2015 and Beyond

With New Years fast approaching I’ve turned my thoughts to what I hope to accomplish next year.
I’m not one to typically set New Year’s Resolutions, as they tend to be vague and/or overly ambitious and usually don’t last more than a few weeks. However having a clear view of where you want to be and setting goals to get there is a good thing.

So these are some of the goals I have set for myself for 2015:

Reach 100 followers and 3000 views on my blog by January 10
That may seem like an arbitrary and fast approaching date, but I think it’s doable. My blog will be 4 months old on January 10, and at the time of writing this I have 91 followers and 2750 views. Honestly, I’d love to reach 100/3000 before the end of the year, but I’m not sure if that will happen or not. Update: Reached 100/3000 on Dec 24. Merry Christmas to me!

Reach 500 Followers & 10000 Views by the end of 2015
I wasnt one to care too much about my blogging numbers, as I didn’t start this blog to get famous, noticed, or become a “successful” blogger. I started this blog as an open journal. I figured even if I didn’t have many readers I could trick/guilt myself into sticking with my running because I didn’t want to have to write that I had failed and disappoint my (virtually non-existent) readers.

But as my readership grew and I’ve had awesome interactions with my readers I realized that I can support and inspire others through my journey (as well as recieve support when I need it). So of course I’d like to see this blog continue to grow.

As a brief aside, I’d like to give a big thank you to Jason AKA Opinionated Man, as without the various things I’ve learned from him, as well as the opportunities he gives bloggers such as myself to mingle & share their work, I do not think I would have the readership I currently do. If you are a new blogger, just looking to grow your readership, or looking for new blogs to follow definitely go read and interact with OM’s posts and comments and take advantage of his wisdom and advice.

Increase My Presence & Interaction on other Social Media Outlets
Did you know I have a Twitter and an Instagram? They are kind of un-loved, but I’m working on posting on them more. I try to take pictures during my runs and post them on Instagram (as well as pictures of EJ, because he’s so darn cute). Twitter is a bit of a challenge for me. I’m trying to do more than just share my blog posts and Instagram photos, but I’m still trying to figure out what I can say there that I don’t say elsewhere.

Run a Marathon
I know my running goals in my About page say I want to run a Half Marathon by the end of 2015, but I’m several months ahead of those goals. If I keep following the ZenLabs training programs I’ve been using I’ll be ready to run a Half Marathon by June, and a Marathon by Halloween.

Run Disney
Run a few Disney World races. I’ve already registered for the Expedition Everest Challenge and I plan on registering for the Wine and Dine as soon as AP registration opens. If they announce an event to replace Tower of Terror, I’ll register for that one too.

Increase Workout Days
I’m currently running 3 days a week, following the schedule of my training program. In January I’m going to add a fourth “fun run” day where I just run as long and as hard or easy as I want. I’m hoping to also add a cross training day, but I first need to find an appropriate workout/program to follow for that day. Any suggestions would be welcome, keeping in mind that I have a bad back that makes many bending-and-lifting type exercises painful if not impossible.

Beyond 2015
Because of how quickly registration tends to fill up for popular events and many 2016 events open registration in 2015 I’m also looking ahead to what I want to accomplish race-wise in 2016.

I plan for 2016 to be the year of the Disney Races. I want to run every race weekend Disney World hosts in 2016.

I also plan on running as many Disneyland events as I can. My priority is the Tinkerbell, but I will hopefully be able to save/earn enough money to run every 2016 RunDisney event, no matter what park hosts it.

I plan on doing as many challenges as I can. I will definitely be doing the Pixie Dust and the Glass Slipper (which will also give me the Coast-to-Coast Challenge). My biggest debate right now is deciding what to tackle for the Disney World Marathon Weekend.

Because it will be the first event of 2016 for me, and likely only my second marathon, I’m debating how much I want to push myself. Should I take the “easier” route and run the Goofy Challenge (a half marathon followed the next day by a marathon for a total of 39.3 miles over 2 days), or should I push myself and go for the Dopey (5k, 10k, half marathon, and marathon)? I really want to do the Dopey and come January 2016 I will have been running for over a year, so I don’t think it would be beyond me to train and tackle the 48.6 miles in 4 days, but I am a little concerned that I might be a little overly ambitious there. But I guess I have some time to figure that out.

What are your goals for 2015 and Beyond?  Do you think I should try for the Dopey Challenge or just train for the Goofy?