She Runs by the Seashore

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Since I didn’t meet any of my 2017 running goals, I can only improve in 2018, right? Or stay the same, I guess, but I’m planning to work on these this year, and one is easier than the others (see No. 4).

Running Goals

1. Run 2,018 kilometers. Why kilometers? Because 2,018 miles is a seemingly unattainable goal for me at this time — hundreds of miles above what I’ve run in any other year — and 2,018 kilometers seems reasonable. Someone brought this idea up on the Runner’s World Run Streak Facebook group, and I thought it seemed like a cool one. If I meet this goal, I’ll run 1,253.93 miles, which would be my highest mileage year ever. However, the 2,018-kilometer number is doable because my highest mileage in a year — 2016 — is just about 30 miles less than that.
2. Finally get that sub-50-minute 10K. Since setting this goal in 2014, I’ve only gotten farther away. However, I think if I do some speed work and strength training, and lose a little bit of weight, I could really make this happen this year. I’m going to choose this as my PR-focus distance this year, rather than trying to set a personal record at all races, and then after I accomplish this, I’ll choose a different distance to focus on next year. However, it would be nice if I end up getting some other PRs along the way! I may not be giving myself enough time, but I’m hoping to be able to do this at the Run for the Animals 10K in April, where I may also have a shot at an age group course record. If it doesn’t happen there, I have the rest of the year.
3. Run a 10-mile race in under 1:30. This wouldn’t be a PR for me, unless I can surpass my 2012 time of 1:19:42 (which is highly unlikely at this time), but I think running the distance in under 1:30 — less than a 9-minute pace, would be a big accomplishment for me. I haven’t done that since the Tim Kennard River Run in 2015, when I ran 1:28:59.
4. Run a race on my birthday. My birthday is on a Saturday this year, so I would love to run a race on my birthday, which is Oct. 27. I’m thinking about the Seaside 10 Mile Run again — although the date hasn’t been released, it was on the Saturday of my birthday weekend this year. With all the races I have done, I have never run a race on my birthday. It will be exciting to ring in age 28 with a race!

Blog Goals

1. I will keep up my goal of having more blog views than the previous year. I want to continue to grow my readership and following each year. I have had more blog views each year so far, and I want to keep this up.
2. Reach 300 blog email/WordPress followers. I’m currently at 172 email/WordPress followers, and 300 seems like a reasonable yet potentially challenging goal to get to. You can follow my blog from the homepage here, if you aren’t already.
3. Reach 800 Facebook likes for my blog page. I’m currently at 605. Help me get closer to 800 here.

Have you set any goals for 2018? Let me know in the comments! 

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