Goals January Check In | Califf Life Creations

I’ve been looking forward to a year full of hiking. Out on the trails, I can connect with my kids and myself and so I set some very attainable goals (and some loftier ones) that are all related to the outdoors. Each month I will be checking in on my progress with these goals and sharing about the fun along the way.

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Although I know I wrote an entire post about the evolution of my brand and how this mirrors the goals I have set for myself, I want to review those goals quickly again.

Hike/walk the year in miles. That is 2,020 miles during the year, an average of 55 miles/day. I am recording my miles every day to keep track of this.
52 trails in 52 weeks. That is 1 new trail every week. I want to explore the world we live in and discover new areas and hidden gems. This is one of my most exciting goals and I’ll be sharing my hikes on Instagram as well as a round-up during these monthly check-ins.
Spend an average of 1 hour/day outside with my kids. Setting this as a daily goal motivates me to make an effort every day instead of getting behind and then trying to play catch up. I’m hoping that we will surpass this goal, but for now, I am keeping this as an attainable goal. Plus, I made the goal in the winter and my youngest does NOT enjoy the cold.

These outdoor goals are helping me on my journey trying to achieve better mental health after postpartum depression and better physical health to complete my first Spartan Race in August.

Are you ready to crush some goals?

Goal #1: Hike/walk 2,020 miles.

My original intention with this was to only count “intentional” miles. That meant not counting the miles that I walk around my house chasing and playing with my kids. I quickly realized that this wasn’t practical in my life right now.

I am a stay at home mom of two crazy little boys. My husband is out of the house by 4 am to go to work and doesn’t get home until between 430-5 pm. There is no waking up early to go for a run while my husband and kids sleep and they always need me for bedtime. When I go for a walk or a hike, they are with me. Sometimes I’m pushing a double stroller, sometimes I’m carrying one while the other walks.

So, I modified my goal.

I decided to include all the miles I run around the yard playing “ghost” chase. The miles crawled across the floor playing horsey and the miles of stairs climbed up and down trying to get both kids to sleep. While these aren’t necessarily “intentional” miles, it allows me the room to mold this goal into something that works with my life.

I have increased how much I am walking and that is the real spirit of this challenge. Between these “play” and “mom” miles and the ones that I walk and hike more “intentionally,” I can hit my daily goal of 5.5 miles that keeps me on track for 2,020. I’m tracking this goal using my Fitbit that I wear ankle. I record my miles walked at the end of the day in my planner.

Daily Average for month: 5.9

Total Miles Walked this month: 185.39

Progress Toward Goal: 185.39/2020

Goal #2: 52 Trails in 52 Weeks

In January, I did 4 hikes. Some of them I did while my oldest was in school. That way I only had my youngest in a carrier. I needed the peace that I found doing these hikes without having to worry about or help my oldest along. While he is a very capable hiker for his age and I love hiking with him, in an instant he can turn from being a total joy to sitting in the middle of the trail saying to leave him to live with bears. Hiking with kids can be a challenge but for me, it is worth it.

Schunnemunk State Park

Our first hike this year was an impromptu hike after a trip to the pediatrician for my youngest 15-month check-up. My oldest asked to go for a hike so we pulled into the parking lot at Schunnemunk State Park. We hiked up to the train trestle, across the road, and up the western ridge trail. Since it wasn’t planned, we didn’t go too far, but it was a great time. The boys loved watching a train go by across the trestle.

Here are some highlights from that hike.

Hudson Highlands Nature Museum

My next two hikes were are the Hudson Highlands Nature Museum’s two locations.

First was the Outdoor Discovery Center. It was a nice, relatively easy loop up the mountain. We did not go all the way to the top since we didn’t have time. That leaves a trail for another day!

Next, we hiked a short loop to a small waterfall near the museum’s Wildlife Education Center. This was a real quick hike and is great for kids.

Black Rock Forest

I decided to challenge myself a little more with the next hike and go for a longer distance in Black Rock Forest. While my oldest was in school, I strapped the little guy into our Deuter Kid Comfort hiking backpack and started up Mine Hill Trail.

When we met up with the Sackett Trail and I turned right and just kind of explored the trails however I felt like going for a bit, making sure that I didn’t go too far away from a route back. I ended up on the Stillman Trail and from there hiked to Split Rock and then started to loop back. I made a mistake and mistook the teal trail markers for blue and accidentally took a longer route back along Golden Ridge before looping back on the Sackett Trail and back down Mine Hill Trail.

There were a lot of cool spots in Black Rock along this hike and other trails, so when I have more time, I will have to go back to explore it more.

Total Hikes this month: 4

Progress Toward Goal: 4/52

Goal #3: 1/hour outside every day

This has been a struggle during this cold January. My 1-year-old doesn’t like the cold, not that I blame him. He is so bundled he can barely move and so it’s not fun for him. So, some of this month’s outdoor time was with my oldest while his brother napped. I’m tracking this time using a stopwatch to record how long we are out and then recording it in my planner each day.

Even with all the cold, we only missed 3 days and those were due to freezing rain all day and illness. We played in the snow a lot, went hiking, jumped in muddy puddles and explored the woods behind our house. It was a lot of fun.

Here are some highlights from January outdoor play.

Total time outside for the month: 36.5 hours

Daily Average for the month: 1 hour 10 minutes

Total time outside for the year: 36.5 hours

Daily Average for the year: 1 hour 10 minutes

Mental and Physical Health Goal Check-In

All the walking and outdoor time have been great for my mental health. I feel less stressed and am starting to enjoy life again. After realizing I was suffering from postpartum depression, I have been working on being more present by living in the moment. This has helped my mental state dramatically. I feel more connected to my children, my husband, and am starting to reconnect with myself.

I did slack on my training (HIIT, yoga, and strength) but have resumed it all at the end of the month. The more physical activity I can fit into my day, the better I feel.

My strength and endurance are up and I feel a real difference in my daily energy. This all helps my mood as well because when my body feels good, my mind begins to follow. I have worked hard to achieve a healthy, strong body and I am proud of myself.

I fit workouts in wherever I can and share them on my Instagram stories!

That was my goal progress in January.

That was my first month of these goals and I’m really happy with my progress. I will check-in at the end of every month to share my progress and some of what we have done to inspire you to get outside. For more, check out my Instagram or Facebook pages.