This post is long overdue. I was planning to do an update after the beginning of the year, but have spent most of my free time preparing to share my story at
Story Night last week.
Last year I turned 40 and I had a
whole list of things that I wanted to do in my 40th year. I
updated y'all in September around my birthday and wanted to give a final update. Did I accomplish them all? Nope. Did I accomplish most of them? Yes. I learned about myself as I worked on these. Here are my reflections.
Things I accomplished:
1. Run 400 miles. I have been running for about 2 1/2 years. Using the app 5k Runner, it took about 13 weeks to move from a non runner to a (slow) 5k. I have been running 2 or 3 times a week since then. This year I exceeded my goal and ran more than 500 miles.
Running to complete the triathlon
2. Run a 10k. This year I wanted to work up to a 10k. I did increasingly longer runs on my weekend runs over 3 months and was running a 10k by May. I run a 10k about once or twice a month. For me, longer runs also meant getting faster. I found a neighborhood running group in November and discovered running with a group of friends is much more fun!
Goleta Lemon Run 10k
3. Complete a triathlonThe hardest part of a triathlon for most people is the ocean swimming. Practicing is hard because distances are hard to judge. I swam out to the beach buoys and back several times. Once I encountered dolphins (another bucket list item). I thought it would be interesting but really my instinct was to swim the other way.
Completing the last leg of the Carpinteria Triathlon
4. Complete a promise walk. Promise Walk Reflections
5. 40 days of no buying new things It is hard to not buy anything for 40 days. It is incredibly easy to go to Amazon and get an "essential" item. I don't really need many of the things I have. I obviously had to buy things like groceries, but there are so many other things I get when what I have is perfectly adequate. I ended up not buying things for most of the first 4 months of the year as I thought through why I purchase things and what I really need. I got shin splints after not buying running shoes soon enough!
New Running Shoes
6. Give away 40 things It is liberating to get rid of stuff. I read the
Art of Tidying Up and while I don't speak to my things. It has changed how I decide whether I need things. I got rid of 40 things in several categories: clothes, books, toys.... The books were given away all over town in the
pocket libraries we found. I am looking forward to another round soon.
Box of 40+ books
7. Try 40 New Recipes 40 Recipes Post 
8. Read 40 Books I read almost 50 books in 2016. Some highlights were:
Made to Crave,
Just Mercy,
Summer of the Monkeys, and
All the Light We Cannot See. The whole list is here on
Goodreads.
Goodreads Bookshelf
Things I didn't accomplish:
1. Memorize 40 verses. I am terrible at memorizing. It takes a lot of work and then I need to continue the repetition to keep it. I did discover a great group of people who write scripture into songs and of you included these verses, I did make it to 40 verses. Check it out at
Seeds Family Worship.
2. Finish losing 40 pounds.Weight loss is hard, y'all. I still have about 10 pounds to go, but given how much stronger and healthier I am after the training this year, it is still a win. My addition to the routine this year is Pilates through
The Balanced Life and I just completed 21 Days of Pilates.
3. Learn to French Braid Hair Just after writing this goal, my oldest got a short haircut. It is super cute and I love it, but not braid length, I watched some videos, but this goal will happen eventually,
