Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014!

2013 was a pretty amazing year with a lot of highs and some lows, all in all it was well balanced.

Now it's 2014 and everyone is talking about New Years Resolutions; I've talked about them and even set my own. Last year I set a lot of emotional/physical/mental resolutions and I kept them in my mind all year long. Well after people stopped talking about their goals, I was still chipping away at them and it made for some great memories.

This year I find myself really just focusing on Spiritual and Physical resolutions. The spiritual ones are really private (read: personal) so I will keep those to myself but the physical ones are rather cliche. I actually want to get to my goal weight this year (or as close to it as I can) but not doing anything crazy that I won't be able to maintain for the rest of my life and I want to continue to participate in 5k/10k events and be a stronger and faster runner.

That is about it. Not easy by any means but extremely important just the same.

Run, Julia, Run

Fitness New Years Resolution at a Glance

I am one of those people that when I get an idea in my head, no matter how crazy and unlike me it seems, I have to do it. When it comes to my body and how I like to keep it active I am more of a dancer but things like CrossFit and running in races really appealed to me because I was so heavy and out of shape that being able to run long distances and lift heavy weights seemed amazing!

I figured I could tackle doing a 5k over Crossfit and I tried my first 5k in 2012. Even though I was in pain, couldn't run or even power walk, I crossed the finish line a little under an hour. Then came a chance to do a 10k four months later, which I did not train for due to being distracted with a broken heart, but boy did I learn my lesson! The 10k took me almost two hours to complete. I really loved the energy of the local running community and decided that if I ever got a chance to register for a 5k or 10k I would do it!

In 2013, 30 pounds lighter thanks to Weight Watchers, clean eating, and some paleo, I did eight 5ks and one 10k. I invited one friend, who invited another friend, and another friend overheard us talking about the upcoming race and she jumped on board too. By years end our crew ranged from 8-10 people. I was so happy that my girlfriends were dedicated and excited for these races and it was super cute to see their supportive husbands join them too.

I was able to not only wog (walk/jog) all of my races but I was able to learn how to deal with various injuries. My ankle is still a little weak but I know how to listen to my body now and I am getting stronger. By the end of 2013 5ks took me 40 minutes (super close to 39 minutes) to complete and my 10k took me 1:28 to finish. Sharing those finish times is a bit embarrassing to me because it makes me feel less of a runner. But you know what? Screw that! Those finishing times represent the miles I logged in on my Nike app as I ran along West Cliff Drive with my dog. I would love to be able to say that I did a 5k in 20-25 minutes or something like that because that would make me feel like a legitimate runner. However, if it takes me 14 minutes or 7 minutes to do a mile it means that I still did it. That's something to be proud of.