Hello 2016, I am excited to see you! Hope everyone had a nice New Years celebration – we stayed in and rang in the new year at my apartment. As I mentioned in my Year in Review – 2015 Running by the Numbers post, this past year has been so-so and I am ready for a fresh start (funny how a day difference 12/31 to 1/1 can change perspective). Before I share my 2016 goals, I wanted to recap my 2015 goals:
RUNNING
1. Marathon –Complete Marathon #3 and maybe #4
Completed both the 2015 Chicago (Part 1, Part 2) and Marine Corps Marathons.
2. Trail Running -Run a trail race
Could not fit it in my schedule, not bummed about it at all.
3. Run/Walk 900 Miles
960 miles!!
4. Run the States – Run a half or full in a new state
Kicked off the year in South Carolina by running the Charleston Half Marathon, visited Illinois for the Chi Marathon, and ended the year in Delaware for the Rehoboth Half Marathon. I’ve run 25 half marathons and 4 marathons, but have only run in 9/50 states + DC (I’ve run repeat states/races).
5. Time Goals – Focus on the yellow ones, the rest should follow
I did not meet my goal times, but I did PR five times. Three were automatic PRs – Mother’s Day 4 Miler, Baltimore 6 Miler, and the Charles 12. I PR’d in the 8K with a time of 52:47 at Shamrock and in half with a time of 2:32:25 at the Love Run Philly – two years in row!
Note: The chart is from January 2015.
FITNESS
1. Yoga/Barre – Continue going to yoga/barre each week
I would give myself a 50%, I was good until marathon training started.
2. Cross/Strength Training -Continue cross/strength training each week
Pretty consistent until post marathon season – I’m feeling the lack of strength training now.
3. Pushups -Complete 10 pushups in good form
5/10 in modified position.
4. Forearm Planks -Plank consistently for 2 minutes (proper form)
**Laughs** my best time was 1:45.
5. Triathlon – Complete my third sprint!
Winner winner – finished the Quantico Sprint Triathlon in August.
NUTRITION
1. Log my Meals
Intermittent throughout the year. I would have a good streak, followed by a cold spell.
2. Cook New Recipe/Month
I’m not sure how many new recipes I cooked this year – at least 12.
3. Follow Pre/Post Recovery Plan
Meh, will be a focus for 2016.
POTPOURRI
1. Re-Learn to Knit
Still on the to do list! I want to knit my own scarves, hats and headbands.
2. Read 2 Books/Quarter
I finished Racing Weight and Summer Sisters and I have a stack of great books waiting to be read or half read.
3. Volunteer 3 Times
Volunteered at the Fort Hunt 10K (course marshal), .US 12K Road Championships (medals), and Ronald McDonald House (cooking).
4. Learn Calligraphy
This was shelved for water-coloring. I doodled on my pad this past summer.
1. Self-Hosting
I did it! I went from runjenny.tumblr.com to runjenniferrun.com in February and used Bluehost.
2. Aesthetic Facelift
Moving to WordPress/self-hosted allowed me to redesign my site + use fun plugins. It will always be a work in progress 🙂
3. Email Subscription Option
On top of my blogging list.
4. Header Updates
I updated my About Me section and added a couple of new headers, but still need to polish them up.
5. Content Cleanup
Ongoing effort.
Year in Review – 2015 Running by the Numbers
Year in Review – 2015 Medals (Bling Bling)
How did your year go?
How was your New Years Eve?
Kristina
January 2, 20161:45 on the forearm plank is good – you can definitely get up to 2:00. The secret for me was planking on a day that I was SUPER ANGRY! The next time you get angry or frustrated get down and plank! 😉
Adam and I stayed home and rang in the new year in the apartment as well. We listened to the fireworks going on outside for a minute and then went to bed, haha!
Kristina recently posted…NYC, Day 4
Run Jenny Run
January 4, 2016I should remember that…hmm maybe I should plank at work in a closed office! Ringing in the new year at home is sooo nice.
Tamieka
January 3, 2016Love the new look of the blog!
You did well on your goals-isnt it amazing how once race training starts everything else gets pushed to the side? I need to get better at that too.
Love..love…love that chart! Great visual.
Love your potpourri goals! Reading is on my also. I got Running Weight for xmas from my sweat pink secret Santa. Super excited to read it.
I plan to go self host by March (1 year anniversary).
Run Jenny Run
January 4, 2016Thanks Tamieka! Hope you enjoy the book. Good luck with self hosting, lmk if you have any questions.
brittney @ corral b
January 3, 2016i have knitting as a goal, too! not for 2016, just for life haha. i bought tons of yarn to hopefully make a blanket, but i’m having difficulty getting a purl stitch down on my beginner squares, so it’s been put off.
brittney @ corral b recently posted…goals for 2016.
Run Jenny Run
January 4, 2016I need to stop by the store for needles and yarn. I’ll start with YouTube first too 🙂
Michelle @ Running with Attitude
January 3, 20165 PRs is awesome! You hit a number of your goals which is great! Looking forward to seeing what you’ve got planned for 2016. Happy new year!!
Michelle @ Running with Attitude recently posted…Ultimate Coffee Kick off 2016!
