Year In Review - 2025 Goals

My fellow runners, welcome back to Unexpected Abundance. It's been a while since we've chatted, and I hope you've all been healthy, happy, and most importantly, running. I was busy enjoying fatherhood, going through life changes, and spending time with the family through the holiday season. I thought about you guys a lot, but to be honest, I didn't feel the motivation to blog. The idea of blogging gave me anxiety, and I put it aside until I knew it was time to come back.

With 2025 underway, I'm excited to get back into blogging and focus on developing more content for you guys. Before I break down my plans for 2025, I wanted to give a quick recap of my accomplishments in 2024. I started the year with a bang, signing up for the LA Marathon in March, with my training already underway for a few months prior to officially signing up. I completed the race in 6 hours and 39 minutes, a disappointing result that hurt my confidence. My goal was 5 hours, but my lack of preparation and the race proved to be too much for me. A few weeks later, I completed the Hoag OC Half Marathon in Costa Mesa, CA with a time of 2 hours and 30 minutes. I was really content with the result because I went straight into half marathon training after the LA Marathon, and I completed the race without stopping once! It seems like a silly thing to get excited for, but I was really proud of myself. I felt confident again as a runner and knew that I could build off of this. A month later, my wife and I welcomed our son into the world, and I took a break from running for the next few months. Not because I was lazy, but I really took the time to enjoy those first few months with my son.

Fast forward a few months, I began to train for the Mission Inn Half Marathon in Riverside, CA that was held on October 20th. Truth be told, I did minimal training for this race. With the baby growing and my work schedule being demanding, training was not a top priority. My longest run in prep was 5 miles, and I struggled a bit keeping a half marathon pace. I was nervous leading up to the race, but with the course being flat, I felt confident that I could power through and complete the race. I finished the race with a time of 2 hours and 32 minutes, only 2 minutes slower than my previous half marathon time. I was very surprised and happy with my time because I had a strong middle portion of the race where I was in a good mental state and each stride felt easy. Towards the end, I faced a tough uphill portion that wore me out, but to complete a race with minimal training only 2 minutes slower than my PR was very encouraging.

As 2024 ended, I didn't train or prep for a race. I just ran to keep my conditioning, and it's been very relaxing to just run and try different things that I wouldn't necessarily try while preparing for a race. Overall, I ran 2 half marathons, one full marathon, and I ran a total of 469 miles throughout the year. To some, it may seem like a lot, and to others, it seems like a little. To me, it was another year of running. It was another year of challenges and opportunities to become a better runner. The 469 miles represented a year's worth of hard work, and it was a great learning experience.

As we head into 2025, my top priority is to lose weight and get faster. I am getting away from the long race preps for marathons and half marathons, and will focus on shorter races, including 5ks and 10ks. I want to run these races and use different training plans, which I plan on sharing with you guys later on. I want to test different plans and see what works best for me, so I can later share with you. I'll definitely work on doing different challenges, running different trails, and being a better overall runner. Most importantly, I want to blog more consistently. With a family and job, it gets tricky to sit down and write for a few hours. But I am refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready to deliver the best content for you guys.

Nice to see you guys again. Can't wait for the next conversation!

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Until next time, happy running!