Did I Reach My 2014 Run Goals?

There's still a week left in 2014, but I can easily evaluate whether I met my running goals for this year. In my January 1st blog post, I stated five goals for 2014. Did I achieve them? Let's see.

Set at least one new personal record.
YES. I set new 50-mile and half-marathon PRs! Those now stand at 9:04 and 1:32. I can bring them both lower in 2015, but that's a story for next year's goals. I'm very pleased with these two personal bests. This old ultra runner still has some speed left in his legs.

Qualify for the Boston Marathon.
Nope. I needed a 3:25 at the Illinois Marathon. I ran a leisurely race and finished in 3:47. I was happy with that finish. Winter was BRUTAL last year in central Illinois. I didn't get in long runs or speed sessions. My goal for the marathon was to "easily" break 4 hours. Accomplished. Here's my race report from the marathon. It was my first marathon in 13 years. Now I know how hard (or easy) it is to run one. Much easier than trail ultras, but not so easy if I have to push the pace. I'll tackle this sucker again in 2015.

Complete my 100th ultra and/or marathon.
Nope. Even with this past weekend's winter solstice run (30 miles at Clinton Lake trail), I am finishing the year with 96 ultra/marathons. Not even close to 100. But, again, next year will see this goal achieved! Probably exceeded. Easily. Mark my words.

Run between 1500 and 1600 miles for the year.
Yes. I'm at 1534 miles today. I'll have a few more in the next week (but I won't exceed 1600). This was a perfect goal for me. I'll try something similar for 2015. Just enough miles to be effective, but not enough to push me over the limit. I can incorporate speed work, long runs, and ultra races and still remain injury-free. Once I close in on 2,000 miles, I break down.

Stay injury free.
So far so good. If I make it through December 31st, I'll consider 2014 a successful and injury-free year. Proud of this goal. Usually when things start going well for me, I push too hard and screw things up. I was disciplined and consistent this year. Even with the PRs, I kept a level head. This needs to continue next year. Maybe I am FINALLY older and wiser.

So, five goals for the year and I accomplished three of them. Not too bad. I need to start thinking about my 2015 goals. I'll post those on January 1, 2015.