2021 Annual Review & 2022 Goals

If you’ve been in my circle for awhile, you know I started this practice a few years ago after reading Atomic Habits. James Clear, the author, does this annually and he inspired me to do the same.  This is my annual “performance” review based on goals that I set for myself at the beginning of 2021 as well as my 2022 goals.

James mentions in his last annual review that’s it’s uncomfortable to “brag” about himself and his business and to be so vulnerable by sharing some uncomfortable information.  I agree but I figure it’s part of my personal growth process and if it inspires others to do the same, then great!  So here it goes!

2021 Learning Lessons

Before I get into my learning lessons (because I am a sucker for constructive feedback and I was mainly focusing on that until I proofread this), I had a pretty darn epic 50th birthday year! From running distances I never thought possible to finally raising $1M with my Las Bombas 3-Day Team, I’m living my dash!

My biggest learning lesson last year was that I set too many goals in my personal and professional life. I quickly realized that many of those goals would not get accomplished. The biggest reason for this is that I underestimated the amount of training that I had ahead of me. I continuously reevaluated my work load and since it was my 50th birthday year, my running goals were non negotiable. I wanted to make sure I completed those running events as my top priority because you only turn 50 once!

The other big lesson I learned was that even though I love what I do so much, I can still burn out if I’m not taking the time to take care of me. I took it for granted and assumed that my running time could still be down time but it wasn’t enough. Between my mental state at Ragnar and my body shutting down on me at the Breast Cancer 3-Day event in San Diego, I knew I had to make some changes.

I made some changes already because of these epiphanies. I cut my group runs in half and I raised some of my prices (which I haven’t done in awhile).

It’s funny because I didn’t start my business to become a millionaire . Of course I need to pay my bills but the reasons I started my business were to change peoples’ lives and have a flexible schedule. Money has never been a motivator for me. As a matter of fact, my life mission is: “Do the things I love to do, with the people I love to do them with, whenever I want.” Whenever I want, implies needing money but I’m happy to say that I am fulfilling my mission just fine without being rich!  So when I had the aha moments above, I thought “Why am I trying to do so much when I really don’t “need” the money”.  I’m not raking it in but I’m happy as a clam with what I have now.

Now I have to remind myself of this as I move forward in 2022. I set my 2022 goals at the bottom of this post along with my phrase of the year and my vision board.

I’m excited to see how 2022 will unfold!


2021 Personal and Professional Review
  • Running:
    • Zero Injuries
    • Races:
      • Coldwater 52K in January: PRd by 50:56 minutes!
      • Black Canyon 100K on 2/13: PRd by 24:33. My goal was to PR by 1 hour which I may have been able to do if I had crew but I wasn’t allowed to have one due to COVID. Still happy with a 24 minute PR!
      • Mesquite Canyon 3/6: Half Marathon
      • Sinister 9K: placed 3rd female in the 50-59 age group
      • Adrenaline 25K on 5/22
      • Blackout 6K & Big Pine 13K on 6/11-12
      • 5 K Knight Race Series: 5/21, 6/18, 7/23
      • TransRockies Run! Bucket list item complete! 8/2-8/7: 120 miles over 6 days in 8K+ of altitude with 20K feet of elevation gain!
      • HotFoot Hamster: 12 hours: 32.9 miles
      • Jerome Hill Climb: annual tradition
      • Javelina Jangover 50K: First Night Trail 50K: 8:49:32
      • Jackass Night Trail Runs: 5:31:34
      • Ragnar Trail:done
      • Breast Cancer 3-Day: I got sick half way through the event but our team reached our $1 Million goal!  It took us 16 years but we finally did it!
      • December: First 100 miler at ATY on 12/30-12/31 (this will go into 2022 since it ended in this year)
    • Races Virtual:
      • Still I Run 5K: Running for Mental Health awareness
      • Girls On The Run 5K
      • Cocodona Virtual Experience-I knew going into it that I wouldn’t do 250 miles in 5 weeks but I wanted to be part of the first inaugural event somehow
      • Hashke Virtual Race
      • Javelina Jallucinations
    • Random:
      • On 5/7 I got to pace my friend Andre Lee for 17 miles during his Cocodona 250 mile race!

