Ending the Year with a Goal

Here it is, early December of 2023, and I’m thinking about ending the year with a goal. People usually focus on setting goals for the new year and I’m sure I’ll do that too but I thought it would be best to set a goal for the end of the year. That way I can end the year strong and move into the new year feeling like I can do more.

I signed up for a local 5K being held in the afternoon of New Year’s Eve day, i.e., December 31.

I haven’t run a race since the Towpath half marathon I ran in October 2021. That’s over two years ago, which seems like a really long time. We were still following pandemic protocols so the race was fine but the after-race felt a bit lonely. I’m sure this race will be much more social.

This year has felt like a year without many fitness goals. Lots of thinking about what I’d like to be doing but because I didn’t have anything really set as a goal, I feel like not a lot happened.

I’ve been trying to run recently but it’s been intermittent. So, even though I’ve been running, I haven’t really concentrated on training for a run.

Over this past weekend I went out just to see if I could actually run a 5K. I took off on my normal trail and thought I’d run about 1.6 miles one way and then turn around and run back. That would get me the required distance and I’d be fairly close to home when I finished.

To my surprise, I was able to run the whole distance without having to stop. I confess that there were a couple of times that I had to stop to cross a street and I enjoyed those brief breaks. Why is there not more traffic when you want to stand and watch cars go by while you catch your breath? I felt good after the run. I wasn’t too tired and I wasn’t particularly sore. All good news.

It’s great to have a race on the calendar and to know that I have to get out to train a bit more if I want to run this race successfully.

I know I won’t run it as fast as I would have a few years ago but that’s ok. My goal is to get out there and do it.

Maybe this will motivate me to put more races on my calendar as we move into 2024. Making a commitment really does help me with my motivation and discipline.

Let me know if you’re ending the year with a goal. Or, if you’re planning on starting the new year with some goals.