Now is the time of year when people are starting to think about their New Year’s resolutions. I know this because they’re blogging about them already. I’m not big on New Year’s resolutions but I do like setting goals. New Years resolutions (at least for me) tend to be vague, or unrealistic, or lacking in support. My goals, on the other hand, are more thought-out and usually fall in to the S.M.A.R.T. category (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely).
While reading about a few other blogger’s goals for 2012 and whether or not they achieved them I was struck with the inspiration to start working on my own for 2013. I grabbed my iPad to start jotting them down as they came to me and this is what greeted me.
Ross bought me my iPad for Christmas last year and left me this little note as a reminder for the rest of the year. Too bad this is the only time I’ve opened the Notes app since he gave it to me… Hopefully I did a good job of loving him all year without the reminder.
Before I started listing my goals I knew that I wanted them all to be specific goals; things that could be measured and that would be clear whether not it was accomplished. Past resolutions for me have been things like, “Floss my teeth more,” which is actually something that I still need to work on. I never stick to this resolution because “more” can be just about anything. I currently floss my teeth about once a month (awful, I know) so as long as I do it 13 times instead of 12 the following year then I’m good, right? I’m not sure if my dentist hates me or loves me for keeping him busy.
I also decided that I wanted to have 12 goals for the year, to represent the 12 months of the year. I don’t have to accomplish one goal per month (too many of them are more long-term) but I felt like this was just a good number for me.
As I started jotting them down I realized that almost all my goals had to do with running or fitness. This is probably because I’d just finished reading a running blog talking about her goals for 2012 and 2013. I decided to put a little effort into coming up with a few goals that weren’t just fitness related, you know, to make me a more well-rounded person.
Here’s what I came up with:
1. Run a marathon. I may not have needed to put this one on here because I already feel pretty committed to accomplishing it, but running a marathon is a big deal. It’s definitely a goal of mine and just because I’m sure I’m going to accomplish it doesn’t mean I should leave it off the list. So I added the little addendum - “and don’t be disappointed with the time.” I’m afraid that because I read so many running blogs written my much faster marathoners I’m going to be disappointed with my first marathon time. That’s stupid.
2. Run a sub-2:00 half-marathon. I don’t think that this is unrealistic for me and I know that I will feel amazing crossing the finish line and seeing 1:59:xx on the clock above me (or lower…?). I don’t have to accomplish this with the very next half-marathon that I run, but I will do it before 2013 is over.
3. Be able to do 25 real push-ups. For some reason being able to do push-ups is a real test of fitness for me. Right now I can do 20 push-ups, but not real ones. I mean I’m doing the correct motions, but I’m doing it on an elevated bar, not the ground. This makes it easier (but still not easy) and I honestly just don’t have the chest strength to do the real ones yet. I will though, you watch out.
4. PR at the Olympic distance triathlon with Ross and Lynn. For those of you who read this that aren’t runners, PR stands for Personal Record. Ross, Lynn, and I did an Olympic distance triathlon relay style back in October, and I was responsible for the running portion. I ran the 10K distance (6.2 miles) in 56:13, which is a pace of 9:04 per mile. Basically, I want to improve my 10K time and I don’t think that will be a problem. But I don’t want to do it on my own. I want to do with with Ross and Lynn on my team so I can make them proud too. This will also force us to sign up for another triathlon this year!
5. Volunteer for a race. There is a lot that goes into putting on a race, most of which I’m sure I’m not even aware of. I appreciate all that the race volunteers do to make races possible for us runners, so what better way to show my appreciation than to volunteer for other runners? I can’t think of one, short of writing them a check. I’m too broke for that though.
6. Get down to my “racing weight” – 125 lbs (i.e. clean up my diet). I plan on talking about this in a post all it’s own soon, but basically I want to clean up my diet. That’s not a goal that is really specific or measurable on it’s own, so I tacked it on to this one. I recently read about how being your “racing weight” can really improve your performance so I have a book on hold at the library so I can read more about it. Once I know more I’ll tell you more about it, and/or possibly adjust the goal once I have more information. In short, the goal is more about my body fat than weight. A good body fact percentage for me would be 17% (I’m currently 23.8%) and that would put me around 125 lbs.
NOTE: This is the point where I realized all my goals so far were fitness related. Let’s balance things out a bit.
7. Marry my favorite guy (without going Bridezilla on anyone). I don’t think I’ll have a problem meeting this one, but I thought I would include it for good measure. I don’t think there’s going to be any mind-changing or cold-feet problems for us but I still want it to be known that my goal is to be married to Ross by the end of April next year. Ideally, I’d like to do this while still being pleasant to be around and treating those who encounter me with respect. Feel free to call me out if you feel I’m behaving otherwise.
8. Go on at least one group run and/or join a running club. Aaaaaand I’m back to the fitness goals. I’ve heard all kinds of good things about running clubs and group runs, and I would really like to make some more running friends. Specifically, I would like to make more running friends who are interested in signing up for races with me!
9. Create at least one original recipe each month. I loooooove cooking and I have not been doing enough of it lately. I want to get more creative with my cooking, and also more consistent with tracking the recipes for the dishes that I make.
10. Spend time with my family once a month – Capertons, Gromes, and Lil Dix. I have a lot of family nearby – my parents live in south Austin, Danny and Lisa and the kids live in Pflugerville (which is actually closer to my house than my parents house is) and Ross’s sister lives in Austin, too. Sometimes we’ll go a couple of months without spending time with any of them and that is NOT acceptable to me anymore. I am going to make an effort to spend time with them once a month, preferably separately so I’m getting in quality time with each set.
11. Cross train once a week – preferably alternating spin and yoga. There is all kinds of evidence that supports cross training when you’re a runner, specifically yoga and cycling. Yoga is great for balance and core strength, and cycling is good for your hamstrings, which are good for running hills. These activities also help to keep you fit and active while giving your feet/knees, etc. a break from pounding the pavement.
12. Speak Ross’s love language three times a week. Have you read Gary Chapman’s The Five Love Languages? I really recommend it. Ross and I both read it earlier this year and it helped us figure out how to love each other better. The premise is that there are five basic love languages and we don’t all speak the same one. That means things that make you feel loved by your significant other are not necessarily the same things that make them feel loved by you. My love language is acts of service; Ross’s is words of affirmation. We’re both terrible at speaking each other’s love language on a regular basis so it’s something that I really want to work on. Ideally, I would like to do something every day to speak his language but honestly doing it consistently three times a week is an improvement over what I’m doing now, so I’ll start there.
So those are my goals for 2013. I think they’re great and I know I’m going to be really proud of myself when I report back to you in a year that I achieved them all!
I’m really interested in what other people’s goals are so feel free to share yours with me. You’re also more likely to stick with a goal if you go public with it!
