Thursday, December 31, 2015

Looking Back / Moving Forward 2015 - 2016 Edition

   Another year is coming to an end. Amazing how quickly it goes by. Let's see how I did with my Goals:

Goal 1.  Run a sub 2:00 half marathon. Yes! I did this! Twice! Once at the Mississippi Blues Half Marathon and once at the Oak Barrel Half Marathon.  Grade: A

Goal 2.  Run a stand-alone marathon. Yes! I did this one, too! TWICE! My first full was Chicago and I followed it up with the Marine Corps Marathon two weeks later.  Grade: A

Goal 3.  Read 52 books.  Done! What's really funny is that 10 minutes ago, I thought I still had a half-book to go before finishing 52 books. But I realized while reviewing my books for this post, that I forgot to log a book. So I'm actually finished with 52 books with a day to spare!  For more information on what I have read this year, check out my Goodreads page here.  Grade A

Goal 4. Take a cooking class.  Umm- yeah... I looked at cooking classes early in the year and then promptly forgot about it. Grade D 

Goal 5. Leave the country.  Didn't happen. Neither did a cool US vacation. We went a few places (Chicago, DC, South Carolina), but nowhere crazy. Part of the reason was monetary (we bought a car and some furniture this year instead of travel) and some was timing / family obligations. Life happens sometimes and changes your plans. Hopefully, next year we'll leave the country.  But for this year: Grade D 

State Challenge:
   Most people know I have a long-term goal to run a half marathon (or further) in every state.  While I didn't add that many states this year, I did add two: Mississippi and Illinois. I've pretty much hit all of the states within reasonable driving distance, so they're getting harder to cross off my list now. However, I think I'll be able to get three or four more in next year - most likely including Ohio, Kentucky and North Carolina. We'll see.



    Overall, I guess I did OK with my goals this year. Honestly though, this year has sucked so bad that I'm surprised I accomplished anything at all. I don't think I have ever had a year as stressful as 2015. My father was diagnosed with cancer, my mother had a heart attack (they're both OK now) and we lost our beloved dachshund to cancer all within a few months. It was terrible and I'm ready for 2015 to be over and get a fresh start in 2016.
   Speaking of 2016. I haven't set any Big Hairy, Scary Goals yet. I'm going to - I need figure out my work schedule first. I'm toying with a few Half Ironmans and Half Marathons - probably no fulls in my 2016, but you never know.  ;-)  I might get a wild hair and sign up for something. I'm sure I'll come up with a few non-fitness related goals, as well. Gotta keep things in balance, you know?
   I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year's and a blessed 2016!  


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