2015 Recap

2015 was a year that can be summed up in a few words: injury, recovery, new beginnings and focus. The year began by continuing to deny a hamstring injury and running an awful marathon only to finally recover and move on! We travled, I graduated, O started kindergarten, we ran, new friends came into our lives and I started to realize more about me, my family and my goals in life. So how did my goals go? Well without too much looking I can say they lacked completion but I met other nonstated goals.

Saw this today and seems very fitting as I look back on 2015 and realize a lot has happened and it has made me focus on where I want to go in 2016 and beyond.

Fitness Goals

• Sub 3:30 marathon (okay actually 3:15 is what I really want): Not even close, I ran my comeback race in 3:37 with no speedwork and knew this goal was out. But I did finish marathons 27 and 28 and checked another state off my list.
• Run 2015 miles: Fell short on this thanks to time off for injury, hitting 1867 miles for 2015. I have decided mileage goals just aren't my thing anymore. I will still track mileage but need to focus on quality.

• Complete P90X and P90X3: Yes and add to that Body Beast. My strength work has been great. I can see it in my appearance and in how I run and increases in lifting.
• Finish a triathlon: Does an indoor tri count?!
• Stay injury free!! Well I'm finally injury free at least runningwise. I am still dealing with the baker's cyst and will likely for the foreseeable future.
• I tried new things: Kickboxing and yoga became routine for me.
• O ran her first 5K! We ran the Color Run and she had a blast.

                                

Life Goals

• Focus my blog on my life and trials, write 2-3 times weekly: I became overwhelmed this year with many aspects of my life and took a step back from writing. I had many thoughts I wanted to share but never got them out of my head.
• Finish grad school! Yes, I'm now Dr. Jen :) Graduated July 25th and soon after published my first journal article!
• Plan a fun girls weekend Ragnar! 2 great Ragnars, made some new friends and got to know some olde friends better.

Family/Friends

• Monthly dates with Matt and O: well this didn't happen but we made attempts and got better. I wasn't afraid to take days off work and spend time focused on O; baking, lunch at AG Store, just having fun.
• Travel: Of course this was a priority again. We started with a week at an eco resort in Mexico which was amazing and perfect for us. I was able to bring Matt and O with while I travled to Anaheim for a work conference meaning some Disney time for us too. This fall I ran Ragnar in Tennessee and spend a short time seeing the state.
• New friends! As an adult making new friends is rough. Luckily I have running to bring people into my life and great new neighbors who have moved in to become new friends.
• A big year for O! She started kindergarten and continued to be the social girl, making lots of friends but having a tougher time adjusting to the structure and calmness of the classroom. Luckily this is improving and over the past week she has decided that learning to read (she loves math) can be fun too. She was also asked to started competition dance which so far has been a fun but growing experience.