Happy New Years everyone! Even though it’s technically 2015 now, I am working on this post on New Years Eve- so it only seems appropriate to look back on the goals I set a year ago and see how everything unfolded. I have already posted about my year in running and then looked back on my running and races this year…so perhaps at this point I am overdoing it, but I just have a lot of thoughts about the past year!
The first part of this will be my thoughts about how I did with my goals for the year, and then I’ll include some stats at the end. I figure since this was such a thought provoking topic I’ll also link up with Amanda for Thinking Out Loud. Honestly it took me so long to write this (and I’ve still been dragging my feet on writing goals for 2015) and its really been on my mind quite a bit lately. There’s no better way to process your thoughts than to write them out!
A year ago at this time I feel like I was such a different person. But at the same time it feels like it was just yesterday. This year has been filled with learning, accomplishments, and growth. I remember when I made my 2014 goals I was very cautious. My most challenging goal was my one running goal: to run a sub 3:50 in the marathon. I knew I could do this, but I was also very aware that there could have been a million factors that prevent this from happening. Since I only run ~2 marathons a year, I only had 2 chances to achieve this goal.
So, let’s look at each of my goals in a little more detail:
-Run a marathon in 3:50 or less: Done. I managed to run a 3:46 at Philly, but by that point I was actually aiming for an even faster time. I think that this was a fair goal to have set at the time, as my marathon PR in 2013 was 4:05. If anything, 15 minutes seemed ambitious to cut off in a year. However, I think when it comes to running goals you need to just know yourself and what you are capable of. Even though race predictors told me a year ago that I could run a 3:40 I knew that I needed a lot of work for that to happen. Now I am where I wanted to be with my marathon time and can keep working to achieve new goals!
-Try 1 new recipe per month: Done- I think. I didn’t keep track of this but I know I made well over 12 new recipes this year. I have been tracking my meal plans for about 6 months so I could probably look back and get a better idea, but that sounds like a lot of work for something that I am not too concerned about! More than just simply trying new recipes I am more proud of trying new ways of eating. By learning about paleo and trying it for a few months I have mostly adapted to that way of eating. It’s become a habit to generally eat natural foods and it was such a beneficial change to make in so many ways!
-Save more $ towards house: Done. And we bought a house:) Yup I just slipped that in there like that. I didn’t want to say anything until I had told most of my family and friends (and if you are finding out on here for the first time my apologies!) We ended up deciding to buy new construction and signed everything at the end of September. The house is coming along great and we are looking at a move in date around March or April!
-Put more $ towards student loan: Done. This became a huge focus for us earlier in the year before buying the house and managed to pay it off. It is such a good feeling and I really have Rob to thank because he has really helped me a ton with money management over the years.
-Improve blog: Done, I guess? This one was pretty arbitrary but my blog has definitely grown over the past year and I have put a good amount of work into it. I went self-hosted last spring and revamped the website. Over the past year I have met SO many new bloggers and it has been wonderful! But I am also grateful for those of you who I met early on and stuck around this long:)
-Take steps to pursue passion in health and fitness: Done- I become an RRCA certified running coach! I am hoping to further develop this passion in 2015 but I’m not sure exactly how at this point.
So I pretty much achieved all of my goals, which is great- but I can’t help but feel like maybe they were too easy. However, a year is a long time to think about on January 1st! I was really glad that I set these goals last year as it gave me some things to work towards and offered a means of reflection at the end of 2014. Now I am trying to process everything that happened last year and figure out the best way to move toward into 2015!
So now for some stats:
RUNNING
Races: 9
5ks: 2
6ks: 1
10 milers: 1
12 milers: 1
1/2 marathons: 2
Marathons: 2
Miles run: 1907
Shoes worn: 10
Highest monthly mileage: January (227)
Lowest monthly mileage: April (90)
Blogging
Posts written: 233
Most viewed post: What I Ate When I Thought I Was Healthy
Highest referral source: Peas And Crayons
Most frequent commenters: Michele, Susie, Sue, Chrissy, Kristina (Thanks ladies!)
Pageviews: I don’t do much analyzing of my stats, but after a quick glance comparing November 2013 to November 2014, my page views have tripled. That’s not too surprising, since my blog was still relatively new last fall!
Life
Trips taken: 10
Weddings attended: I think just 1, which is crazy to think about after having 7 in 2013.
Books read: Not enough. I think it was 5, and 3 were running related.
Did you achieve any goals you set at the beginning of 2014?
What are some of your 2014 milestones?
You bought a house! Congratulations!! This is going to be a great year with many big and wonderful changes for you guys I think 🙂 I would almost congratulate you as much on the student loans! I feel like mine will never be paid off sometimes now that all money goes to kids. Although I wouldn’t change that, I wish we had managed some of that better early on. Happy new year!
Thanks! It should definitely be a great year.
If it was all up to me I have a feeling those loans would be around forever…but Rob was really smart to get us to focus on paying them off now when we have a little flexibility.
Congratulations on your house, that’s so exciting!!! It really has been a great year for you, what a feeling to achieve them all. Can’t wait to see what 2015 brings 🙂
Thank you! I’m also really excited!
Congrats on the house and also becoming a running coach! Definitely awesome! I haven’t really had a moment to think about any goals for 2015, and 2014 was kind of a crazy year for us. There is definitely a lot I would like to accomplish this year, I just need to sit down and really put some thought into things.
