I know it’s a little late for a 2015 “goals” type of post, and I did mean to put one together at the start of the year, but it’s always hard for me to begin setting new goals when I’m focused on the Walt Disney World Marathon which is just over a week into the new year.
So, it may be a little late as far as the calendar goes, but because I start classes this week and I’m starting to look into some races for this year, it seems like a perfect week for me to review some of the things I’m hoping to accomplish in 2015!
SCHOOL
Complete Pre-Requisite Classes
If you’ve been reading Live, Run, Grow for awhile now you may know that I’ve been taking pre-requisite classes I need to apply to a Doctorate of Physical Therapy (DPT) program (a bit of a change after after almost 10 years in event production!).
I hit a few bumps along the way and unfortunately have been delayed from my original timeline, but I’m about 3/4 of the way done with the classes I need to take and hopefully I’ll be able to complete most of them by the end of this year!
Take GRE’s
To apply to a DPT program I need to take (and study for!) the GRE’s (I’d love any tips or study recommendations from anyone who’s taken them!).
Apply to DPT Program!
If everything goes according to plan I should be able to begin applying to doctorate programs this fall for a summer/ fall 2016 start!
WORK
I’m really enjoying my new job as a Physical Therapy Aide. Not only have I learned a lot, but it’s been great to be immersed in the therapy and fitness environment, it’s really made me more confident about taking all this time to go back to school!
I’m really hoping to gain as much experience as I can from this job!
Burdenko Pool Training
FITNESS
Running
I’m still a little unsure about my specific running goals for 2015. I do know that I’d like to do at least 1 more full marathon and ideally I’d like to incorporate some speedwork into my training and choose a goal half marathon for a PR attempt. (More on specific running goals coming soon!)
Yoga
Since I moved to Cape Cod from New York unfortunately I haven’t been practicing yoga as much. Not only would I like to get back to practicing yoga regularly, but I’m really hoping that I’ll be teaching more soon!
A little yoga while at work!
Cross Training
Working at a gym definitely has it’s perks and I’m loving being able to jump on an elliptical, get in the pool or do some strength training on my lunch hour! I’m hoping to get into a routine of doing cross training at least twice a week.
What’s your favorite cross training activity?
How do you keep focused on long term goals?
Live, Run, Grow 
Ive picked 1 major goal which us developing my ideas and writing skills in the area of personal development. So my focus for this year is to write a blog post weekly.
Oh, now that you mention it I meant to include a “Blog” section on this! Maybe I’ll have to write a separate post about it! Good luck with your weekly blog post!
Let me know what you find out about the GRE! If I decide to go to seminary or graduate school, I’ll need to do this and it terrifies me. I almost just want to go take it once and see how bad it is!
I’ll definitely let you know how it goes! I’m going to try to start studying soon so I can take it in the spring and then have time to re-take it if I need to!
OK, based on that insanely awesome Yoga pose, you are totally lying about not being able to do push-ups. But it’s ok, I forgive you for the lie. You’re just trying to make yourself seem human in that there is 1 thing you can’t do/aren’t good at. Nice try. I know the truth.
Ha! I can balance on my arms, but trust me, as soon as I need to “push-up” it gets pretty pathetic!
Random question – how do you get into that yoga pose?
Haha, well it’s probably easier for me to make a video of getting into it to show you (which I’m happy to do if you want to send me your e-mail address!), but basically I start standing with my right foot crossed over my left knee (sort of the “figure 4” shape), I twist to the left, place my hands on the floor and then bend my elbows back similar to crow pose and then place my right foot on top of my right elbow and lift my left leg!
It’s called grasshopper if you want to look it up though – I’m sure others can describe it better than I can!
nope totally got it. well, the visual, not the pose itself 😉
Oh ans GRE tip – find one study book. Dont be like and get three. Youll get seriously overwhelmed. Also dont feel stupid when you realize youve forgotten how to do math you havent seen since high school.
Thanks! I got a book from 2013, so I’m debating whether that one will be ok to use or if I should get an updated one…
Yay goals! I work for a college within a university that is pharmacy and health sciences focused. By far, our DPT students are the most excited and enthusiastic about their program. Sometimes I just go over to their lab to watch all the neat things they are learning.
Also, I finished my graduate program last year and the GMAT (business school equivalent of the GRE) was the most overwhelming part of the process. In hindsight, standardized tests are designed to stress you out and wear you down. For me, I had to work on my mental toughness more than the actual information I was being tested on. So it looks like all your running might help you out on the GRE more than you would think. 🙂
That is so great to hear! If you don’t mind me asking, what college do you work at?? (And if you’d rather not post in a public place, you can e-mail me at LiveRunGrow@gmail.com) I’m just looking into all the schools so it’s great to talk to people who are familiar with them!
I love the idea that running may with the GRE! I totally agree, standardized tests are just overwhelming and stressful!
I’ve been doing lots of Les Mills classes at my gym for cross-training lately, and I’m really loving it. It’s much easier to stay motivated and work hard when you’ve got someone telling you what to do!
Oooh, interesting! And I agree that it’s easier when you have someone else telling you what to do – even with yoga I always challenge myself more in a class than at home myself!
I’m considering grad school, but thankfully the program I’m looking at doesn’t require the GRE. Good luck!! My favorite cross training in season is bike riding, off season is yoga/workout classes.
So jealous you don’t have to worry about GRE’s!
You’re going to do fine on the GRE. If you haven’t taken a practice test yet, take one and see how you do without studying then figure out how much you’d need to study for it. The biggest pain in the ass: no calculators. And no logic games like the LSAT, I loved the logic games in the LSAT.
Oh good idea to take a practice test first! I’m definitely going to do that!
A place when I was an undergrad used to offer free paper based versions you could go take which were good even if the actual test is on the computer.
Ugh, the GRE. I took it almost 9 years ago so the test may be a little different now, but from my experience – definitely be prepared to re-learn all the high school math ever, and be sure to brush up on vocab. I took a practice test on the GRE’s website and it was SO much easier than the actual test. If you’re better at math than I am (which is highly likely, since I’m terrible at it) and if you master the ridiculous vocab words they give you, you should be golden 🙂
So the good news is that I just took college algebra as one of my pre-requisites so I’m hoping that helps with the math part! I’m going to try out a practice test and see how it goes – I definitely need to brush up on all that vocab that no one uses in real life too!
You should be golden on the math section if you just took a college algebra class!! The verbal section threw me because there were so many words I had never even seen before and I didn’t even know what to do with them. However, despite feeling like I crashed the verbal section, I still got a decent enough score to be accepted to grad school, so you should be fine! 🙂
Wow! You’re so close to getting your pre-reqs done and applying. That’s amazing! I’ve got no advice for the GRE–I didn’t have to take it for my grad program. Columbia had its own test in lieu of the GRE, for which I am still eternally grateful. No math! But sounds like you’ve got the math covered. And that pose is amazing! I can barely do crow and sidecrow. It’s funny, I don’t fall out, but usually end up slipping out.