Happy New Year friends!đ I hope you all had an amazing night…whether that involved drinking and dancing until dawn or snuggling up on the couch with loved ones and wine or a warm beverage.đ„ I fell into the latter category, but no complaints there! đ
2017 was definitely a rough year for me, but it had some awesome moments too, especially my wedding!đI reflected briefly on my run yesterday, so I am not going to reflect here. Rather, I want to leave 2017 behind and run straight into 2018 with a fresh perspective and clean slate.
Who’s with me?!đđŒ
I strongly believe that you should set goals year round and not wait until a holiday to start working toward them…BUT, with that being said, New Year’s Day is a perfect time to sit down, write out your new or ongoing goals, and come up with an action plan for accomplishing them!
So where to begin?!
Well, people do not meet their goals without a system of accountability or a way to track their progress toward their goals. Another reason that people do not meet their goals is because they make ones that are TOO ambitious for the given time frame. Although, I do not think that is necessarily a bad thing to set SOME lofty goals. I think it’s good to dream big, but to also have some smaller more attainable goals. đ I have a good mix of both for 2018 and some of them have been a goals of mine for a while, as indicated on my goals page!
To hold myself accountable this year, I am going to do a minimum of 4 check-ins on the blog. I will check-in during the spring (March), summer (June), fall (October), and winter (December) and more times if needed. Some of the goals below are specific to certain events in my life (i.e. my first marathon in October), so I will only check in with them when it makes sense. So, without further ado, here are my 2018 goals! đ€
Black Bean Queen’s fifteen 2018 goalsđ
1. A minimum of 5 minutes of stretching/foam rolling after EVERY RUN
2. Strength training a minimum of 2x/ week (particularly glute/hip exercises)
3. Yoga 1x/ week (a class or YouTube video)
4. Finish my first marathon in October (my ultimate goal is 3:30 or faster so I can Boston Qualify)
5. PR in the 5k and the half marathon by increasing my mileage (SLOWLY) and adding in more track/speed workouts (5k goal is sub 18 minutes & half marathon goal is 1:25)
6. Run my first 10k race
7. Run a trail race of any distance
8. Hire a coach in the spring/summer to help me with Chicago marathon training
10. Join a running group or racing team
11. Read 24 books (2 books/month)
12. Connect with more liked minded people by growing Black Bean Queen to 1,000 subscribers. I also want to grow my social media presence on Instagram and Twitter to at least 1,000 followers and my Facebook and Pinterest to at least 500 followers.
13. Be kinder to and less critical of myself by reflecting on the positives in my life at least 1x/week
14. Take my vitamin everyday
15. Cook a new vegetarian/vegan recipe with my husband 1x/month
What are YOUR top 2018 goals, running related or not? I’d love for you to share, so we can support each other! đ