Thanks! I am sure you will figure it out:)
Wow! Nice job on achieving your goals! I was in awe reading your list, especially when you said it was easy. :o) Congratulations on buying a house! I bet it will be fun to see it get built and everything.
Thank you!!
Well I wouldn’t say it was “easy”, but I think some of the goals weren’t too difficult to achieve and are probably things I would have done anyway even without setting them as a goal. That’s why this year I tried to make them a little more challenging:)
Well now there’s a Christmas present for you! Congratulations! And congrats on making the past year your bitch 😉
Haha thanks!!
Happy New Year! Yay for buying a house and it being new construction! So exciting! I should’ve counted how many pairs of sneakers I went through this past year – such a great idea. I can probably do it just by rereading my posts!
Thanks! I only know about the shoes because I track my shoe mileage next to my training. Its interesting to see how many I have gone through in a year- although some I will continue to wear going into this year.
I’m not much for goal setting every year, but reading your list of accomplishments kind of makes me want to start 🙂 Great job and congrats on meeting the goals you set, I’m interested to see what you choose for 2015 to make them more challenging!
Also 10 trips this year! That is awesome. I wish I could travel that much!
Thanks! It can be fun to set goals and then see how they play out. The 10 trips weren’t all by choice…I think I would prefer to stay home a little more this year:)
You’ve had a great year! Shaving that much time off your marathon is awesome and I know the best is yet to come for you on that front. Congrats on setting goals in so many areas and making progress on them! Happy New Year! My big ‘elephant in the room’ is my first tri and getting my swim together enough for that. Ha!
Thank you! And good luck on your goals- I am sure 2015 will be a great year for you as well!
What an awesome year, girl! Great job on rocking the socks off all your goals. And a new house?! SO exciting! I’d have to say that my biggest milestone of 2014 was finishing my health coaching certification and starting up my own business. And then being able to quit my old job and put all of my energy into that and blogging. Here’s to an awesome 2015 🙂
Thank you, and congrats on all of your achievements this year! It must have been kind of scary to make some of those changes but I imagine that it is SO worth it!
Tricky slipping in the house like that! haha – Congratulations! Awesome news!
And I think you have much to be proud of on all fronts – great year!
As for student loans … ugh, it is scary to think that even with the monster scholarship our oldest son got he will still have way more in loans than Lisa and I combined (but then again, one year of his school costs more than all four years of our undergrads … combined! Shows how much costs have gone up in 25 – 30 years!)
Thank you!
Its really unbelievable how much tuition has gone up…even the change since I started 14 years ago is incredible!
Congrats on the new home!! Happy New Year Lisa! So glad to have started reading your blog! Perhaps I’ll meet you at a race or the 10 year reunion this year.
Thank you, and happy new year to you as well! It would be great to meet one of these days! I need to figure out if Im going to the reunion. I think Im trying to deny the fact that we have been out of college for 10 years!
First off, congrats on the house, that is SO exciting!!!!! You had an incredible year and meeting all your goals is amazing–especially shaving off so much of your marathon time!! I look forward to what 2015 has in store for you, especially with the big move to the new diggs! Happy New Year!!
Thanks so much! Im very excited for what 2015 has in store:)
Congratulations on the house! That’s so exciting! You had a great 2014 and I’m so glad I found your blog, even it wasn’t until the last few months of the year :). I’m excited to see what the new year has in store for you too. The amount of time you knocked off your marathon still amazes me! I’m definitely coming to you for some tips when I’m ready for one! Happy New Year!
Thank you! I am also glad we found each others’ blogs- and I can’t wait for you to decide to start training for a marathon!!
Great job on achieving many of your goals for 2014. Congratulations on buying a house. I know how many races I’ve ran but don’t know exactly how many miles. I received a calender this yr for xmas and plan on logging miles in it for next yr.
Thanks! A calendar is a great way to track miles. I use an excel sheet, otherwise I would have no idea how many miles I ran last year!
You had a great year, Lisa! Congrats on the house, growing your blog and the coaching plans you have in the works. Happy 2015!
Thank you! Hoping that 2015 brings great things as well:)
KILLED IT! You had such an amazing year! Your training for Philly was really inspirational for me and I can only hope I have that much success in improving my time for my next marathon. Congratulations on all your success (and the new house!) and I hope we get to hang out again this year at some races!
Thanks! And I know you will have a great marathon- you have gotten SO speedy over the past few months! And you managed to train for your last marathon through injuries- imagine what you will do when you are healthy!!
Congrats on the house and becoming a running coach! Those are two of my 2015 goals. My major 2014 goals were to plan my wedding, finish a master’s thesis, and complete my master’s degree. My husband and I had a beautiful and fun wedding in September, and I graduated in December, so it was a successful year.
Thanks, and congrats to you on a great 2014! It sounds like you were very busy last year! Good luck with your 2015 goals!
A house – that’s so exciting! Congrats! I’m hoping that we can finally start house-hunting later this year. And then finally get a fur baby of our own. Looks like you kicked butt with all of your goals. And 15 min is a ton of time to take off in a year – very inspiring!
Thank you! House hunting can be so stressful- I am so glad that we finally found something!
Congrats on the new home! How exciting! 😀
Thank you!!
Great job at accomplishing your goals in 2014 and I can’t wait to follow your journey in 2015 to accomplish your new goals. I love looking at numbers….guess that is what makes me a math nerd!
Haha when it comes to running I love looking at the numbers too! Thats why I love my Garmin so much:)