  • Travel:
    • April: Prescott for Whiskey Basin Race
    • June: Flagstaff for Blackout/Big Pine
    • July: Silverton/Kendall Mountain races, Boston to see a friend, VT to meet with my ChiLiving business partners, MA to see family
    • August: CO for TransRockies race
    • September: Jerome Hill Climb
    • October: 2 week trip back east: Boston>Omega Retreat>Pittsfield
    • November: San Diego for the Susan G Komen 3-Day

Professional

    • Copy this blog and update date it monthly starting February. 2/5/21 Done
    • Meditate daily: I should’ve got this number at the beginning of the year because it only gives me the last 12 months and it’s from 3/1. I complete 298 meditations with a daily average of 1.13. If you know me, this daily practice has been a game changer for me!
    • Toastmasters: Goal: 5 Speeches
      • 1 of 5 speeches on 6/24
      • High Performance Leadership Guidance Committee member for Xin Yin
    • The Membership Academy:
      • Set up a road map in the Membership Academy so I can get get clear on my TRU TRIBE goals and be accountable. Did not complete
    • Courses:
      • 2/28 Video Strategy Academy Course (Trena Little):
        • Increase my presence on Instagram and You Tube.  I don’t have goal numbers on this yet but hope to have them as I review this blog monthly. Goal is to re launch You Tube channel in August. Postponed to 2022
      • 6/9 List Builder Society Course (Amy Porterfield) – used info to work on my new newsletter platform
    • Change my newsletter platform-Started with Flodesk on 3/21 and transitioning on 5/17 (day Fitpro expires). Done on 5/17/21 
    • First kayak trip on Salt River for Sylvia’s birthday
    • Co-led my first ChiRunning/ChiWalking retreat at Omega Institute with my business partner Sarah Richardson
    • Met with Eric Deeter: ChiRunning Instructor in Training

Personal

    • Spend more focused time with family:
      • Greg: Monthly Day Date on calendar- better than 2021 but still not a regular practice
      • Mom and Dad: see them at least 1x a week. Started seeing them on Wednesdays once we all got vaccinated. Didn’t track but definitely making this a high priority and have been sticking to it as much as possible.
    • Create 2021 Vision Board on 2/7/21  Word of the Year: Ignite Done
    • Read 7 pages a day (I always say I want to read more but I don’t make it a priority. Following the idea of making it a daily habit rather than worrying about quantity of books). Finished 3 books
      • February: Finished Depression Hates A Moving Target
      • March: Grit & Grace by Tim McGraw
      • April: Let your Mind Run by Deena Kastor
    • Schedule a regular health check up, mammogram and other tests to be done at 50-Done!