Run Jenny Run
January 4, 2016Thanks, Michelle! Happy New Year to you and your family.
nathasha
January 3, 2016Woohoo on this year’s PRs and crossing states off your 50 states list! 🙂 It was fun meeting up in a few of the states. Hopefully we can coordinate something this year! I rang in the new year at home, too — nice and low-key. I’m excited about our Run the Year 2016 — should help keep me motivated. 🙂 Will email you guys about tees soon. Cheers to 2016!
nathasha recently posted…Lessons learned from running 8 half marathons and 1 full marathon in 2015
Run Jenny Run
January 4, 2016We are doing great so far! Was a fun year and looking forward to more races in the future…especially our 10 year goal 😉
Jennifer @ Running on Lentils
January 3, 2016You had so many goals, and that you did so well on so many of them is awesome! Two marathons and all the other races alone is huge, but add to that all the other things and it seems like a great year for you. If it was just no-hum to you, can’t wait to see what you do in 2016! Happy new year!
Jennifer @ Running on Lentils recently posted…JASR Half Marathon Training: Week 5
Run Jenny Run
January 4, 2016Jenn, thanks for putting everything in a better perspective. I think I lost sight of all the other goals that were accomplished this year and rated the year based on my fall season. Excited for your new year as well.
courtney @ eat pray run dc
January 4, 2016selfishly, i’m just happy you’re blogging again. even though i get to see you in person, i love reading your blog 🙂 2016 is going to be great!
courtney @ eat pray run dc recently posted…Shamrock Half Marathon Training Recap, Week 2
Run Jenny Run
January 4, 2016Thanks, friend! I’m so glad I was able to catch up on this space over the weekend. Trying to make some changes so I’m not absent for weeks!
Meranda@Fairytalesandfitness
January 4, 2016Great job on the PR s. I have a few of those distances on my list for this year! I need to check out that Rehobeth Half. I’m looking a for a “new” semi close race for this year. Aa race at the beach sounds perfect!
And blogging always seems to be a work in progress!
Run Jenny Run
January 4, 2016Thanks Meranda 🙂 I’ll eventually have my Rehoboth recap posted. Only wish – there was more waterfront on the course, but it ends close to it!
Wendy@Taking the Long Way Home
January 4, 2016Great job this year! You have a lot to be proud of!
I’d love to go self hosted, but I also love that I know the Blogger platform and can play with it fairly well. WP would be a whole new world…
Wendy@Taking the Long Way Home recently posted…It’s a wrap!
Run Jenny Run
January 4, 2016Thanks Wendy. I think you could do it, but I understand if you are great with one platform, why change 🙂 Happy New Year!
Kelli
January 4, 2016Great writeup! I can say I was in the same boat for nutrition and logging food. I do really well until I have to travel for business, vacation or a race. Then I just go completely bonkers. I don’t know what’s wrong with me! You had a very good year. Can’t wait to hear more about your 2016 plans!
Kelli recently posted…Vacation and Hot Weather 5K PR
Run Jenny Run
January 4, 2016Thanks, Kelli. You had a good year as well! I agree, so hard to track food when traveling.
Pam
January 4, 2016You did a great job with your goals for 2015 Jenny. Two marathons and 960 miles is awesome. I have quit making yearly goals but instead make to do lists and hope to complete alot of the items on the list! My biggest goal for 2016 is to improve my upper body strength. By the way, I tried to comment on your post above, but for some reason I could not. In any case, you did a great job on your workouts and the photos in DC are stunning. I remember how pretty the city is decorated for Christmas from when we lived in that area back in the early 90’s.
Pam recently posted…We Run Disney is now Two Runners Travels
Run Jenny Run
January 4, 2016My 2016 goal(s) are going to look a little different – similar to what you described a “to do list”. Thanks for the heads up, for some reason, every once in awhile, my comments get disabled when I posted.
Sharon
January 4, 2016Great job with your goals! It’s always hard to hit them all. Way to go on the PR’s. The Love Run must be your race ,PR’ing two years in a row! We stayed in for NYE and made it fun with game night with the kiddos. Their main goal was to stay up and they barely made it. Hubby and I had champagne and toasted the new year! 🙂
Sharon recently posted…Davis Stampede Half Marathon Training Week 2 and Weekly Wrap 12/28-1/3
Run Jenny Run
January 4, 2016I would have tried to convince you to run Philly if you were still on the east coast. Sounds like you had a nice NYE in as well 🙂
Sun
January 5, 2016Congrats on a fantastic 2015! All those PRs in one year is impressive 🙂 I also love that you included volunteering on your list of goals for 2015 – I really should try to do the same in 2016. It’s so rewarding to give back – and especially fun in a race atmosphere! Cheers to a successful 2016!
Sun recently posted…The Year of the 10k
Run Jenny Run
January 5, 2016Thanks, Sun! You too. Handing out medals was really fun. Hope to volunteer at a water stop one one day – seems like those are very popular for the bigger races in DC and volunteer groups fill them up quickly.
Janelle @ Run With No Regrets
January 6, 2016Overall you did a great job with your goals for the year! I definitely couldn’t plank 1:45, so I think you’re doing great! And that’s so cool that you’ve run in so many states, I hope to do more running in my travels!
Janelle @ Run With No Regrets recently posted…ZOOMA Run Love Training Begins!
Run Jenny Run
January 6, 2016Its so hard to add more states when there are so many great races in MD, DC, VA and PA! So close 🙂