The new year is a good time to reflect of the past 12 months and set some goals for the 12 ahead. I don’t do resolutions because if there’s something you want to change there’s no time like the present – fixing it to the new year will only make you put it off. But I’m very big on goals.

In 2012 I ticked two major achievements off my list of life goals – running a sub-4 marathon and writing a book. Actually neither of these goals would have happened without the other. The idea behind writing The Lazy Runner was to show the journey from rubbish, unfit, lazy runner to sub-4 marathoner. It’s a milestone and to me the book wouldn’t have been complete without that milestone met.

As I ran the last three miles of the Edinburgh Marathon my time goal was slipping away and I had to dig deep to make it to the line in the magical 3 hours 59 minutes. One thought above all others helped my legs move faster – that of writing the final chapter of the book.

In 2013 I’ve got some new goals to meet. And here they are…

Be faster
In April I’ll take on the Greater Manchester Marathon. The goal is a 3 hours 45 minutes finishing time but more importantly getting the London Marathon ‘Good For Age’ qualification that finishing in under 3 hours 50 minutes would deliver.

Be stronger
A series of injuries in the past year, despite decreased mileage, has made me wise up to the importance of strength exercises – something I’ve overlooked for the past few years. So I’m taking them more seriously with the aim to get stronger.

Be healthier
I don’t diet, I don’t count calories and I don’t have any ‘banned’ foods. But sometimes I could do with eating more fruit and vegetables – whether they come in the shape of a takeaway curry or a salad. So I’ll be doing that a bit more in 2013.

Be fitter
I’m entering the world of triathlon in 2013. I’ll be starting with a sprint distance in May, then an Olympic distance event at Marlow Triathlon, and finally a half-iron distance at The Gauntlet. While I’m pretty fit from all the running stuff I’ve done, that’s nothing like being half-iron fit.

Be more awesome
One of the big achievements for me over the past few years has been encouraging other to take up running, to enter races and meet goals that that didn’t think was possible before. I’ve helped a fair few people through their first marathon and it feels as good as crossing the finish line myself for the first time did. So I’ll hopefully be doing more of that this year and, as I work towards becoming a qualified running coach, I’ll be doing it with more authority.

Now tell me your goals for 2013 in the comments below and one of you will win a couple of month’s worth of Innocent smoothies to help you be healthier this year.