Skip to main content

2013: Year in Review

I recently re-read a post from early last year with my year-end totals for running in 2012. I ran 924.35 miles, and I made a goal to run at least 1,000 miles in 2013. I'm happy to say I've exceeded that goal by 288.59 miles! And there are at least a couple more runs that I didn't record on my watch, so they aren't included in this total.

That's a lot of time spent pounding the pavement!

This looking back reminded me that I'd also set some goals for 2013. Let's see how those panned out:
  1. Run a sub-2:00 half marathon.
    Done and done! I first met this goal at the Gasparilla Half, and then topped it at the Nike Women's Half (and still ran a sub-2 at the St. Pete Women's Half at the end of the year, though not a PR).
  2. Train for a marathon without getting seriously injured (i.e., don't overtrain).
    Check!
  3. Appreciate the diversity of friends I have and don't be overwhelmed by them :-D
    I admit I fell short of this at one point in the year when I had a lot going on, but I tried to remain aware of it and address it as best I could.
  4. Keep my home, car, and office clean. 
    I definitely improved on this compared to years prior, and it made a difference in my inner-peace
    .
  5. Keep one eye open for new job opportunities but the other focused on current job(s). 
    I in fact kept many eyes open for opportunities but still feel I kept my focus on the jobs at hand. This isn't to say I didn't overwork myself at some points during the year. Perhaps that's a goal for this year.
  6. Enroll in yoga teacher training. 
    Nope. Not even close.
  7. Practice playing piano. 
    Negative.
  8. Meditate, or at least try to. 
    Does once or twice count?
  9. Watch less TV and read more (I'm cheating with two in one, I know).
    I did not watch less TV, but I did read more. 
  10. Don't hesitate to make time for family. 
    This was an easy yes.
Not listed here are the significant gains I made with my race times. I PR'd all the distances I raced: 5k, 5-mile, 10k, half, and marathon. I ran 12 races (the Turkey Trot 10k isn't officially timed and therefore doesn't show up in my Athlinks profile):



That's seven more races than I ran in 2012; granted, I got injured in September of 2012 and didn't race the rest of the year. But still, it's my biggest race year yet, and I'm proud of my hard work and super thankful for all the support I received. I just hope I can keep up the momentum for 2014!

I didn't make any explicit resolutions or goals for 2014, but this exercise has sort of made me want to. It's a good way to measure progress. Plus, I love making lists. So I just may post one such list while it's still early January. Stay tuned . . .

Comments

Unknown said…
Congrats on so many 'green' updates for your 2013 goals!
Lee Davidson said…
Hah! Thanks for detecting my code ;)
B.o.B. said…
LOVE seeing those PR's and yay for green! (I cheated and red the abovie comments.) Here's to a kick ass 2014! (Hope to see you more!)

People Liked to Read...

Surgery Chronicles: 12 Weeks and Progress

I'm now more than 12 weeks recovered from my second (and final!) foot surgery, and life is starting to feel a little more normal. When I l ast wrote an update , seven weeks ago (still blaming Irma for all of my delays), I had just gotten off of crutches but would wear my boot for two more weeks. I've been out of the boot and walking in shoes for just over five weeks. The constant discomfort I've felt in my foot from swelling is finally starting to wane. I work in the office now, I do my own groceries, and I even attended a work conference recently, which meant lots of walking at airports and the conference hotel, frequent standing, and few opportunities to elevate and ice. I was very concerned about how my feet, particularly the left one, would endure. And while it wasn't comfortable, I made it through, no worse for the wear in the end. I joined a new gym/community center recently, with a new and beautiful outdoor pool, and I'm so happy that I'm able to use

Play of Summer

Even though it is still technically spring time, the summer college semester begins in one week, the weather is consistently sunny and mid-80s, and baseball season is in full bloom. I embrace this time of year as a time to extend my outside activities beyond my nightly walks, to bike rides, benefit runs, beach days, and a newfound interest in softball. Yesterday Joe and I began the day with a 7:25am 5K run to benefit the Child Abuse Council . One of Tampa's largest and most regular 5Ks, the Gunn Allen Financial May Classic brought out over 1,500 of Tampa's athletes and do-gooders. Since it was a last-minute decision for us to register, we did not have a a chance to train, but we had both been keeping a somewhat regular exercise schedule in the weeks leading up to the run. Our goal was to finish, preferably to finish running. And we did. 36 minutes of concrete pounding, rhythmic breathing, and humanistic awareness, and we had completed our first 5K together, having run th

Surgery Chronicles: First Steps

This past week I took my first steps in a real shoe with my new foot. As with any first steps, I felt it worthy of recording: I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but my surprise, it felt perfectly fine—no pain. There were a few tears, though. I got rather emotional after so many weeks of anticipation, of protecting and worrying about my foot and wondering if I'd be able to use it again, even though I knew rationally that I would. It's very different to experience the act than to imagine it. Now it was real. Of course, I'd been walking in a boot for a few weeks, but it's just not the same. The boot intentionally keeps your foot from flexing and bending, so it's being cradled and coddled, which means you get used to walking without really using your foot. So in my first attempts at walking, I still wasn't really using my foot because that's what I'd gotten used to. Once I started walking around more, I realized I also wasn't stepping evenly