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 saidā€¦
Congrats on so many 'green' updates for your 2013 goals!
Lee Davidson saidā€¦
Hah! Thanks for detecting my code ;)
B.o.B. saidā€¦
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...

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...

A Three-Race Finale

So, after the Nike Women's Half Marathon I ran in DC, I told myself I'd take a rest afterward. But then someone kept tempting me to sign up for races. And because I was on a PR roll, I thought, hey, why not--let's end the spring race season with a bang. So I ran three races on the three weekends following Nike: the Police Appreciation 10K, Miles for Moffitt 5-Mile, and the Secret Service 5K. I PR'd two out of three, and finally got my 5K (official) PR I'd been hoping for. Interestingly, I placed eighth in my age group for all three races. Police Appreciation 10K - 5/5/13 Official Time: 0:49:46 Official Avg Pace: 8:00 mins/mile Age Group Place: 8/45 The unseasonably cool and breezy weather that morning made for a great race through scenic downtown St. Pete. Even though we learned later that we were led backward through the course as it was designed, which explains why we only saw the back sides of mile markers, we still ran the correct distance.  ...

My Ulele Feast with the Tampa Bay Bloggers; Or, That Time I Ate Alligator

Monday night, I had the delightful opportunity to be among the  Tampa Bay Bloggers  on a tasting event* at  Ulele  (pronounced yoo-LAY-lee), a newish restaurant along Tampa's River Walk, which is in a revitalization phase. The restaurant, which opened this past fall, has already received several significant commendations:  One of the Top 100 Restaurants in the U.S. (by Open Table),  One of the Best New Restaurants in Florida (by  Florida Trend ); Best Overall Restaurant (by Yelp Tampa Bay); and, its most recent achievement,  the  #7 spot for Top 50 Restaurants in Tampa Bay , as scored by Laura Reiley of the  Tampa Bay Times .  So I felt honored to eat there, and I'd been wanting to go since it opened, but reservations were always difficult to get. When I saw the call for bloggers to attend this event, I jumped at the opportunity! Fortunately, I was chosen--among may others: That's a lot of hungry bloggers! A...