Henrik's resolution/goal tracking

[henrik]

I will attempt to track some resolute goals that I listed earlier this year in the new year's resolutions thread, since one of the resolutions was to "try out the benefits of public accountability with a monthly report on each of the above here on the forums"

Increase total invested assets by 50% compared to EOY 2014 (net of market gains or losses in 2015; excluding home equity)
Make maximum contributions to tax advantaged pension accounts (limits depend on taxable income)
Cut alcohol spending in three compared to 2014 (I'll give myself a head start by taking 100 days, until Apr 12, completely off)

Move at least 2015 human powered kilometers during the year, of which at least 1156 km running
Improve 10K personal best to 00:45 (aim for 75 sec monthly improvement starting at 00:55 in January)
Complete a marathon under 3:45 (signed up for September; previous PB 3:55 from 2.5 years ago)

(There was also one about social media and online news, but I'll leave that one out of the report, because I find it hard to measure and report. Doesn't mean it's not a goal as it was.)

All of the above, except for the marathon, can be quantified cumulatively period per period, that's probably the easiest way to keep track. So, for example, if by the end of January I've made 1/12th of my expected max amounts of pension contributions for the year, I'm right on track.

[henrik]

I won't be doing any more investing or running this month, so here we go.

Increase total invested assets by 50% compared to EOY 2014 (net of market gains or losses in 2015; excluding home equity)
Expected increase (compared to year end 2014) in Jan: 4.2%
Actual increase in Jan: 5.5%

Make maximum contributions to tax advantaged pension accounts (limits depend on taxable income)
Expected contributions (of estimated yearly limit) in Jan: 8.3%
Actual contributions in Jan: 10.4%

Cut alcohol spending in three compared to 2014
Expected spending in Jan (% of monthly spending in 2014): 33%
Actual spending in Jan: 36%
(The 100 days completely off idea didn't work out:))

Move at least 2015 human powered kilometers during the year, of which at least 1156 km running
Expected km in Jan: N/A (I'm in the north and expect the vast majority of the km to happen between Apr and Oct)
Actual km in Jan: 73.4 km (3.6%, mostly running, some rowing)
I do not track walking, biking etc for everyday transport. That would be annoying and would also make the goal too easy:)

Improve 10K personal best to 00:45 (aim for 75 sec monthly improvement starting at 00:55 in January)
Expected PB in Jan (after 75 sec improvement): 00:53:45
Actual PB in Jan: 00:53:09

Complete a marathon under 3:45 (signed up for September; previous PB 3:55 from 2.5 years ago)
Too early for comments yet.

[sterlingarcher]

Nice. Do you run indoor or on snow/ice?

I've been running on icey roads in heavy shoes/clothing for 2 months now, can't wait for the spring to break out!

[henrik]

Both, probably 50-50 this month. I don't like indoor running, but there is a gym with a treadmill in my new office and I decided its role will be for me not to have an excuse when the weather gets nasty:) I don't mind snow, cold is also fine until -10C or so. Ice is bad for faster runs because the chance of falling increases with longer strides. I don't think treadmill running is a very good replacement for actual running. There is no air resistance whatsoever and the surface is perfectly flat which makes every step exactly the same. Also, when I finish a run longer than a few km, I have to be careful to not lose balance when it stops. Not a good feeling.

[henrik]

I've been running on icey roads in heavy shoes/clothing for 2 months now, can't wait for the spring to break out!

I just saw your post in the resolutions thread. Looks like we've planned along the same lines:) It'll feel great when you break that 2 hours! Your goal number 4 is a good idea, I might try that next year.