2015 Goals!!

I've been seeing this pop up everywhere and it's making me so excited. 

Like, really, really excited! 

The reason why is I have so many goals planned for this upcoming year that I can hardly control myself when I think about it all. 

You're probably thinking, "Sam, relax. Just breathe."

BUT GUYS. SO MUCH ROOM FOR ACTIVITIES!

I probably sound so annoying to my family and friends because all I want to talk about right now is marathon training, hitting all kinds of PRs with lifting, seeing muscles grow, and how my metabolism is kicking into gear. Not everyone gets it or cares and I respect that but that doesn't mean I can't or won't set goals for myself. 

I can't help it because this is truly my passion in life. People probably think I'm a maniac but I worked my butt off to get to the place where I am now, and I have zero plans of stopping now! 2013 was a rough year with getting back on track, 2014 was when I was able to put a lot of what I learned into practice so now I'm totally and completely ready for this coming year. 

I don't even worry all that much about body image anymore. My body is a temple and a vessel for this life. Honestly at this point if you asked me would I rather lose 5 pounds instantly or be able to go up 20 pounds with my deadlifts, I'd go with the deadlifts. Really and truly, 100% I mean that. I don't focus on what my body looks like, it's about what I can do. 

These aren't resolutions because I don't intend to abandon them by February. These are goals and I have all intentions of chasing and fulfilling them. It's a mixture of everything from personal to fitness-related, so here they are!

1. Start and End My Day with God

I feel like sometimes I can get so rushed that I don't stop to take the time to really set aside quality time with God. Whether it's reading a scripture passage, doing a daily devotional, or a simple prayer. I get emails with encouraging daily scriptures and have a couple apps on my phone that do the same but I don't always commit to reading them on a regular basis. I have a 365-day devotional book by Max Lucado that focuses on a morning devotion and one at night as well. I started reading it again because last year I tried but then I'd skip one in the morning and try to double up at night. Or I'd miss a few days here and there so I'd squeeze a week's worth of them in one sitting. I want to do it differently this time, though, and take the few minutes to read them. I want to fully process it and to apply it to my day. So this year I'm going to read it every morning and every night just like the schedule says! After I read it, I'll make sure to really think about the question at the end and take a couple minutes to answer it. Then, say a prayer about it and try to think back to that morning's lesson throughout the day. 

2. Run My First Marathon

Today marks the official first day of my training and I couldn't be more excited! I was terrified and totally intimidated when I first signed up. When I thought about just how far 26.2 miles is, I'd be in danger of mild hyperventilation but, then something completely switched! I can barely control my excitement when I've been thinking about it the past couple weeks, and I'm itching for May to get here. I'm going to give the next 18 weeks my all, and I'll keep you guys updated along the way! 

3. Finish My Reverse Diet

I'm halfway through at week 10 right now, and I actually start a veryyy mini-cut today for the next two weeks. By mini, I mean it's a 10g carb decrease and 5g of fats just to see what's up with my metabolism. My coach designed it for me that way so she can evaluate how my body is handling everything at the moment. It's not about losing fat or changing how my body looks, it's purely for figuring out if my metabolism is on the right track. I can't wait to see what happens because my body has been feeling really great with this reverse! 

4. Do 10 Unassisted Pull-ups

I will admit, back day is my least favorite muscle group to train. The ironic thing is that it turns out that my back is one of my easiest muscle groups to build. That is all completely due to genetics, and before I lifted I never realized that certain muscle groups are easier/harder to people to develop and grow purely based on their DNA. For me, it's legs and back. I never realized that back was one until about 2 weeks ago when suddenly I was like "is that my lat??" It came out of nowhere because I never take progress pictures of my back. Turns out, though, that my back has much appreciated the extra carbs the past 10 weeks, and put them to good use. I intend to use this to my full advantage and really try to crank out some pull-ups. I do mainly assisted ones now because have you ever tried doing unassisted ones? Yeah, they're hard! I've definitely slacked, and haven't given it proper attention. I want to change that, and focus on building my strength with them. 

5. Squat 185

This may not seem like a huge increase from my current 155 but I have to keep in mind that at a certain point in my marathon training, I'm most likely going to have to give up leg days. The thought causes me pain and makes me sad, but my marathon is top priority. I don't want to be killing my legs every week like I am now when I'll be having to crank out double my usual mileage. It's just not a good idea to not allow my legs the proper rest and recovery that they'll need. So, this goal might have to wait until after May when I'll be able to give my squats the proper attention they need. I would love to get higher than 185 but I also don't want to cause any injuries so I need to stay realistic. Let me be clear when I mean that I want to get to 185. I'm not talking about just being able to do one or two squats with 185. I want to be able to do my usual sets with it like I do now so about 4 sets of 8-10. We'll see what happens!

6. Deadlift 185

Same thing as squats goes for the deadlifts! They're my two favorite exercises so I'm really excited to work on getting my numbers up with them. I'm not training for anything so there's no particular reason for it other than I absolutely love it. That's good enough reason, right?!

7. Do a Fall Half-Marathon

I've done the Pittsburgh half for the past 3 Mays but I would really love to do one in the fall! Running in the fall and winter is my absolute favorite since I love the cooler weather. I think the scenery to do a half-marathon would be beautiful with all the leaves changing and the fresh fall air so that's definitely making my list! I actually have my eye on one that's near a friend of Amanda's so we'd even have a place to stay.

8. Get My Nutrition Certificate

This is something that I've been thinking a lot about, and I finally want to commit to doing it. The whole process of nutrition absolutely fascinates me, and I'm constantly doing research on questions that I have. I bombard my poor coach with questions that don't have anything to do with my nutrition plan but rather I'm just curious about in general! I have learned so much in the past 8 months ever since I started doing macros that I want to bring it full-circle. I always joke around with my family and friends about them being test-clients but hey who knows, maybe someday I'll actually have real clients! That depends on what happens with grad school stuff but I'm even considering getting certified as a personal trainer. Again, we'll see what happens over the next few months!

9. Practice Switching to Intuitive Eating

I've always said that I do not plan on following macros for the rest of my life. It's just not practical and the thought of that is exhausting to me. Even now there are days where sometimes I don't feel like completely tracking and I don't. It's only about once a week, and I don't allow myself to go overboard so it works out fine for me. I just sort of guesstimate and go with the flow. It allows me even more flexibility and mental freedom. Often times a little break is very refreshing!

10. Apply to Graduate School

I'm nearly at the end of getting all my applications together since it's been a very time-consuming process! Plus, writing application essays is never a fun activity so I'm going to be glad when I'm finally done with them. I hope to have everything submitted by the middle of January, and then it'll be a waiting game to see what I hear back!

11. Work on Continuing to Expand the blog

I have fallen in love with blogging, and can't appreciate my wonderful readers enough! I want to keep working on finding new recipes (sorry for slacking in that department), designing new workout plans, and showing others how balance is possible! I originally started this blog to just track my own personal journey but it's grown into so much more. For that, I can't thank you all enough :)

12. Crochet a Sweater

"Is that a typo?" but no, it isn't! Margot taught me how to crochet yesterday and I made myself a new scarf in less than 5 hours! I know, I'm such a nerd but it made me so happy and now I want to crochet everything. My next project is a pair of these boot slippers with buttons but then I want to do some kind of cardigan! Like with the loopy holes and don't worry it's not going to be a grandma sweater. I want it to be cute and nice!

So there you have it! If I think of any others, I'll be sure to add them to this list!

What are some of your 2015 goals?!