The Friday Five - 2016 Goals

While 2016 is already about 1/10th over, I realized that I hadn't yet put my goals "out there". I'm not one to make resolutions at the start of the new year, but I've found that by telling others what my goals are, the more likely I am to meet them. Call it accountability, but I like having something to go back to and look at to see where I've been and where I'm going.

I looked back at my goals for 2015 and found that I was able to meet most of them.

Get closer to a 4:20 marathon time - I only did two marathons, one was basically a training run for my 100 mile race, so I really wasn't focusing on a goal time and the other was really early in the year and was consistent with my previous times in the 4:30s.

I didn't get to my sub 2 half marathon either. I ran one half, for which I was sorely undertrained for and tanked about half way through.

I didn't run any 5ks, so I have no sense of reference there!

What did I do in 2015?

I got this pretty little thing.

I made my second *100 club* at my local pure barre studio and am well on my way to 250.

I ran 5 ultra marathons! Many more than I actually thought I would, some just a few weeks apart. I did a 40 mile race that had been a goal for over a year.

As far as my personal goals....

I had a wonderful time with our friends and family in Mexico last summer and got married!

photo by Stephanie Davis Photography

I am two quarters away from finishing my graduate degree and becoming a nurse practitioner (officially 177 days, but who's counting?).

This old girl?  She's still with us & we celebrated her being a teenager on Monday.  I know she is biding time, but I love her as much as can every day.

My goal to get to bed earlier? Midnight isn't bad, right?

So what am I in for this year?

Last month was a pretty big milestone for me. I turned forty twenty-six! Therefore, I have decided that I am going to crush 2016.

These amazing friends and sisters threw me a "surprise" party.
I don't know what I did to deserve all of this love.

Epic starts now.

1. Complete 100 miles.

Yes. All at one time.  I had my first attempt at this two weeks ago (more to come on that soon) and (spoiler alert) I had to DNF at mile 80.  I was very discouraged by this initially and pleaded with Ryan to "never me do that again".

Of course, my story changed after just a few days...

Earlier this year, I had "won" an entry into Leadville 100 this August. I had briefly thought about calling it off after my first 100 experience, but then realized, I didn't necessarily need to finish that race, I needed to experience it in order to ready me for the huge challenge this summer.

I think my fate at Rocky only sweetened the pot for Leadville.

I also couldn't bear to tell my son that we might not be going to Colorado and I'm so glad I didn't share my moments of weakness with him. He is so excited about this trip and has really gotten into hiking.  I almost think I have him talked into doing a trail race with me this year!

Which brings me to goal 2.

2. Explore more with my family.

Ryan, Louis and I went out to a gorgeous state park near our home a few weeks ago and had so much fun.  We hiked for nearly 2 hours and Louis didn't want to leave! I tried taking him for a "shorter" hike a couple of weeks ago and declined, stating that 2 miles wasn't long enough for him.

We saw so many cool things including a few of these guys (which I have never actually seen alive in the wild).

3. Finish my slog through grad school.

At least that's what it feels like right now....I am just 25 weeks away, 177 days. 288 clinical hours.

I finished my pediatric rotation last week, which I had initially been kind of apprehensive about...and other than getting sick a couple of times, I really loved it.

Next up in women's health and I have no idea what to expect really as I've never working with that particular population. Then back to family practice at the same clinic where I did my rotation last summer, which I loved as well.  All of that will lead up to Leadville 100, my sadistic graduation gift to myself.

4. 250 Club at the barre.

I'm  already half way there! After 2 years and over 200 total pure barre classes (at two different studios), I still love my barre workouts. They keep me uninjured and give me some super strong legs. I attribute barre to the reason I recover from my ultras so quickly. My goal is 3 classes a week so that I get to my goal by the end of the year.

5. Make the most of my Altra ambassadorship.

Towards the end of last year, I found out that I was selected to be an Altra ambassador.  So what's that?

Altra is just the most awesome brand of shoes that I've ever worn (and I've worn a lot different shoes). Thy are shoes that are shaped like your foot (instead of super narrow squishing your toes together), with a zero drop, allowing for more of a natural run. I tried a pair out last spring and was pretty much in love. I professed my love for Altra to the company and was shocked that they chose me.  I have met so many awesome people and have gotten some really amazing advice from much more experienced trail runners. I met fellow ambassador, Lint, at Rocky 100, who called himself the "everyday runner".  So yeah...the everyday runner that has hiked the PCT, AT and CDT three times each. That must make me their hobby runner. Seriously though, that is how awesome all of these other people are! I am so humbled by this group; they are *truly* inspiring in so many ways, have so much knowledge to share and totally live the #zerolimits #embracethespace philosophy. I am seriously honored to be a part of it and have already had so many cool opportunities with them! All of Altras already have quite the story to tell.  They have gotten me through some pretty gnarly adventures already, yet somehow still manage to wash up looking like they're brand new...maybe I'm doing something wrong?

Thanks again to the ladies in DC for the Friday Five Linkup!  Check out more awesome race signage at Courtney at Eat, Pray, Run DC, Mar at Mar on the Run and Cynthia at You Signed Up For What?!