2019 Goal Results

Another year in the books and another set of goals to review. Here's how my 2019 goals turned out:

1. Run a PR in the 50K

Like a lot of my goals over the past few years, this one was derailed due to injury. I wanted to do the Afton 50K in July, but ended up spending February through April with a foot injury, during which time I averaged 30.5 miles a month from February through June. February was the month my foot really started bugging me toward the end, and I only ended up running 80 miles that month, all during the first three weeks, and then I only ran three miles in March and seventeen in April. There was no way I was going to PR in a 50K in July, and though I toyed with the idea of running the Surf the Murph 50K after I ran Twin Cities Marathon, I had developed a new foot injury, so I (with the help of Laura) decided against it.

Result: 0%

2. Write 52 blog posts

I almost feel like I cheated on this one. I was way short of posts coming into December, but I had a bunch of book reviews sitting in my drafts that I wasn't sure if I was going to publish or not (I still have a few more). Since I really wanted to hit this goal, I decided to go with them and reached 53 posts by the end of the year.

Result: 100%

3. Submit two stories to Runner’s World

I submitted two, and I felt pretty good about them. Alas, they were not accepted.

Result: 100%

4. Raise $1310 for Team World Vision

Thanks to the generosity of friends, family, and acquaintances, I raised over $1500.

Result: 100%

5. Break 18 minutes in the 5K

I did it, though I just squeaked under 18 minutes with a 17:59 at Juliette's Race. I'm a little proud of this one because with a quarter mile left I was almost certain I couldn't get under 18 minutes and thought about slowing down. Instead, I pushed myself as hard as I could and made my goal for the year.

Result: 100% 

This was one of my best years for meeting my goals. I spent some time looking over past goals, and it was nice to get some perspective on my past goals and to get some ideas for goals moving forward. 

By my count, this year I met my goals by 80%. A good number as I don't want to set the bar low enough that it's easy to clear, but I also want goals that are attainable.

In my next post, I'll lay out my goals for 2020.

Happy New Year!