Putting It All Out There: My 2015 Running Goals + How I’m Going to Get There

Seeing as it’s the last day of 2014 today seemed like the perfect time to take some time and chat about my hopes and dreams for my running this coming year.

I’ve started to write this post many times but for some reason I’ve found that I have trouble putting my thoughts down on paper. OR maybe I was just a bit nervous to share my goals with others. Then I remembered this post I wrote last March about getting over the fear of failure and decided to suck it up and put it all out there for world to know. After all – according to my training journal this is the year to BELIEVE!

My Running Goal for 2015 is… 

to run in the American Development Program at the Chicago Marathon and go sub-2:50.

As you may have figured out from my Instagram account recently, I’m back on the marathon training bandwagon. After my PR at the Chicago Marathon this year (with minimal training leading up to it) I realized that have a lot of potential at the distance and I can’t quit without giving it everything that I have! So back to the marathon it is!

The qualifying standard to get into the American Development Program is a 1:21 half or a 3:01 marathon, and seeing as I was only 24 seconds off of that at the Happy Holidays Half MerryThon I don’t have any doubt that over the next few months I can qualify. Now I’ve just got to put in the hard work to get there!

Making big goals like this can be scary and daunting and require ALL of your focus and energy so instead of making multiple goals for 2015 this is it. The only one. Big dreams also don’t just happen – you need to take measurable steps towards them, in order to get there slowly but surely.

One of my favorite features of the Believe journal is in the section where you set your goals for the year ahead it prompts you to list the steps that you can take to reach those goals. That way you are working towards your goal in a tangible, actionable way that will inevitably produce results! When I sat down to do this exercise for my <2:50 goal I came up with the following 10 steps…

How I’m going to reach my 2015 goal

1. Work with an amazing coach – The first step that I took when I set this big, scary goals was to start working with my coach, Mark Hadley again as a member of his USMT 2016 project. He is very knowledgeable with the marathon distance and has had incredible results with all of his athletes so I am so soooo excited that he was willing to take me on again. I’m really excited to see where he takes me and my running over the next few years! 
2. Emphasize recovery – How you recover from a workout is almost as important, if not more so, than the workout itself. Stretching, foam rolling, ice baths, regular massages – I’ve got to make the time for all of these things this year if I want to see a 2:49:XX on that clock next October!
3. Get better sleep – Ever since my FitBit “died” a few months ago I haven’t been tracking my sleep and therefore haven’t been getting enough. I fixed my FitBit and Henri got me some new cute colored bands for Christmas so I’m all set to start on this ASAP!
4. Focus on better nutrition – When you eat better, you run better. Go figure, right? I have NOT been very good at proper nutrition recently and I need to start reminding myself that food is fuel. Not that a bowl of ice cream isn’t going to happen a couple of nights most nights, but those snacks in the break room at work, and that Doritos that my sister’s boyfriend always has around the house… that needs to stop. 😉
5. Train with fast friends – My coach works with a few other gals in the Boston area and he recently connected all of us via e-mail. I am looking forward to getting in some crazy hard long-runs/workouts with these ladies (all of who have faster marathon times than me) and pushing each other to become the best runners we can be!  
6. Do ALL the little things – PT exercises, balance workouts, core, dynamic warm-ups, and form drills – those little things take minimal time each day and make a WORLD of difference. 
7. Get in the gym on a regular basis – I haven’t belonged to a gym since we moved to MA and so my strength training and yoga practicing has been slacking in a major way. Henri and I are going to the local gym tomorrow to sign up and I already have 2 yoga classes penciled PENNED in my weekly planner each week from now on!
8. Race more half marathons – I don’t have much experience with longer distance races. I’ve only raced 3 marathons, 1 half marathon, and 1 10 miler – these races are so much different from the shorter distances that I am used to like the 5K. In a 5K you hurt the ENTIRE time but it only lasts for 17-18 minutes which is the grand scheme of things is a very short time. In my first couple marathons I was shocked to go through periods of high highs and low lows and I had a hard time understanding that the lows would eventually give way to the highs so I didn’t know that I could and should push through. At the half marathon I ran earlier this month I realized that the half simulates these highs and lows of the marathon distance – something I desperately need to practice. So while the ultimate goal this year is that marathon there is going to be a lot of half racing going on as well – first up the Hyannis Half Marathon at the end of February!
9. Run a sub-1:21 half – Practically this one HAS to happen as it’s the qualifying time to get in to the American Development Program so it obviously had to be on the list!
10. Race a flat, fast marathon in the spring as practice/preparation – A month or so ago I finally settled on my spring marathon and I cannot wait to run Grandma’s Marathon on June 20th! Just a few days before our 2nd anniversary!!! 😀

2015 is going to be a BIG year – I can feel it! 🙂

What is your BIG 2015 goal? And what is a step that you can make to get there?!

Do you keep a running journal?

Any fun NYE plans for tonight?? We’re staying in like usual – playing games, eating pizza and hitting the hay at approximately 12:01 AM! ha