  • The Running University 
    • Certified ChiRunners/ChiWalkers :
      • Privates: 11 new CR/CW, 4 ChiRefreshers with Alumni
      • CRCW workshops:
        • 10 graduates on 5/29
        • 9 graduates on 10/30
    • TRU TRIBE
      • Members: 81 (as of 2/21/22)
        • TRU TRIBE Team: Double membership by 12/31/21 to 132.  I was at 66 when I set this goal. In the 3rd quarter I decided I was happy with where I was. I finished the year with 76 members.
      • Guest Speakers:
        • January: Melissa Higdon Fit Focus Me: Building Healthy Habits Through Daily Reminders
        • April: Amy Burnett: Snakes on a Trail!
        • May: Robin Howell: Thoughts and Emotions
        • June: Jacqui Lombari: Hormones & Exercise Performance
        • July: Meg Coon: Goal Setting for Balance & Joy
        • July: Toni B: Intro to Yoga Nidra
        • September: Jacqui Lombari: Hydration & Electrolytes
        • October- Jenn Tarrant: Practical Strategies for Dealing With Grief
        • December- Celebrate with Chi with Sarah Chesterfield
      • Courses/Challenges rolled out:
        • Our Favorite Things: Big list of all of our favorite things from favorite kitchen utensil to favorite running socks
        • Spring Cleaning Challenge: Getting rid of one thing every day of the month
        • How to Pace Your Run: Learn why pacing is important, how to apply it to your training and your race.
        • Step Up Your Cadence in 30 Days: Course with specific drills and homework assignments to improve running cadence
        • Curiosity Challenge : a combination of having new experiences like trying a new recipe, workout and a scavenger hunt of finding the awesome features in Mighty Networks (platform for the TRU TRIBE)
      • Monthly Themes:
        • January: Habits/Goal Setting
        • February: ME!
        • March: Spring Cleaning
        • April: Grounding
        • May: Mental Health Awareness
        • June: New Experiences
        • July: Rest & Recover
        • August: Focus
        • September: Self Care Awareness Month
        • October: Emotional Wellness Month
        • November: Gratitude
        • December: Celebrate!
      • Ladies Training Programs (LTPs):
        • Spring Semester 2021
          • Havasu Half
            • 10 women
          • Dam Good Run
            • 8 women:
              • Two: 1st trail race (one of them is 67 years old!)
          • Whiskey Basin
            • 9 women
              • One: 1st trail race
              • One PR
          • Big Pine
            • 12 women
          • Silverton/Kendall Mountain
            • 6 women
        • Fall Semester 2021
          • 30 people total
          • Jackass Night Trail Runs: 8 total
            • 3 did their longest night trail race
            • 2 did their longest trail race and first night trail race
            • 1 DNF
          • Frenzy: 17 total
          • Goal: at least 10 new ultra runners. Actual: 5
            • 7 did their longest distance
            • 1 did her first trail race
            • 5 did their first 50K (and became ultra runners!)
            • 5 of the 8 50K finishers are over 60 years old! (First one for 3 of them!)
2022 Goals 
I realized I set way too many goals for myself last year, mainly because I turned 50 so this year I’m scaling back:
    • Start Video Academy Strategy Course live on 2/28/22 and relaunch my You Tube by 8/22.
    • Create at least 3 different opt ins for my newsletter by 8/22. When I changed platforms last year, I couldn’t use the same one so I haven’t had one for awhile. These may include ebooks and/or quizzes.
    • Delve in deeper to the Membership Academy. There is a lot of content for membership owners.
    • Continue making the TRU TRIBE my priority. I already have guest speakers lined up through June. I will continue creating good content and courses for them. Not sure yet if I’ll have any goals for increasing membership this year. My ultimate goal (no deadline yet) is to make this 80% of my income. I am taking my time. I am on the Mighty Network Product Council and we looked at my Insights a few weeks ago. Happy to report that they said I have one of the most engaged memberships they’ve seen!
    • Get efficient at having a monthly and quarterly Content Calendars for both of my businesses for social media and the online communities. I’m getting better at weekly scheduling. My goal is to have this nailed down by 5/22
    • Deliver 5 speeches in my Toastmaster club by the end of the year
    • Copy this blog post and update it monthly
    • Spend more focused time with family:
      • Greg: Monthly Day Date on calendar
      • Mom and Dad: see them at least 1x a week
    • Meditate daily
    • No running goals this year! I am recovering from an injury and have decided this year I need to spend more time on my businesses (I don’t mention that much here but the ChiRunning business takes up a lot of my time too!). I do have an ultimate goal to do the Cocodona 250 but that will be on the 3-5 year plan. This year I’ll focus on strength training and technique (always!) and then I’ll get back to longer distances in 2023.
    • Strength train/Mobility work at least 2x a week with a stretch goal of 3x (starting 3/1 since I’m writing this on 2/25)

2022 Vision Board

My 2022 Vision Board is to the left of me in my office space so I see it constantly.
My phrase of the year is: Embrace My Space. By space I mean: physical, emotional, spiritual, mental…I want to be better about setting boundaries and taking care of me. You can see that a lot of the right side of my vision board is about that. I need to keep working smarter not harder and keep streamlining some of my processes and keep things simple. The top left is about our home space. We’ve been in a one bedroom apartment in Tempe (love the location and we are minimalists so the space works too). Not sure what we will do this year with the economy the way it is but I want to keep a good home space for 2022 which could also mean staying put where we are (I just want my honey to have a good garden space though!). The bottom left is all about my summer plans! I’ll be volunteering at TransRockies (summer camp!) again this year with my besties! Excited to say that we are Dawn Patrol which means taking care of the Back of the Pack group! Last but not least the bottom middle is about spending more time meal planning and cooking. Because of my work load I tend to resort to quick fixes (still mostly healthy ones) but I’d like to make more time for planning and preparing food. Also a good way to spend quality time with Greg 🥰

If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read through it! 🥰 This is a time consuming process but well worth it!