2013 - Goals for the Year

What do I want to see in 2013? Well the biggest and most important goal is to get 'off the injured list'. But big goals are nothing without breaking it down into bite sized chunks. And in a nod to my 'too much too soon' injury, this year is all about keeping it simple and not trying to accomplish stuff my body is not ready for.

Big Goals:

• Progress in my rehab so that I am able to 'run' again. I cannot wait until I am able to run a full 3 miles without having to do walking intervals. Likewise, I can't wait to do a long run again. It's been 5 looonnnggg month since I've gone on a long run. 

• Build strength and flexibility. My PT exercises and work focus on strengthening my core, pelvic floor, hips and glutes. I do a series of exercises every day and do my run/walk 3-4 times a week. Once I 'graduate' from regular PT visits, I'll be focusing on a regimen that will include yoga, more strength training and hopefully a lot of cross training amidst all the running I hope to be doing again this year.

• Focus on building a solid base. I really neglected that last year and have a pretty awful injury to prove it. I will not make that mistake again. That means I will be extremely cautious in increasing my mileage when I am back to running full time. It also means I will be a total zealout when it comes to stretching, recovery methods and fueling my body. I will be a smart runner who doesn't take chances. I love it too much to allow this sort of injury to occur again.

• Keep the racing to a minimum - no matter how much I am tempted to do other fun races. That means that my first 6 months of the year will be focused on training for Rock and Roll in June and Ragnar in July. Past that, if all goes well, I'd like to do the full Seattle Marathon in November. If a full is too much for this year, I have no problem doing the half instead. But I am not planning on any more and think that keeping the focus on these will be better for my body.

• Not suck at blogging. This was a mirco goal last year....Not sure how well I am doing in this regard but since I now have a full year of blogging under my belt, I'd like to get better, more consistent and savvier. 

And that is it. No crazy big goals this year.....and no specific tiny goals either. Just going to be realistic, listen to my body and go with the flow. We'll see how that approach works in the coming months!