21 Promises Status Update

This has officially been the most insane year ever!! I've been hit from every possible angle both personally and professionally.  Just the other day, I realized that October is over...WHAT?! It was January like yesterday and then I blinked and...POOF, just like that, it's mid-November!

So it's been quiet here on my blog page and I apologize profusely for the crickets. I'm now in the process of feverishly writing and posting all the race reports that are now (very) late but hey, better (very) late than never, right??? Stay tuned folks, blog posts are coming!!

Given that we're now less than two months from the end of 2014, it's probably a good idea to pause for a moment and take the pulse on my 21 Promises before the rest of the year gets away from me. 

I really wish I  had a working one of these right about now!

So here we go...

21 Promises

1. Complete a very challenging trail half-marathon. STATUS: Completed!! North Face Endurance Challenge, June 8, 2014!!

2. Run a 1:48 half-marathon. STATUS: Ummmm...

stupid leg

3. Complete 15 road/trail/obstacle races. STATUS: Number of 2014 races completed to date...seven. [stupid leg]. I've got four more races on my calendar. I'm no mathematician but it's not looking good for this one. Perhaps I could convince the judges that the DC Ragnar Relay should count as three races since I ran three different legs- but that still only leaves me at 13.

4. Set personal records in 4 distances. STATUS: Number of PRs achieved this year...zero [stupid leg].  BUT I did get my first two age group awards in June (1st Place Team- Female Friends Division, Reston Relay Sprint Triathlon) and July (1st Place Female Competitor- Brick Division, Down and Dirty Obstacle Race DC). How does that happen BTW?! I've been running for years and I don't place in my age group until this year when I've spent more than 7 months injured and unable to train- what sense does that make?! Anyway, I'll have to get creative with this one.

5. Research, select, and sign up for an ultra-marathon for 2015. STATUS: I've done the research, selected and signed up for the North Face Trail 50K in April 2015.  If I'm honest, the training schedule I put together for this one is a bit frightening...makes me wanna throw up a little then take a LOOONG nap.

6. Reach a body fat percentage of 17.5% . STATUS: Frankly, I don't want to know where I'm at on this one... okay, that's a lie, I got assessed this week and it's not close :( My injured leg combined with no sleep and mass quantities of stress have severely hampered my ability to make progress on this one. Gotta get refocused but with the holidays right around the corner, this is gonna be a challenge.  Oh wait, I have an idea...

What?! I COULD work. Plus, it's fast, easy and fun!

7. Get fitness assessment score of 450 by June 1^st. STATUS: Done! I scored a 454 in January 2014 (right before I got injured...WHEW!)

8. Take 2 SUP classes & do 3 practice sessions. STATUS: Sadly, not going to happen this year.  I had one class and one practice session before the cold weather moved in. 

Not cool, Dr. Evil...

9. Complete 2 indoor rock climbing classes. STATUS: Must schedule classes ASAP!!!!

10. Complete a sprint-distance triathlon. STATUS: Completed June 1, 2014!!

Brrrr!!

11. Learn to swim (pool and open water). STATUS: I'm not sure you'd call it "swimming" per se, but I did travel for a full 400m while NOT drowning during my triathlon so I'll call this one partially complete! I have been swimming twice a week since the triathlon as well so I'll be a swimmer any day now.  As for open water, probably a little late in the year to try that one.  Perhaps if I wore a wetsuit...yeah, probably not.

12. 3 unassisted pull-ups (from a dead hang). STATUS: DONE!! 

13. Improve lifting technique and increase weight by 25% for snatch, front squat, and overhead squat. STATUS: Complete!! And I get bonus points for adding 100lb Clean and Press to this Promise, just sayin! Earlier in the year, I got a ton of great guidance on improving my lifting technique and despite the injury, I am proud to call this one is done!

14. Launch goRun in the Spring and grow it to more than 50 members. STATUS: Launch complete! Current membership number (not including me) stands at 37. Better get busy recruiting...

15. 20 blog posts. STATUS: Well...you know...I'm working on it.

16. Be nicer to Alison. STATUS: I've had a few significant setbacks but I've also made major improvements here.  I feel like I'm on the right track now and at this rate, the average (all things considered) should easily allow me to call this one complete by year end.

17. No more soda. STATUS: So far so good. 2014 has been soda-free to date!

18. Go to an amusement park. STATUS: DONE!!! Just barely squeezed this one in but I spent a day at Hersheypark in the Dark. Rode every roller coaster in the park and even won some new friends in the arcade. So. Much. Fun.

19. Get a coaching or fitness certification. STATUS: Done! RRCA-Certified as of June 2014! More certifications in process too!! YAY me!! Working on a few other certifications now.

20. Read 6 books. STATUS: Number of books read so far this year...two :(

21. Inspire someone else to do something awesome. STATUS: I've seen a number of people do some pretty awesome things this year; HOWEVER, I feel very strongly that I shouldn't be the judge of (a) whether something rises to the level of "awesome" and (b) whether I actually inspired said awesome thing. Therefore, I've decided to wait until the end of the year and poll everyone I know to see what their thoughts are on this one.  Stay tuned!!

So it would appear I've got some work to do- 11.5 Promises to get done and only 40 days to do it.  Fasten your seat belts kids, it's going to be a crazy six weeks!