some point BUT the important thing to note here is I will have less time to do things like write every day. Lately I’ve been a week or so ahead of the game here so maybe this will continue uninterrupted? Maybe it will suffer.

Time will tell.

But as of right now I plan to keep doing this and maybe stocking up on posts over the weekend - and I’ll certainly be using it as a training log once Chicago training approaches. So we’ll see what happens between now and then, but I didn't want to go silent one day and have you wonder what was up. OK. As for the other, previously stated and explicit goals:

Running/Exercise Goals

Take a Peloton Class in Studio: There have been recent (and aforementioned) developments that make this a little more challenging to schedule. I might not be able to target my birthday anymore…but I’m still going to try to get this done.
100 Day Streak Challenge: Last week we passed the halfway mark. I think today might be 60? (Planning on a long outdoor run today to continue the streak.) I’ve been pretty disciplined about this and it’s a good, healthy routine. If I don’t feel like doing a big workout I just dial up a stretch or a quick core workout, but there have been a small fraction of those in the grand scheme of things. “Forcing” myself to do something to continue the streak as things have gotten very busy this week has been good. It’s helping me find a little bit of balance.
Complete at least 1 Marathon and 1 Half Marathon: No changes here. Still registered for the Chicago Marathon and the BAA Half Marathon.
Complete the B.A.A. Distance Medley: I am registered. First race is in April.
Run a sub-5 hour Marathon: We still won’t know until October. No progress at all yet - training isn’t even underway.
2026 Boston Marathon: This effort will pick up more as the year goes on, but I have not forgotten about my obligations here.

Writing

Finish Book Draft: I was really cruising along early in the month here. I was kind of hoping this update might be “I have finished my first draft and I’m plugging in more details and editing.” (That’s the plan. Just get from beginning to end and then fill in more later.) But I think February break kind of threw me off - everything kind of went into upheaval around the time the washing machine broke. (Did you read that I FIXED IT?) So right now I’m stuck at 16,700 words or so and I need to get back into the writing routine a little bit so I don’t completely lose momentum.
Document 2025 on this blog every day: Not a bad two months so far. I feel like I’ve been interesting. As I mentioned above, I’ll try to keep putting these out every day until I run out of gas.
Publish a Written Piece: I did submit one piece. No response yet. I’ll see if I can pick up that pace.

Other

Read More: It’s been a slow reading month. I’ve only just begun a new book…but I think I’m still doing better than I did last year.
Learn New Things: Pretty sick fact about the platypus, I thought. I think I’m learning pretty well.
Experience New Things: I have been open to opportunities and, well, I guess what I talked about/alluded to above is a textbook example of experiencing something new.