New Year, New Goals

Better late than never, here are the big goals for 2011. This is going to be an amazing year full of big milestones and travels. The challenge: making realistic goals that are attainable but challenging. 2010 I met 2 of my 3 goals, which I am VERY proud of. I ran my marathon and got my teaching job, both of which I thought would be the harder of the three goals. So, 3 more goals to help make me a better athlete/person in the new year:

1) Donate Blood. When I first donated, I had a terrible experience, passing out on the floor at work and making a huge scene. The Red Cross says that less than 30% of first time donors return for a future donation. I don't want to be that person, so I am going to give it another shot and donate at least one time this year. One in 3 people have my same blood type (O+) so I am sure it will go to good use :) January is National Blood Donation month, btw.

2) Improve my PR's across the board. That means a faster 5k, 10k (not sure I have a PR for this), half and full marathons. If I am a good girl and run regularly, this should be attainable. More interval/speed training is also gonna make this one a reality. Setting a time just wasn't realistic last year, and I don't think it will be this year either. So progress, no matter how small the amount, is the focus of having an injury-free year. I also thought about running a minimum of 3 times a week every week, but travel is going to make that prohibitive. I am still going to try to run at least 3 times a week, but not going to sweat the weeks where this isn't possible.

3) Run (not walk) a full marathon. No stopping and walking like Nike Women's Marathon. This means making sure I don't get injured in the race by training longer and smarter. When I go back to San Francisco in October, I am going to bring it! And, my Marathon PR should improve if I am not walking around the lake.

Writing goals down is the first step to making them a reality. Help me out and hold me accountable folks! When I am not blogging, it usually is because I am not running and ashamed to show my face in bloggyland. Here's to more miles, more posts, and more pints in 2011!