It's Goal Time 2017

Last year I didn't set any goals on my blog for the first time in several years. My lack of goal setting was partially due to my my lack of success in 2014 and 2015. Instead, I decided to set a couple of private goals, and I met one officially and another unofficially. The three goals I'd set for myself was running under 17 minutes in a 5k, and setting PRs in the marathon and half marathon.

I didn't meet the goal of running under 17 minutes for the 5k. I only ran one 5k in July, and though I likely would have run under 17 minutes if the weather had been more cooperative, my time off from running in June and the first week of July had me in less than peak shape. It was the only 5k I ran, so I never gave myself another chance to break 17 minutes.

My goal of setting a marathon PR was unofficially met. You can read all about the debacle that was the Milwaukee Marathon (parts one, two, and three), but suffice to say I ended up covering almost 30 miles. I took a split at the 26.46 mark, figuring that would be about right considering GPS correction and not running the tangents perfectly. My unofficial split at that point was a PR, so I unofficially met my marathon PR goal.

As for my half marathon goal, I officially met that one, running a PR time of 1:16:09. Everything came together at the City of Lakes Half Marathon. I was in good shape, had a good day racing, and the weather was almost perfect. It felt good to set a PR in the half marathon, especially since my last half marathon PR was over four years ago.

So there's the rundown of my 2016 goals. Three goals seemed like a good amount, so I'll do the same of 2017.

Goal 1: Set a PR at the marathon distance. I'll be running Grandma's Marathon in June, a marathon that won't be in danger of having a mis-marked course. I'm hoping for good weather since running in the heat is tough after training in cold and cool weather in Minnesota's winter and spring.

Goal 2: Break 17 minutes in the 5k. I'm looking to run a 5k in February, and if the weather is decent I'll have a shot. If it's too cold, I'll probably try to run a 5k in the fall.

Goal 3: Set a new indoor mile PR. I'm running a mile race in less than a week, and my training has been going pretty well. I'll have to break 4:52, and I think that based on my training I've got a chance.

These should all be doable goals. I'm looking forward to a great 2017!

Happy Running!