Skip to main content

New Year. Big Goals.




Hello! It's 2018, already! This past year has been a lot of firsts... a lot. I started two new jobs, started nursing school, earned many PRs in different race distances, trained for a marathon, gained amazing friends, started a blog, and learned a whole freaking lot about myself. It's been an incredible year by far.

And now with the new year, I want to grow even more. I want to learn about myself, train smarter, be more intentional about how I live, and be fully immersed into the experience of life. I do have some resolutions that I have set as a challenge for myself, but I won't get into them. This post is about my goals that I have set out for 2018.



Finish Nursing School:
I am gratefully on a fast-track program which has me expected to graduate in December of this year. I did quite well last semester, and hope to keep this energy going for the remainder of my education.

Finish a Marathon:
*cue drum roll* I signed up for the Hall of Fame Marathon set for April 29th. I start training next week, and though I would love to have a time of 3:30-3:35, I will be beyond elated to finish.

 Be Injury Free:
Clearly 2017 had plenty of bumps and bruises. I want to be a smart runner, and that means also doing my body right so I stay injury free. No one likes being injured, and I would be heartbroken if I missed out on more races because of dumb preventable injuries.

Be More Intentional with my Blog:
Writing my blog has been in spurts. I was out of running for 6 weeks and that put a damper on it. Then school got intense and I was working a ton. And then the holidays came around. All these are excuses; I have designated time now to plan to write my blog posts, and when and how often I will do it.

Run a sub-22 5K:
Last year at the Pittsburgh Marathon 5K, I hit a huge PR of 22:24. I want to get sub-22 this year, though I probably wont be attempting that until the Fall when I'm done with marathon training.

 Run a PR in the Half:
Again, everything leading to April 29th will be working towards the marathon. I have set out a number of races for the entire year, and hope to get a PR in the fall.

I have some other small and personal goals set for the year, but that's besides running. Okay, the nursing school one isn't running related, but it's kinda a big deal to me. I can't wait to see what all 2018 has in store, and welcome whatever challenges may come.

What are some of your goals and resolutions for 2018?? How do you plan to keep your goals?

Comments

  1. AnnetteJanuary 2, 2018 at 1:07 PM

    Love this! Great goals, Crystal! I am really excited for you to run a full marathon!!! <3 xoxo

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

5 Helpful Tips for Summer Marathon Training

My first marathon is in September. When I picked the marathon, I chose Erie because it was close to home and because it was the last weekend for Boston Qualifying submissions for 2018. I did not, however, completely consider that it would mean training all summer. Oops. As someone who does not handle the heat well, I've compiled a five helpful tips that I plan to use to help combat summer training for fall marathon season. 1. Always Check the Weather I do this all year round, but this is especially critical for me for the summer. Last summer, I was training for my first half marathon, and I found myself running late at night because those times had the lowest temperatures. I've also found the early mornings to be great since the sun hasn't boiled the ground yet either. ... unless you like the heat... you crazy heat people... It's also good to see how the weather is going to be a few days out. If your training is a little flexible, th
3 comments
Read more

PGH 5K Race Recap

Thanks to my wonderful boyfriend for all the photos! This was the first 5K I've done since Fall of 2012. Not that I've avoided 5Ks, but just always put the focus on adding mileage and not really speed training. Last week I received an email that they extended the sign-up for the UPMC Health Plan 5K, and decided to just go with it. To be quite frank, I only did it because I saw that doing the 5K and either the Half or Full Marathon meant you were participating in the Steel Challenge. I saw "challenge" and couldn't pass that up. Competitive much? Medals just steel-ing the spotlight However, I wasn't feeling completely confident in myself about this run. I told myself I should take it as a shakeout run before the Half. Well, after a speedy 3 miles the other day, I found the courage to make this a race worth racing for. IG post after completing 3 miles in 22:04 (there were some stops along the way) I had tremendous support
4 comments
Read more

Week 9 Training Recap

You know how when you get on the bike at the gym, and you can choose that "mountain" option for inclines? So for the first half of the cycle, you'd go uphill, then ride easier downhill for the second half? Marathon training is not like that. And with the humidity we've been having here in PGH, it's as if I'm climbing up the mountain even steeper than before. My legs were definitely hungover from last weekend's half marathon up at Presque Isle. Monday's rest day, aka: the days that I double at work, was incredible; I pretty much stayed seated unless absolutely necessary or to stretch my tired legs. I made sure I was taking in enough protein and electrolytes to help my legs recover as best as possible.  Presque Isle Half Marathon Here's how this last week's running went: Tuesday: 4 Easy/Recovery Miles. 9:10 avg pace. I had a super busy day off of doctors appointments, errands, meetings, and meeting up with fri
3 comments
Read more