Happy New Year 2011

Have you ever thrown a fist full of glitter in the air?
Have you ever looked fear in the face
And said I just don’t care

It’s only half past the point of no return
The tip of the iceberg
The sun before the burn
The thunder before lightning
And the breath before the phrase
Have you ever felt this way?
PINK

Another Christmas gone, another new year started. Christmas is always a fun time of the year for me, although for the first time I think I am taller than my Christmas tree. I am going to chalk that up more to a smaller Christmas tree than to an amazing growth spurt.




With the new year comes of course the annual making of resolutions. But let's face it resolutions

aren't exactly the best way to attack the year. I prefer to work on goals for the upcoming year. And if I don't write down my goals... actually put them in ink, then they are just nice thoughts in my head. I think goals need to be specific, measurable, appropriate, realistic, and timely.

So let's talk about some goals for the upcoming year.

1) I want to get my knee properly looked at and I have an appointment to get that done on Thursday.

2) I want to swim in the ocean and play volleyball
on the beach.

3) I want to arrive at the Ridge weighing less than I have ever arrived weighing before.

4) I want to hike Saddle, and not die when I am on that trail.

5) I want to do at least one tri and two 5k 's in Wisconsin this year

6) I want to go on a 25 mile bike ride

7) I want to do at least 25% of the 60 hikes shown in the book above.

So I thought I would give you an update on the ironman competition we have going on. Let me just start by saying this competition has kept me motivated the last two weeks to work out. No conceivable way I would have done all this work and gone as long and as hard I did if not for the fear these two girls were going to destroy me in this challenge. I have done a few things I have never done before including doing a marathon on my stationary bike. It took me 90 minutes and 20 seconds to do this and I did it to kick off my year on January 1st. I am now just over 108 miles into the bike portion of the event. Again let me reiterate that

anyone who does this in a day is super human. I certainly will finish it out this week :)

I hope everyone had a great New Year's. I watched Kathy Griffin and Anderson Cooper bring in the new year and actually stayed awake just past midnight here in Madison. And I certainly hope you all had better New Year's Days than the Big Ten football teams. Congrats to TCU for proving that you don't have to be in a big conference to play great football and I'm not certain but I think Alabama just scored again on Michigan St. Peace and New Year's Love, Jim