She Runs by the Seashore

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Happy 2017! It’s that time of the year to be setting goals, so here are my running goals for the year.

Two of them are holdovers from last year — and the goal to run a 10K in less than 50 minutes has been a goal since 2014, so hopefully that will actually happen this year.

1. Run a 10K in less than 50 minutes. As noted above, this has been a goal for a while. While I got close in 2014, I haven’t been as fast in general during the past two years. I’m also hoping to set an age group course record at the Run for the Animals 10K, and this would be a great way to do that (although I don’t have to run under 50 minutes to break the record).
2. Get a PR in the marathon. Five marathons down, and my fastest one is still my first one! I have had it in my mind that I would like to PR at The Louisiana Marathon. While I’m going to try and it’s not out of the question, I’m not sure if I have been running fast enough to break a 4:17:45, my current PR. If it doesn’t happen in Baton Rouge, I do have two other marathons on the schedule for 2017: The Richmond Marathon and the Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon.
3. Run more than I did this year. Since I started tracking my mileage in 2011, I’ve run more year after year. In 2011, I ran 625.8 miles. In 2016, I ran 1,223.42. It’s unlikely I will run more every year for the rest of my life, but I’d like to run more in 2017 than in 2016, even though I did meet my 2016 goal.
4. Drink more water. I was doing OK with this when I first got my Fitbit in March (I track my water intake through the app), but I’ve slacked off on drinking enough water throughout the day, and I think it sometimes impacts my running. I want to stay more on top of this, and I even added a category on my running Excel sheet to mark whether I met my water goal.
5. Lose weight. Yes, this is a cliche new year’s resolution, but it is something I want to work toward this year. Despite my highest-ever mileage month in December, my weight is higher than it should be, and I would like to healthily lower my weight. I’m still going to eat desserts, but hopefully in moderation.
6. Bike more. While not running, this is cross-training. I got my bike in September and haven’t been biking as much during the dark winter months, but I definitely want to get out there more this year.

Well, six goals is probably enough, although some of them are easier than others (drink water: easy; run under 50 minutes in the 10K: not so much).

And here are my blog goals for 2017:

1. Once again, have more blog views than the previous year. It would be great if this increases every year! It did from 2015 to 2016.
2. Get to 600 Facebook likes. I’m almost at 400 likes, so this may be a lofty goal, but why not try? (Like my page on Facebook here.)
3. Get to 160 WordPress/email followers. I’m currently at 80, so this would double my following. (Follow my blog from the homepage here.)
4. Have a giveaway. I really want to start doing giveaways on my blog, so stay tuned!

Read about my 2016 year of running and reflection on last year’s goals here.

Like She Runs by the Seashore on Facebook here.