At the start of the year, I set six major goals, each with a number of mini goals embedded in them. When I look at them now, I don’t think they were overly ambitious, in fact, unlike previous years, they were quite achievable. But this year has just felt off for me, fitness-wise. Admittedly, I’ve been juggling a lot more than usual especially on the work-front, which could have contributed to this, but I also just haven’t felt focused on my fitness – I seem to be missing the fire, enthusiasm and energy I usually have when chasing my goals. But with 6.5 weeks left to the end of the year, I’m not going to let that stop me from trying to finish this lacklustre fitness year with a bang. Who says I have to wait for New Year to re-focus? Special mention to Jenn from Runs with Pugs who inspired this post with a similar post she did last week.

My End-of-Year Goals

1: Start 12-Week Half Marathon Training Programme: After my ultra-trail in March, I really struggled to get back into training mode. Initially, I was fine with this, telling myself that it’s okay to just run for fun without having to train for something in particular. But I now realise that for me I’m at my best and happiest when I’m actively training for something. So, this week I downloaded a 12-week Half Marathon Programme which starts fairly easy with some 4 and 5km runs before building up. I’m aiming to stick to this structure so I finally feel in flow again.

2: Run all the Races: What I’ve loved about this year is participating in so many races. There are a few races left which I’d love to do: the Movember Half Marathon, the UB Marathon and the SPAR Community Challenge. For all races, I’ll do the 10km option. Then there is also the 10×10 Gaborone Striders Challenge where you run 10km daily for 10 consecutive days.

3: Start Strength and Cross-Training:

• Strength-train twice a week for at least 15 minutes at a time.
• Kgale Hill 1x a week.
• Spend 1-week with a fitness club

This goal is about adding an extra layer to my fitness regime. When it comes to strength and cross-training, I really lack discipline. Let’s see what I can do in the next 6 weeks.

4: Eat, Sleep and Drink Better:

• Drink 1.5 – 2L of water a day
• Sleep between 9 – 10 pm
• Improve my eating habits (less chocolate, healthier snacks, better portion sizes)
• Schedule two health check-ups: mammogram and dentist.

5: Run in Five New Places:

• My goal for the year was to run in 15 new villages/ towns. So far, I’ve managed 10 so I only have five left! I’ve done three in Ghana – Accra, Senchi, Atimpoku, three in South Africa – Bloemfontein, Addo, Port Elizabeth, one in Tanzania (Dar-es-Salaam) and three in Botswana – Khudumelapye, Molepolole and Phikwe.
• Run Every Street Project: Complete Block 3 and start Block 6.

BONUS GOAL: Write 100 Blog Posts. I’m pushing hard! This blog brings me to 68 so I’m quite confident that if I stick to my schedule I’ll get there!

I love setting goals and planning how I am going to achieve them, but this year my execution hasn’t been the best. But I am not going to wait until New Year to start over — so here is me doing my very best to finish this year with a bang!

Do you have any end-of-year goals? Are you on track to achieving the goals you set in 2022? Or have you also had a bit of a lacklustre fitness year?

I’m joining the link-up, Runner’s Roundup with Mile By Mile, Coach Debbie Runs, Confessions of a Mother Runner, Runs with Pugs, and Running on Happy! Hop on over to their blogs and others and be inspired!