Shiny and New

Here it is, day one of the start of a new year. For the past week or so I've been reflecting back on my 2011 and trying to thing of a great post to sum it all up. In fact, I put this off for so long, because I didn't reach my goal for 2011 and it's hard to put it in writing. Not that I feel like a complete failure, I don't, really....but I'm just not sure I want to share my disapointment with the world.

But...here is it. In 2011 I decided to set the goal to run 1,011kms. This would've averaged approximately 15k/week. Which in the sparkling new year seemed very possible, everything seems possible on January 1st.

This is how my year in running actually went:

Total KMS in 2011: 643kms!

I don't think this tells a whole lot about my year though. I started off strong in the year and was averaging 70-100km/month until summer, when I completely fell flat. I think I ran a lot, more than I ever have in my life. I also think I burned-out. I was gung-ho early in the year and had a hard time keeping up the motivation by fall.

I also learned some valuable lessons about setting outrageous goals:

• don't set a crazy goal without a solid base: I had never kept track of mileage before so I really didn't know what my average k/week really was.
• don't set a crazy goal without support: I didn't realize how much I needed the support of my husband and family to reach this goal, and neither did they. 
• don't set a crazy goal at the same time of other life changes: I started a new job in January which completely changed my running schedule, which I didn't account for.
• don't set a crazy goal for just one reason: I lost motivation and didn't have any back up to support the cause, other than logging kms in the spreadsheet.

However, in 2011 I:

• Trained for and completed my first 10miler (1:45)
• Set a major PR in 5K (27:02)
• Started running with a running buddy
• Inspired my daughter to run cross country

So what about 2012. Well, I know not to set up some goal that I will probably not keep throughout the year. I will try to maintain some level of mileage. I can only go up from here. Maybe the 1,000km goal is still there, but understanding that it may not be as easy as I once thought. Maybe it's more of a long term goal.

I also want to push myself to do something different, to keep my interest in running. I'm thinking about more fun runs, just running for the sheer joy of it and not for any other reason.

So here are some very general goals for 2012:

• Run a trail race
• Run a +10k race
• Run with my kids
• Run with my husband
• Run with a friend(s)
• Keep chasing after more k's!

What are some of your fitness goals for 2012?