New Year’s

Running into 2018: goals and dreams for the new year

/ Amanda @fueling.veggie.athletes / 9 Comments

Happy New Year friends!🎉 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.đŸ„‚Â I fell into the latter category, but no complaints there! 😛

2017 was definitely a rough year for me, but it had some awesome moments too, especially my wedding!💍I 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.

running into the sunset

Who’s with me?!đŸ™‹đŸŒ

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. 🙂 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!

BRRRR negative wind chill run.jpg

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!Â đŸ€—

Black Bean Queen’s fifteen 2018 goals💃

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! 🙂

 

 

Happy 2015!

/ Amanda @fueling.veggie.athletes / 7 Comments

Happy 2015 everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year’s full of time with family and friends. I was happy  to go home for Christmas. I was spent it with both my family and my boyfriend’s family 🙂

To celebrate New Year’s, I just had a quiet night with my boyfriend, my sister who came to visit us, and some pink Champaign after I got off work. 😛 It was actually was my last work shift at the grocery store. I start a new part time job this month.  Next year, I hope to have more money and not have to work so I can go to one of those fancy restaurant and/or bar NYE parties here in the city! Unfortunately, I don’t think the Navy Pier one will ever be in my price range
.haha

When I was home, I was sad I did not have time to catch up with friends 😩  Regardless, I am grateful to have such wonderful people in my life. If any of you are reading this, remember that whether we see each other all the time or rarely thank you for being there for me. In 2015, I hope to spend more time with my family and friends even when the times get busy or we have to travel to see each other! 🙂

Now, some highlights of 2014:

  • Applied to and got accepted into a nutrition program
  • Graduated from college with a biology degree
  • Ran my first half marathon
  • Started this blog
  • Moved to Chicago with my boyfriend of 5.5 years
  • Went to Lollapalooza (for the second year in a row)
  • Got a part time job at a grocery store
  • Started graduate school in nutrition
  • Celebrated being a vegetarian for 1 year in September
  • Applied to and got accepted to a graduate education program

After I started the nutrition program, I realized that I wanted to become a high school teacher instead of a dietitian. I did decent in my nutrition classes, but I had been thinking about pursuing teaching for a while. I’d also like to coach cross country and track.  I finished out my nutrition classes, but now I can pursue my dream of becoming an educator!  I can already tell this will be a better fit for me than dietetics.

Never be afraid to change your path to pursue your dreams! I start my new graduate program and a new part time job this month so a lot of changes ahead!  2014 was a good year, but here’s to a great 2015!

I found this picture on Pinterest and I think it’s a great reminder on New Year’s to embrance change and try new things:

Now, I am a big believer in resolutions, but I don’t think Jan. 1st is the only time to make them. Any time of year is a good time to make a change, improve yourself, or reach for the stars. Regardless, I did end up making a few “New Year’s resolutions” of my own because they were on my mind today. I already mentioned that I’d like to spend more time with family and friends, but I thought I’d share a few more. 🙂

2015 New Year’s resolutions:

  1. Run my first marathon
  2. Read at least 2 books/month even though I’ll be in graduate school
  3. IT Band prevention/ yoga workouts to supplement running 2-3x/ week
  4. Plan one date/ month for my boyfriend
  5. Cook a new vegetarian meal at least 2x/month

I hope all of you enjoy the rest of your New Year’s and that your 2015 is off to a great start! What are some of your 2014 highlights? Also, what are your 2015 resolutions?