January 3, 2014

2014 New Year's Goals

2014 New Year's Goals!!


My birthday and New Year's Day fall on the same day and as I say every year it always adds some gravity to the day because not only does a new calendar year start but a new year of my own life starts as well.  I wanted to make some of my goals for this year public so here are my top ten:

1.  My first goal is a big running goal.  I want to run 447 miles; that is the North-South length of Florida.  If I run 50 weeks of the year that works out to be a bit over 9 miles a week.  Doable but definitely not a casual goal.

2.  Swim 10 miles.  Last fall I took an adult swim class and I really liked working on that skill.  In order to improve on that I'd like to swim about once a week or so.  10 miles is about 15 laps of the pool at the YMCA each week.

3. Bike 100 miles.  Brandon has really inspired me with his triathlon training and I want to bike to strengthen my legs and improve my running.  Brandon thinks this goal could be achieved in only a few months.  If that is true then I will adjust my goal.

4. Back squat 200+ pounds.  I am so close to reaching this; a few weeks ago I squatted 185 lbs but it might take me all year to get to the 200 Club.  I also want to improve on my depth in squats.

5. Bench press 150 lbs.  Right now my 1-rep max is 125 lbs and I think with consistent work I can get it to 150 by the end of the year, if not earlier.

6. Jump 14 inches.  Box jumps are really hard for me.  Because of the tendinitis my left leg is a lot less strong than my right (don't believe me?  Ask me to hop on my right foot, then the left.  The difference in height is ridiculous.)  Also, box jumps are terrifying to me.  I'm afraid I'll fall and skin my shins.  I'm afraid that I'll fall in front of everyone.  I'm afraid of hurting my Achilles more than it already does hurt.  

I. Do. Not. Like. Box. Jumps.

So right now I can jump a bit less than 10 inches and I'd like to be able to clear a foot by the end of the year.  Brandon thinks I should try for 20 inches but let's just take it one bumper plate at a time.

7. Run a sub-30 minute 5K.  Right now on my best day I run a 5k in about 33 minutes.  Again, that is my best day.  I plan on cutting my race calendar and my pocketbook some slack and say that any workout of 3.1 miles is eligible for this goal; not just a chip-timed race.  I'll take a picture of my Garmin watch when I reach this goal.

8. Run 3 half-marathons.  Right now I have three half-marathons on my calendar: the Albany Half on March 1st, the Disney Wine and Dine in November, and the Reindeer Run in December.  

9. Finish my dissertation.  I am ready to graduate and move on with my life.  I am ready to have a career, not just working while I also try to graduate.  I also know that the further away I get from school the harder it will be for me to finish.  I'm also tired of this hanging over me like a guillotine.  I'm ready to pack this part of my life up and move on to other goals and parts of my life.  

10.  Go scale free.  No more daily or even weekly weighing myself.  A lot of goals this year are about improving something I already do.  I want to try to track my progress (like running faster) which has very little to do with whether or not I weigh 2 pounds less than I did the week before.  I also hope that by focusing on these goals the weight will kind of take care of itself.  

I will have other ways of measuring changes in my body.  On Monday I am going to my CrossFit box to get my body fat percentage and tomorrow Brandon is going to weigh me, write the number down, and put it in an envelope.  If I want to I will look at it on New Year's 2015.  I also want to measure inches and I'll take some pictures for my own interests but otherwise I'm putting the scale away for the year.



(yes, that is my first attempt at adding text to a picture)

Cheer me on!!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Holy crap those are all amazing goals. Good luck with them all, it sounds like you have lots of exciting stuff going on!

Kara said...

I haven't owned a scale in over 5 years so I'm completely behind your goal. :)

If you increase your weekly running, your 5K time will improve organically (without a huge focused effort). The more you run, the more you want to run so it will be fun!

Unknown said...

Good Luck! You'll do great!

Anonymous said...

Good luck! These are awesome goals and I am sure you can achieve them!

Elizabeth Dean said...

Thanks everyone! I appreciate the support a lot and I feel really good so far.