Well 2015 didn’t go as planned. I had great hopes and as each month passed I still thought I could reach all my goals. It was around April when I think I finally came to terms with the fact that my hamstring injury was not going to let me move forward with most – okay, all of my running goals.
It’s one thing to be injured but it’s another thing to be injured and doing all the right things, treatment wise. The biggest lesson I learned is to trust yourself. Seek treatment right away, even if you think it’s just like any old injury you’ve had before…and I’ve had many pulled muscles playing soccer.
The other thing I learned that took 4 months of physiotherapy is to seek out GOOD treatment. If your current medical professionals are not helping, go somewhere else. Once I switched to a sport physiotherapist (who worked on athletes at a University) vs a newbie (2nd year as a PT), I saw great changes. Don’t get me wrong, my first PT was good, friendly and I felt like I could totally hang out with her but she wasn’t moving me forward. Lesson learned.
2015 Goals
I had a number of goals last year but again just couldn’t physically meet them.
Running:
Run 5k by the 5th of each month of February to May Challenge. Let’s be honest – I hobbled through each of these “runs”. Most were on the treadmill but I did managed to increase my speed from February to May.
Run a sub 25 minute 5 k (currently 27:06). Didn’t happen. I did managed a few sub 30 minute 5k’s during my training runs later in the year. Speed wasn’t a focus in 2015. I did run one 5k run and it was a Santa run without any clocks – just for fun.
Run a sub 52 minute 10 k (currently 55:58). Nope. All my 10k training runs were just over the 60 minute mark. However, I did rock pacing the 1:10 – 10k finish time in 1:09:59 which I am super proud of. Pacing wasn’t a goal of mine in 2015 but it sure will be in 2016!
Run a sub 2 hour Half Marathon (currently 2:05:10). Nope! I barely ran my 3rd half marathon. I finished the PEI Half Marathon in 2:13:30 and I can honestly say I’m super proud of that finish time. It wasn’t a race about getting a PB but more of enjoying a new course in another Province and finishing the race uninjured.
Run a FULL Marathon. I had big hopes and dreams for this distance. Originally I had a spring Marathon picked out and then put that off until the fall only to have to drop down to the half marathon distance. This is one goal that didn’t happen and it took a long time to get over that – ask my husband or running buddy and they can tell you how disappointed I was. It’s not on my list for 2016.
Total mileage for the year: 1250 kilometers. I felt this was a reasonable goal since I ran over 1000 in 2014, little did I know that I would struggle until June to get my mileage up. I ran 844 km last year and have to admit, I’m very proud of that number. It’s far from my goal but reminds me how determined I am at remaining active and leading a healthy lifestyle.
Other goals:
- Yoga 3x week. This started off good but I stopped as my hamstring couldn’t handle it. I did pick it up again in the fall and managed to achieve crow pose, birds of paradise and even tried my first inversion (headstand against a wall).
- Cross train more. This was okay, I’d give myself a B-.
- Stretch more after running / working out. Yup. Even though this was a goal of mine, it took running my 3rd half marathon to realise I need to take care of myself post race right away and not wait to watch your friends finish. I was in pain for a week with my hamstring.
- Take a pottery class. Nope and disappointed I didn’t do this.
- Take a photography class/course. Nope, but it’s been on my list for years.
Family
- Date nights / lunches with my husband. A-
- More patience with my girls. C+
- Play outside *all year round*. B+
- Family adventures together. A
Blog
- Post 3-4 times a week. Completed.
- Share blog on my personal FB page more. Not really. I only shared it when the post was about my family (Dad’s heart attack and Ava’s surgery). I’m pretty sure I didn’t even share 1 running related post. I guess I don’t want to bombard my Facebook friends with my blog page. Weird, eh!
- Continue to write for Thinking Outside The Sandbox – Family. Completed.
That’s it! Those were my 2015 goals and I feel like I’m not the only one to say a happy farewell to 2015 and welcome all the new adventures and opportunities that 2016 will bring. I’m still trying to decided my 2016 goals – can’t seem to bring myself to make any decisions!
This is a late post I know but I’ve been down and out with a nasty head cold and it’s going through our whole family.
Do you set goals each year? OR resolutions?
How did your 2015 goals go?
What’s your biggest 2016 goal? Looking for some motivation 🙂
Happy 2016!
Piper's Run 
Hey Anna,
Don’t be too hard on yourself. Things didn’t go as you had planned but the good thing is that you have learned more about you by the sounds of it. I found 2015 was a year of learning for me.
Perhaps your goal for 2016 is to continue to be active in whatever way it is that works best for you and set little goals as they are close.
For example, you know when the Bluenose Run is or Harvest Half takes place so you could start to train for those runs and if your body is happy with training then you could sign up. Know what I mean? Or make even the smaller distances your goals and getting better at those. Big distance or small distance goals will help us in any way. You could always make one of your runs a destination run to Victoria. You would have a place to stay with your family.
Feel better soon.
Thanks Kyla! A trip to Victoria to run would be amazing; my family would love that 😉 I think this year will be about getting stronger and focusing on the shorter distances first. Then I hope to run Johnny Miles in June and MRW in September again. Thanks for your advice…I appreciate that 🙂 Happy 2016!
Sounds like your goals went pretty well to me! My 2015 didn’t go as well as I had hoped with my goals either. I’m identifying broad goal categories this year and trying to accomplish mini goals along the way. Fingers crossed!
Other than my hamstring injury, things went well. Mini goals are just as important as bigger ones. I think I’m going to think broader this time around…less specific but still things I want to do in 2016.
Ha ha I love the “more patience with my girls” – C+ All the best for you in 2016. This past year was tough for me too on the injury front. But it sounds like you are in a good place now.
Yeah, I really have to work on my patience with my girls, sometimes I feel like I fail more as a Mom then anything else. It’s a work in progress 😉 (or I’m too hard on my self).
All the best to you in 2016, hope you’ve sorted out your injury. Hopefully the snowshoeing will help 😉
First, I hope you are feeling better soon. I still think your year was a splendid success in that you came back healthier and a wiser, stronger runner. I love your goals and am so excited for your marathon goal. I just love that distance as a challenge and love seeing other runners attack it for the first time. Marathon training is so fun! Happy New Year!
My year ended way better then I though it would!
You accomplished so much this year despite being injured- you should be proud of that! 2016 will be your year! I hope you feel better soon.
I am proud of 2015 however it took many months to be okay with my injury and not running so much. On to 2016!!!!!!!!!
Great post! I honestly don’t know how you do it — work, mom, wife, and blog!! I bookmark each blog and when I get a chance go and read it. So happy to have met you in 2015. You should definitely be a pace bunny again this year! Love your story. It shows that we are all human. Being injured SUCKS!! I’ve been there too. 2015 was a year of lessons for me — what works and what doesn’t when it comes to training and racing. My goal for 2016 is to become a stronger runner, to train smarter not harder. I finally have a plan and registered for my first race of 2016 today. Happy 2016 Piper!