Looking Back at 2012 (Goals)

Before I dive into my 2013 New Year's Resolutions, I want to take a third and final look at 2012, this time at where I stand in relation to the goals I set in 2012.


Straight from the January 1st, 2012 post Kickin' Off 2012, here were my 2012 "goals" and the results come the end of the year.

Personal Athletic Goals for 2012

1. Test Paleo diet while in training (I'm thinking around March).  Done!  I started HERE in April and it went bad.  My body simply could not adjust while in training.  I've stuck with about 50% paleo foods, but have not been able to go 100%. 
2. Finish an Iron-distance triathlon.  Done!, B2B on 10/20/12
• Finish Beach to Battleship in 10 hours  Not quite.  11:03:21
3. Plan out the Sprint, Oly, and Half schedule for reaching the 10 hour Ironman (due mid-January).  Fail.  I wrote it out, but it took a lot longer.
4. Compete in 12 races over the year.  Fail!  I raced 11 times in 2012, missing one sprint tri in the mix.  So close!
5. Compete in at least one sprint, oly, half, and full triathlon throughout the year.  Done!  I did 5 sprints, 2 olys, 1 half, and 1 full! 
6. Compete in my 2nd Half Mary (Finish in under 1:30)  Done and Done!  Hogsback Half Marathon in 1:27:14
7. Complete a marathon training schedule.  Fail!  I've built up to the marathon distance, but have not kept up the full mileage and schedule. 
8. Get certified as a personal trainer.  Done!  NASM certified!
9. Participate in one new type of athletic event (ie. Run for your lives).  Fail! 

Non-athletic, personal, professional, financial goals...

1. Eat healthy
• Continue making regular use of Paleo foods.  Done!
• Avoid grocery store aisles as much as possible; stay in the produce, meat, and dairy departments.  Done!  I avoid the aisles by habit now.
• Cook at home.  Done!  I see no point not to cook at home.
2. Curfew of 10pm except for work in order to preserve my sleep schedule.  Not a complete success, but I've made better than in previous years.  My 2012 Average bed time was 11:07pm.
3. Listen to my body & make recovery more of a habit.  Done!  I'm getting much better, but still have plenty of room to improve.
• No putting off stretching, icing, heating, and healing in general
4. Maintain a positive budget 8 out of 12 months.  Done!  Only went red for three months.
5. Increase savings by 50%.  Fail!  Not even close. 
6. Find something to be happy and smile about every day (Daily Smile).  Fail!  I lost track of this one early on, but I've certainly become happier throughout the year!
7. Continue personal reading.  Done!  I don't have a tally of the number of books, but I've always got one on my bedside table.  Currently reading A Game of Thrones.

Keep up with these and all of my previous goals under the GOALS tab above.

These include....

1. Break my Lake T Sprint Tri PR.  Done!  I broke that PR in ever solo race this year!; 5 for 5!
2. Break my Olympic Tri PR.  Done!  Crushed the Litchfield PR and set a Lake T PR.

All-in-all, I completed 12 goals and failed 7.  That's a 63% rate of success and 37% of failure.  I'll take those odds!

Overall, not a bad year.  And there are definitely some changes I'll make in 2013 based on the failures above.

Next up...

My 2013 Resolutions

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Questions
1.  Do you set resolutions or goals?
I know some people prefer to not set goals and others that have them planned out months in advance.  Which side do you fall on?  Goals keep me moving forward, so I like 'em. 

2.  How did you do on your 2012 goals?  Do you feel you set them high enough, too high, or too low?  Will you adjust how high you set them in 2013 based on where you finished in 2012?
2013 will be adjusted in my books for where I landed in 2012 as did 2012 in relation to 2011. 


Dream.  Believe.  Achieve.