2014

As a new year starts, I like to take the time to reflect on the past year and set some goals to help me improve in the coming year.  2013 was a good year.  It is the first time in a long time that we haven't moved or had plans to move soon.  Even though the start of the year was a big adjustment, I have truly come to enjoy our home and the place we live.  I feel like we are finally where we are supposed to be and I can focus my time and energy on other things.  My callings this year have helped me to grow and I have a feeling that as the year progresses I will find this to be true even more.  I am completely terrified to teach the Old Testament-- I have never read it and I know nothing about it.  As I prepared my first lesson for this Sunday I can already tell that I am going to be the one most blessed and that I am going to learn a lot!  I feel like I have come a long way physically, I exceeded my expectations for Boston and I am looking forward to continuing to improve.  I love that my running gives me something to work for.  I have come to truly enjoy my time at home with my kids and even though I still get burned out and fed up, I know that this is where I belong and that someday I will cherish this time and these memories.    

Goals from last year: 

Spiritual:

1.  Continue to attend the temple monthly, with Matt --  this has been a goal of mine for almost 3 years and it is something I look forward to and need.  I may have missed a month this year, but made up for it by going twice several months.  

2.  Spend more quality time with my kids -- I am still working on this, but feel like I have improved a lot.  I don't know that I'll ever be one of those moms that can ignore a messy house and sit for hours and play cars and barbies with my kids, but I have tried to show them that I can stop what I am doing sometimes to play a game or get them something they need.  I'm sure that as they get older and get into school I won't have this time as much so I hope that they can learn to trust me and talk to me now.

3.  Have family prayer daily --  This is hit and miss for us.  I have been through phases where I am really good at doing it, especially in the mornings as they leave for the day and I can tell it makes a big difference when we do.  I need to be better about remembering.  Still going to work on this in 2014.

Fitness:

1.  Continue to strength train 2x/week -- I have done very well with this.  I am learning to like weights and can tell a huge difference in my running (mainly not getting injured as much)

2.  Eat healthier/drink less Diet Coke --  this is a goal I have had for several years.  This year is the best I have ever done at it.  Training for a marathon helps me a lot to keep my eating on track and I know it makes a huge difference when I eat good foods and enough good foods.  I've also done a lot better with drinking less Diet Coke, I completely gave it up for over a month when I was training for Boston.  I'm a little less dedicated now but still try to limit myself.  It makes me feel so crappy, I don't know why I drink it, but I do.

3.  Keep track of my yearly mileage running (trying to hit 1500)  -- I ran just over 1428 miles in 2013.  Not quite my goal, but very close!  The first half of the year I ran a lot more because I was training for Boston.  June was also a high mileage month with Ragnar.  My highest weekly mileage was 45 miles... the week of Ragnar.  I had a few others come really close to 40.  My average weekly mileage was 27.5   July and August were my lowest mileage months because I was burned out.

Goals for 2014:

Spiritual:

1.  Continue goals from last year -- temple monthly, time with kids, family prayer daily

2.  Improve personal prayers

3.  Be Positive -- Choose Joy

Fitness:

1.  Continue goals from last year -- more specifically eat more vegetables and run more than 1500 miles

2.  Break 3:20 marathon -- last year I ran Boston in 3:25, I am currently planning to run Ogden in May and  hope that a very strict and intense training plan (that bumps me up to a higher mileage than I've ever run) will get me there