Next Challenge?

After finishing my first triathlon, I've been thinking a lot about what my next physical goals should be.  They're easier to focus on than weight loss goals and easier to achieve because I can control my outcomes, instead of being at the mercy of the scale.

At first I looked for another tri to do, but wanting to do an ocean swim really limits me.  There just aren't as many and I have to drive and stay in a hotel to do most of them. The next one on Jekyll Island is the Tri Red sprint triathlon (where I did my first and where I have a built-in fan base) is on October 8, so that is a possibility. I have a friend getting married October 8, but I think if I really wanted to do the tri, I could make it back in time for the wedding.

My friend Daniel wants to do a tri with me, but he does not enjoy the swimming.  So I found this Heels N Wheels duathlon in August, which involves a run-bike-run course.  Currently, I am sans bike as mine (really my sister's, which I was long-term borrowing) was stolen while I was at the beach. Yes, folks, vandals have rendered me bike-less.  So whether or not I will be able to enter this August 27 race remains to be seen.

Then I got the kind of crazy idea to do a mud run.  There are a lot of these types of races; they are usually shorter but involve obstacles.  The most common one around here is the United States Marine Core Mud Run. I know a few people who've done it, and they say it is crazy challenging. I like the idea of it because it is not just straight running.  Plus, you work in teams.  One post on Facebook about it and I had enough people interested that I could've formed two teams. We'll see if they're all still committed as we draw closer to the October 15 race date.

Then again, I've also always been drawn to doing a half marathon.  While 13.1 miles sounds crazy to me at my current running level, you get a MEDAL if you finish.  All you have to do is finish and they give you gold.  Plus, you can put one of those super cool 13.1 stickers on your car.  My friend Stefanie does the Disney Princess Half Marathon every spring (at least every spring until she collects all the different princess-themed race bibs) and I really can't imagine a better half marathon experience than running through the Disney World parks, being greeted by characters along the way. Plus, I'd have a free place to stay. The jury's still out on this one.  It's at the end of February, 2012.

Finally, there's always the option of not having race-related goals.  I want to be able to do a pull up someday. Right now, I'm using the assisted pull-up machine at the gym (not literally right now, cause right now I'm on my couch with a laptop in front of me), and I need A LOT of assistance.  So I'm thinking it could be awhile on this one.

Along the same lines, what about being able to do 100 pushups?  There's an app for that -  an app for a training program to help you do 100 pushups, which I have downloaded, so this is probably already a goal, though I have yet to start.

Of course, I could do all of these, but that could get a little expensive...must narrow down list of challenges. Advice/thoughts welcome. Am I missing anything?