A very happy new year to you all. This is of course the time of resolutions, so I decided I should use this space to share my resolutions for the year, and review last year's. I notice the archive feature of this blog is missing for some reason, but the ugly tool bar now on the top of the page offers convenient search functionality (I'm hoping it looks better when I see it on another computer, and that the issues I have are just with Safari--and on the plus side, the new Blogger seems to have activated comments on the blog). So I was able to review last year's resolutions, and much like I had to announce the failure of 2005's resolutions in that post, here I announce the failure of 2006's resolutions. To start with the last resolution, graduating college, I'll just say the less said, the better. But my primary resolution was fitness-based, to build up to a training regimin of 20 miles a week. I thought this was more focused that the previous year's resolution, but apparently it wasn't focused enough. I never really got beyond running maybe 25 minutes a day, and in fact was mostly stuck at the 20 minute level. Breaking seven miles a week was a major achievement, and missing an entire week or two (or three) was not uncommon. And I managed to gain about four pounds. To be fair, most of my slacking off was late in the year, when various illnesses gave me some excuse. And at least I remained committed to the concept of exercise throughout the year, and tried to at least do something, rather than nothing. But the fact remains, by the end of Feburary, my goal was falling apart. I think the problem was that my goal was focused solely on my state at the end of the year, with no accountability along the way. Which I have tried to address in this year's resolutions, while still leaving myself some flexibility.

So for 2007, I have set a target of running the Silver Strand Half-Marathon in November. To advance this goal, I will be running a series of races throughout the year to keep myself on track, both 5Ks and 10Ks, starting with a 5K the first week of February. I think this goal gives me reasonable flexibility while still providing structure: I can set my own training pace, and adjust it as needed, but if I'm falling short, it will be (literally) painfully clear on race day, and I can respond accordingly. Failure won't wait for the end of the year to announce it's presence, and thus I'll have time to reverse the situation. I also intend to work out in the gym twice a week, and do more runs outdoors rather than on treadmills (my tendency lately to run mostly at the gym has probably contributed to some degree of boredom with running). And while I don't have any resolutions directly regarding dieting, I have resolved to keep a food log, and keep more healthy foods stocked in the house. I'm not denying myself food, but if I have good choices available, and stay aware of what I am eating, I tend to make better decisions.

I did weigh myself this morning (I bought a scale recently with a body fat monitor--giving me an opportunity to weigh myself in the nude, which the fascists at my gym don't allow on the scale in the cardio area) and I've lost 2.2 pounds this week, which is a good start. And despite it being a bit chilly (by So. Cal. standards), I've found running outside to be vastly more enjoyable than treadmills (I plan to limit my treadmill runs to days I do weight training, and really inclimate weather). So I have confidence this is the year I buck the recent trend and get back to the halcyon days of my running life, where I made resolutions and kept them.