My improvement goals tend to be long-range, but I think that makes them more manageable and achievable.
Fitness goals:
In two years, I want to complete a triathlon. In order to do that, I have to up my swimming, cycling, and running game.
So short range goal: actually observe transition areas so I’ll know how to get from one stage to the next.
I’m lifting weights to build up my upper chest, muscles used frequently in swimming. Eventually I’ll do some easy core-building exercises. Right now I work with 20lb dumbbells 3 days a week on only two exercises (incline flies and bench presses.). By the end of this year I want to work up to 30 or 35, then next year work for speed. As soon as the pool reopens I’ll add swimming laps to my usual workout.
I’m using an arc trainer for cardio work. My heart rate tops out in the 170-180 BPM range. I burn about 1000 calories in 50 to 55 minutes. I start out intense, ease up for most of the workout, and up the intensity for the last, I dunno, roughly 7 min. I’ve been doing a cool down walk on the treadmill for about 1.25 miles.
For running, right now I’m working on the treadmill rather than the track. The triathlon I want to race has a 7 mile run, which I KNOW I can do in decent time. But the intensity of the other events is really gonna push my physically. So I’d like to maybe have a marathon under my belt first. Next month I’m running my first ever half marathon, and I don’t have much time to train. So on top of the arc trainer, I want to run 7 miles twice a day on the treadmill with one day a week set aside for long runs. This week my plan is to run an 8 mile long run, maybe on Friday. The week after I’ll do 9, and 10 the week after. That will put me close to race day, so I’ll take a week off to do light 5 mile jogs and figure out a half-marathon pace that will work for me. If I know I can make it 10 miles a week before the race, I know I can find 3 more miles on that day. After that my plan is to take some time off from running and start from the beginning on a more sensible, comprehensive training program and work speed before the next half. I’m not sure I can train for a marathon by the end of next year, but I can try at least.
For cycling, I need to prepare for 27 miles. I’m hoping my cardio work on the arc will help. I have a 3-speed recreational bike that needs new tires. For now, the plan is to get it repaired and use as a secondary form of transportation. The idea is drive to work and bike to the Y a few short miles a way, once a week cycling all the way across town for my church job which, even with the distance shouldn’t take much more than a half hour. By next year, I’ll buy a cheap road bike so I can get serious about distance. In two years, I hope to buy a “real bike” designed specially for tris.
Professional goals:
Simple. I want to create a generative music app for relaxing music for sleep, meditation, etc., and put it up for sale on iTunes. At the moment I’ve succeeded in creating a “lite” version in PureData. I’ve learned some new things, experimented with a number of different approaches to creating the algorithm. Haven’t gotten sound out of the new version yet, not quite ready for that just now. Once I finish the algorithm, I can move on to producing some music with it and make sure it works consistently (been having trouble, the program is making a few unpredictable decisions and I have to figure out what I’m doing wrong that causes it). Once I’m satisfied and crank out a few tunes I’ll turn towards the DSP side and design a synthesis engine (right now I’m using 3rd party sample libraries and plugins). And when THAT gets done, I have to figure out how to transfer it to XCode or Swift or whatever for the actual app. I have no idea what to do afterwards, but if I can learn PD and XCode, I’m sure I can figure out how to get it on the App Store, encourage a few friends to get it, and promote it to the world. Generative music apps already exist, of course, so getting mine to see the light of day and take on a life of its own is the real challenge. But I’m up for it.
I want to also fulfill my earlier goal of music licensing and breaking into television or even film. The problem is ACTUALLY HAVING music, and I mean GREAT music, to license.
I’m having career problems I never expected, also. People have been trying to get me fired for a long time now, like, for the last 10 years, and my immediate supervisor is now convinced I’m on drugs. So my next goal is to quit that job before someone else takes it out of my hands and I end up in a bad situation I can’t handle. My “day job” really wants me to go full time, so when my contract comes up I may see about adding 2 more hours next school year. If that works, my program is fully funded, and bills are getting paid, I’ll quit my other job and just go to teaching full-time. The problem is that teaching was never where I wanted to go with my life, so it would be a good way to transition out of my current role and into something more of a full-time leadership position. While I lack the on-paper credentials of the kind of job I want, it’s becoming less and less important to those who are hiring. The kinds of places that required specific degrees from a certain type of school are feeling the pain from being so snooty, and the types of leaders from those schools have left much to be desired. Well, now they can’t replace these guys fast enough and their experiences have been just so aweful that they’ll take just about anybody rock solid with relevant experience and not even ask about education. I’m practicing my skills in that area as much as I can and am already seeing good results from my work. So I think I’m much closer to realizing a few dreams than I’d been 10 years ago.
So...to summarize...
Get fit, triathlon training.
Give myself a promotion and a raise.
05 Jan 2018, 8:11 pm
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for supporting trump. Because doing so is deplorable.
