Looking Back (briefly) at 2012 and Looking Ahead Towards 2013

I'm hesitant to call this a "Year in Review" post because, quite honestly, there isn't much to review. From a running perspective, 2012 was one of my most inconsistent years. For the first time since I started keeping track, I finished a year with fewer than 1,000 miles (977 to be exact). I didn't set any PRs in any of the races I ran. I did finish my marathon #5 but I was severely under-trained and ran my second worst time. If I had to sum up 2012 in 5 words they would be  life got in the way.

With that said, I do have some goals for 2013:

• Focus on shorter distance racing - I wrote in my last post that we will be celebrating Lil Ansky's Bat Mitzvah in 2013. I don't want training for a full marathon to get in the way of preparing and celebrating this important family milestone. My goal race will be a spring half marathon (still not sure which one yet.). I can put in the time and work at the beginning of the year to train well for a spring half. Coach Jeff has already put a lot of tempo work on my calendar to get ready for the half and for some tune up race. After the half, I will continue to run and bike but with no goals for the summer or fall.
• Cycle more - I started cycling in 2012 and completed my first multi-sport event. If 2012 was about getting to like cycling, I'd like 2013 to be the year I learn to love cycling. I may or may not do another multi-sport event in 2013 but at the very least, I'd like to get out on the bike more often after my half and become a more confident rider.
• Focus on healthier eating - believe it or not, I'm not the healthiest eater. I'd like to make a better effort in 2013 to eat better including finding a way to suppress my sweet tooth.
• Commitment to Consistency - that's Team PRSFIT's mantra for 2013. I'm the first to admit that I skip my strength and core workouts more often than I should. They really do help in becoming a stronger athlete and I need to make a better effort to not blow them off.
• Pay it Forward - I have a lot of people to thank for helping me accomplish my goals. In 2012, I helped a friend accomplish a goal by pacing him to his first half marathon finish. Not every race needs to be about me gunning for a PR.
• Explore - We all have our tried and true running routes. I, for one, am guilty of not liking to drive to start a run and therefore start and end many of my runs near my house. I'll admit that these routes are starting to get boring. They're not very scenic, many of them are through neighboring towns which look a lot like mine. Everything about these routes is familiar, the terrain, the hills, where I can make pit stop, where the convenience stores to refill my bottles. There are so many places in northern Bergen County, Passaic County, and Rockland County (NY) that I'd like to explore and are not too far from my house.

• Have Fun! - let's face it, I'm not getting paid to toe the line at a race. When I commit to race, I often put a lot of pressure on myself during the training the cycle and if I under-perform at race I get disappointed. I guess it's OK to get disappointed if you put in the work but the important thing is to learn from it and move on. I'd like to be able to continue running for many years to come and if it's no longer fun, then I won't stick with it.

So there you have it, my goals for 2013. As you can see, I have only 1 time based running goal for 2013. I think the rest of them are more about keeping things light and fun while planning for and celebrating a very important family milestone. Happy New Year!