The 2015 Goals

Last year, I failed at achieving 90% of the goals that I set for myself. I ended up burning myself out mid-year and had about 2-3 months of poor performance. This year, I am going to make my goals with keeping burnout in mind. Trying to overachieve may end in injury and cause lack of motivation. So, with that being said, here are my goals for 2015.

Complete 5-10 Races
I failed on this goal in 2014. I set a goal of achieving 10, but only was able to get 8, which is fine, but I don't like not achieving my goals. Knowing that I am going to try to do my second marathon and my first ultra-marathon this coming year, I was more lenient on this goal, hence the 5-10 allowance.







Here are the races I am want to compete in or have already signed up for...

    1. January 10th - Walt Disney World Half Marathon
    2. March 8th - Chambersburg Half Marathon*
    3. April 18th - Flannery's Pub Run Half Marathon
    4. May 1st & 2nd - American Odyssey Relay Run
    5. May 31st - Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon
    6. September - Mad Anthony Half Marathon
    7. November 21st - JFK 50 Ultra Marathon*
    8. November 26th - Hagerstown Community College Turkey Trot 5K*

* Tentative

I plan on reducing my 5K participation because I will be training for a marathon and ultra-marathon from February to November. 5Ks really don't fit into the schedule and I don't want to overdo it. So they will be on the back burner.

Finish a Half in 1:45:00
This is a continuation of one of my 2014 goals. I barely missed this one by 2 minutes. It's frustrating, but I have plenty of halfs I plan on doing in 2015, giving me plenty of opportunity to achieve this. Halfs are my favorite distance, so I should not have an issue getting this goal!



Finish a Marathon in 4:30:00
This may be a little brave of me. I finished my only marathon in 4:47ish, with the simple goal of finishing under 5:00:00. I want to at least get under 4:45:00 as this is the Class C qualifying time for woman to participate in the JFK 50. Though I intend on participating in the JFK 50 as a charity runner (I won't need a qualifying time), I want to get it, so if in the future I chose to participate without running for charity, I have that option. This brings me to my next goal...





Compete in the JFK 50 & Finish in 10:00:00
Again, this goal time may be a little much. I have never participated in an ultra, but I think going into it with a goal gives me something to train harder for. I have already started prepping myself even though I have just under a year until race day. I have started reading ultra marathon training books, researching the trail by watching participant videos, I have developed my training schedule, and even saving the money for it (please see my gofundme page to help me out! Thanks!). It is going to be a grueling adventure, but I am really excited for it!

If Frodo can travel from the Shire to Mordor and destroy the Ring, I can run an ultra.

Practice Injury Prevention
This is actually a combination of various goals, I just decided to combine them into one. First, I want to do yoga a couple of times a week. This will serve as both a cross-training activity and one that will allow me to gain flexibility (something I have no possession of). I also need to stretch more often. I suffered a toe injury earlier this year and went from stretching every day, to not stretching at all. Stretching actually worsened the injury. After leaving it alone, it got better. Then I never got back into stretching. Foam rolling will also become a higher priority. How hard is it to roll & watch TV? Besides, with all the training I'll be doing, I can't afford an injury.

Get Back into Strength Training & Ab Workouts
After getting married, building muscle was the least of my priorities. I worked hard at  building my bridal body, that I just stopped building once I had a ring on it. Switching between abs and strength a few times a week shouldn't be hard to get back into.








Improve Eating Habits
This is a goal every year. I feel that everyone can always improve in this area. This is why I have built an eating plan for the first month of the year. It's not so much a diet (I hate the word). It just helps me plan my meals ahead of time, rather than making last minute, unhealthy decisions when I can't think of what to make for dinner that night.

So there you have it! I will keep you updated on my progress through out the year, especially when it comes to my ultra training as that will take up half of my year!


Please share with me what your 2015 goals are?