Welcome to 2020! I can’t believe that it’s finally here! While 2019 was a great year for me, I’m ready to move forward. Just like in previous years, I’ll be reflecting on my goals from 2019 and sharing my new goals for 2020!
I’m linking up with Kim and Zenaida for Tuesday Topics!
Looking Back at 2019
2019 turned out to be a really big year for me in some unexpected ways! My main priority with running was to ease my way back from plantar fasciitis. Thankfully that worked out, but any other running goals I had were sidelined once I became pregnant! Obviously, that’s been the biggest thing to happen this year, but let me give a quick recap on how things went based on my 2019 goals:
Successes
- Staying injury-free. I carefully eased my way back to running after an extremely long road dealing with plantar fasciitis. The Rock ‘n Roll Nashville Half Marathon was my supposed to be my “triumphant return”, and thankfully it was a success!
- Being fearless at work. This was a huge year for me in my career: I worked really hard, stepped out of my comfort zone, and had some great opportunities along the way. I’m extremely proud of what I have been able to accomplish!
- Building a strong marriage. Bret and I have been married for a little over a year now and now we have an addition to the family on the way! Of course, there’s always work to be done!
Failures
- More home-cooked meals. This continues to be a struggle, and being pregnant has made me lazier than ever when it comes to cooking!
- Building up the blog. I had hoped to ramp up blogging this year, but I posted even less than the year before. I still love this place, it’s just been a lower priority as I focus on other things, you know?
- Using the Living Well Planner. I was doing a pretty good job with the planner, but eventually, it became a chore to use it. The large size and the design of the planner just didn’t work for me.
My Goals for 2020
Now that 2020 is upon us, it’s time to set some new goals. This is going to be a huge year for me, so let’s see what I can get accomplished! Instead of using the Living Well Planner, I’m switching back to the Passion Planner to help me reach my 2020 goals!
Running/Fitness
- Give myself grace as I return to fitness postpartum. I don’t want to put any pressure on myself after I have the baby, as I have no way of knowing what the “new normal” will be. I definitely want to get back to working out and running, but I have to be reasonable!
- Incorporate walking into my fitness routine. I gotta walk before I run, and while it’ll be tougher to hit the trails over winter, I look forward to doing more walking, either on my own, with Bret, or with the baby. I think it’ll be a great way to clear my head!
- Run the Philadephia Half Marathon as my goal race for the year. I had to defer this year’s entry to 2020, so I’m hoping by late November I will be ready to run!
Nutrition
- Work on increasing my fruit and veggie intake. Smoothies, salads, side dishes…I gotta make it happen! Thankfully, I know my family will help keep me accountable.
- Cut back on sweets/junk food. I’m just trying to keep my goals simple so that they’re easier to accomplish, lol! The holidays have been terrible, time to refresh!
Career
- Step into more leadership opportunities. I’m not necessarily looking for more side-projects to be involved in, but for the work that I do, I’d really like to delegate more of my tasks and have more of a visionary role.
- Maintain my existing network at work while also branching out. There have been a lot of personnel changes at work lately and it makes me think about how I need to nurture and expand my network. This is a similar goal as last year, but I want to be more proactive in 2020!
Personal Life
- Learn to navigate mommyhood! It’s still crazy for me to think that I will be a mother! I know that I will constantly have things to learn and I have to be patient with myself. It’s going to be a huge challenge!
- Continue reading more books. My goal for 2019 was to read 30 books and I made it to 32! I don’t want to give myself a numeric goal for 2020, but I want to continue to read books of various genres and take advantage of audiobooks!
- Bond with my neighbors. I am very fortunate to have some really good neighbors. Now that we will have a child, we’ll have a lot more in common with them, as we had 3 or 4 newborns in the past year alone! I can be a hermit sometimes, but I want to stay connected and make more of an effort. Everyone has been so nice and supportive.
Run With No Regrets
- Keep engaged with the BibRave Pro team. I’m back on the team for 2020, and I hope to have more product reviews and some local, shorter-distance races that I can participate in/promote.
- Get rid of unnecessary blog expenses. I ended up with a net loss on the blog this year, which is a bit of a bummer. It’s mainly because I didn’t do as many sponsored posts while some of my expenses crept up. Cutting costs will be most realistic for me as I manage my new work/life balance!
- Stay connected on Instagram. It can be hard to dedicate time to write a full blog post with a busy schedule, but it’s really easy to write a paragraph or two on Instagram. I’m going to try to do that as often as I can. My username is @runwithnoregrets, let’s keep in touch!
What are your biggest goals for 2020? Let’s support each other and help keep each other accountable this year!
Not really a goal person. But I want to run happy and pain free.
Happy new year. Anxiously awaiting new baby news.
Running happy and pain free is always a good thing! Thank you, Happy New Year!
I love your goals for 2020, and also how well you did in 2019 given your pregnancy! I love your goal re: learning to navigate mummyhood. Being a mum brings so many unexpected changes so always remember to be kind to yourself, to be patient when you don’t always get things right, and to see other goals accomplished as a bonus. You are going to be awesome.
Thank you so much, Shathiso! I know it’s going to be quite the adventure, and I don’t want to set myself up for disappointment! Happy New Year!
2019 has been such a big year for you!
I really love your goals for 2020, especially incorporating walking into your postpartum fitness routine. I think that people (including me!) tend to underestimate how healthy walking is for the body! It’s something that I will plan to incorporate more in 2020 as well.
2020 is really going to be an exciting year!! You’re smart to be realistic in your return to running after the little one arrives. The running will always be there, but those first few days, weeks, months are a special time with a newborn 🙂
Definitely need to give yourself some grace and slack in the coming months. Having a newborn really throws you for a loop. Re the meals-I suggest you cook and freeze as much as possible before the little one arrives
Such great goals Janelle! I especially love that you’re not putting pressure on yourself to get back in shape, but giving yourself grace. We all tend to be too hard on ourselves & push ourselves too hard.
My guess is your won’t have a lot of time to read (other than children’s books), so audiobooks are a great idea. I use them on the many commutes back & forth to my parents.
I completely fell off IG when all the stuff with my parents happened. Even though it hasn’t eased up, one of my goals is to get back to it.
I’m trying the Clever Fox planner, although I heard a lot about the Passion Planner while looking for one! It’s a 6 month planner & also kind of thick . . . I like to travel with my planners, so that’s tough but I also have a lot I try to cram in there!
I’m really just so excited for you.
I didn’t really work out much before, during or after pregnancy, but I think your plan is ideal. No one knows exactly how parenthood is going to be, so take it one step at a time. Late November is a great time to give yourself space to heal, train and get to where you feel good. Best of luck with everything!
You did such a great job of outlining well thought-out goals. I am nowhere near that organized. 2020 is going to be amazing with your new addition!
2020 will be a great year for you! Take advantage of the early days of having a newborn to get some reading done (especially while they are nursing) because after a few months it gets much harder! I remember in the early days I would get comfortable and he would nurse or like 30-45 minutes and then fall asleep and I would do such much reading. Now he doesn’t sit still for more than a couple minutes at a time!
You have some great goals for 2020! I hope you continue to link up with us. I don’t have kids so I can’t tell you what to expect, but what I can say is to take it easy and to take your time. No one expects you to be perfect and to do everything that is expected as a woman, wife, and a a new mom.
I definitely need to work on more home-cooked meals and building up the blog again–I took a giant break from both last year too! Best of luck to you on your goals for this year! I’ve also been doing more “micro”-blogging on IG!