I do not usually ever recap each month.  It’s not that I don’t want to because I think that would actually be pretty helpful.  I just don’t have time or the organizational motivation right now.  Maybe it’s the never ending pile of laundry or dishes but I just can’t seem to find the time to write monthly mileage updates.  I do keep track of everything on my personal running calendar and on Daily Mile.

Every July I like to re-visit my New Year’s Resolutions to see how I’m doing.  It’s my halfway checkpoint to see if I’m on track with my goals.  When I initially write my goals each December/ January I know I will be checking back later halfway through the year to see if I am meeting my goals or at least attempting to meet them.

So here we go…  2012 Goals:

Spiritually-

• Read through the Bible.  I am still working on this.  I am a few weeks behind. (June 19th to be exact) but I am going to get caught up and keep going! I learn something new every day and I know it is more important and helps me more than I’ll ever know.  I am doing all of my daily reading from my iPhone app this year which is a first for me.  It is so convenient and I really have no excuse why I can’t find10 minutes to read.  I just don’t need to put it off until I am so tired I can’t keep my eyes open….

• Memorize the 23rd Psalms with my kids.  I must admit- I completely forgot about this goal! Ughhh. I can’t believe that! I will get busy on this one.  Good thing I checked back on my goals for the year…

Family-

• Be early or at least on time.  Well, we are not usually early but I think we are getting better about being on time.  There is still a lot of room for improvement but I do see progress.  I used to look at a clock with 20-30 minutes to go until we had to leave for somewhere and think, “We’ve got plenty of time…”  Now I use that time to make sure we are getting ready because there are so many last minute things that come up when we are trying to get out of the door (finding shoes, changing diapers, getting snacks, etc.)

Home Management-

• Plan a weekly menu for my family.  This is one of those goals I am getting better at but still needs improvement.  I probably do this about every other week.  

• Save Money.  I am doing better on this one.  We do not eat out nearly as much as we did last year.  I spend less money online.  The place we spend the most money at is WalMart. I need to figure out how to budget our grocery shopping a little better and stick to it.  This is one area I know can improve on.

• Keep the house cleaner(er).  Oh man.  This is a tough one.  I go through phases where I am really on top of it and other days when I can’t seem to get it together.  Having 4 kids home all day during the summer time is definitely challenging.  Ashton is the only one napping on a regular basis.  If he takes a solid 2 hour nap it is a good day.  It’s just so hard trying to keep the other 3 quiet during “rest time.”  Leave it to baby number 4 to be the lightest sleeper.  The only time everyone is calm and quiet is when they are all asleep at night and by that point I am ready for bed myself since I am getting up so early to run.  I need to be better about involving the older kids helping out around the house more.  I know cannot do it all by myself and running a house of 6 is a lot of work.   

The never ending laundry

 Fitness-

• Not get injured.  Considering how much I have raced, I have had a pretty good year.  The only real injury I’ve dealt with has been patellar tendonitis.  My body most definitely has its limits and I tend to push the envelope sometimes… So far this year I have run 2 marathons, 1 15K, 2 10K’s, and 5 5K’s.  The patellar tendonitis has been an annoying, long-lasting injury but I was once again reminded of the importance of resting and cross training.  

• Keep up the CORE challenge.  I started the CORE challenge this past October and I am happy to say I have stuck with it!  Basically I spend about  10-15 minutes a day doing push-ups and ab exercises.  It is not always convenient (especially when I put it off until bedtime) but I make sure I get it done!  Sure, I could up the intensity but for now I know this is doable and I can be consistent.

Running- I broke this down into smaller time goals for each distance.

• Break 20 minutes in the 5K.  Check!  This actually happened in the first 5K I ran of the year at the St. Patrick’s Day 5K in March.  I have ran 4 others and my pace has improved.  It is no secret that my new 5K goal is to break 19 minutes and have a time of 18:xx.  A sub 19 minute 5K is my dreaming big 5K goal.  Hopefully I can do this by the end of 2012.

• Break 41 minutes in the 10K.  Check!  I actually broke 40 minutes which was my dreaming big 10K goal.  In February I ran a time trial 10K which was extremely helpful in making this goal a reality.  When I ran the Capital City Classic 10K in April, everything fell together to make the perfect race.  

• Break 1:31:30 in the Half Marathon. Then break 1:30 in the Half Marathon.  I have not met either of these goals.  But, in my defense I have not raced a single half marathon so far this year.  I really wanted to but could not fit the timing in with my marathons this spring.  Now it is so hot there is not anything close until September.  In fact, I only have one HM on my racing calendar for the entire year and the date is not ideal- September 29th.  I know it will still be hot here in Arkansas.  I’m not sure how realistic this goal is considering I have not been training for a half or racing in them. 2012 was more of the year of the marathon for me.  You can’t race it all.  Maybe next year I can fit in a few more…

• Break 3:20 in the Marathon. Check!  This was the first running goal I met for the year thanks to the 3:19 I ran in the Houston Marathon in January!  Then in March I ran a 3:15 in the Little Rock Marathon.  Both races were hard (is any marathon easy?) but both experiences were incredible!  Since I still have two full marathons still on my racing calendar for the year I have updated this goal.  I would love to beat my current PR of 3:15.  My dreaming big goal would be to break 3:10.  I know I am capable of this time.  I just need to train hard, dig in and reach my potential.