2010: Year in Review, Part 1

We're counting down to the end of the year, and while running indoors using the treadmill has been going pretty well, as well as you can imagine running in one place while looking at the wall/TV can go, there really isn't a whole lot to report on.  I start a 12 week training program on 1/17/11 to get ready for the Eisenhower Half Marathon at the beginning of April, so until then, there really isn't a lot of running/fitness type stuff to talk about.  So I thought I would go in a little bit of different direction and talk about New Year's Resolutions.  Everyone makes them.  Everyone fails to achieve them.  No big deal, right?  THERE IS ALWAYS NEXT YEAR!  Well, maybe this year is next year, you know?  For 2010, I had set a few resolutions of my own, and of course, I missed on quite a few of them.  Setting up a goal/resolution list seems like something I would have written about last year, had I had a blog set up, so naturally, covering the list of things I set out to achieve/fail at the beginning of 2010 seemed like a good way to fill a column.  I thought it would be a good idea to get it out there that not every goal is attainable, but there is no reason not to put them out there and go for them. 

Yes, I did in fact come up with a pie-in-the-sky list of 12 resolutions, and posting something like that here at the beginning of 2010 would have been a good way to keep myself accountable towards my goals.  Let's go through them, with the gory details about what worked and what didn't.  I did actually write these down and take them up in my closet, that way I was able to see them on a daily basis.

1.  Weight 175 lbs at some point during the year.

This was accomplished on 9/9/10.  The starting point for this was 206 pounds, and I started dropping the weight by joining a "Biggest Loser" type contest at work (Not St. Francis Hospital, remember?)  It lasted for 18 weeks, and I think I only gained weight on two of the weekly weigh-ins.  It helped that a bad weigh-in cost a dollar, because I hate carrying cash on me, so having to find a single dollar was always a pain in the ass for me.  Anyways, I'm currently weighing in at around 172, and have not crept back above 175.  So, we can call this one a win. (1-0)

2.  Take a multi-vitamin every day.

Ha.  This one sort of makes me laugh.  Not really sure what I was going to accomplish with this one, but I chose a multi-vitamin that twice (2X) made me actually throw up!  A freaking vitamin!  This lasted less than a week before it got crossed off.  So, fail. (1-1)

3.  Never take more than 5 days off between workouts.

Starting running helped this one, because I always felt like I was working towards something big, and I didn't want to quit.  Following Hal's training guides kept me on the task at hand.  There was one 7 day stretch where I went without hitting the gym, but I was working in KC for the week, and then took a trip to Iowa immediately after that.  Didn't really have access to a gym, per se, so I don't really count this week.  I call this a win. (2-1)

4.  Read one book a month.

ONE.  ONE BOOK.  I hate reading, which you'd probably never figure from the way I carry on and on and on over here.  So my goal was a very minimal ONE book a month.  Did not happen.  Not even sure I ever picked up a book to read in January.  Fail.  (2-2)

5.  Buy more new music.

I've been hesitant in the past to buy an album from a group based on one or two songs.  I threw that into the wind this year, buying albums from artists without hearing a single song from it, or from hearing a song only once or twice.  Some worked out, some didn't.  Not a huge fan of the Phoenix album, but loved the new Roots disc.  I call this a win.  (3-2)

6.  Weigh myself on Wii every single Sunday.

I've got the Wii Fit board, and I like that it tracks your weight and workout times, and stuff like that.  Honestly, I use it almost exclusively for the Yoga poses, which is quite the workout.  But, sometime around February, I stopped using it.  I think I used how my clothes fit, and where my belt loops were, to determine if my weight was dropping.  And it was.  So, this is a fail. (3-3)

There is no way I am going to bore you with the next 6 on the list...until next week!  Enjoy the weekend, and you'll just have to sit on the edge of your seat to see if I ended up pulling out a winning record for the year or not.  Also, if you made it this far, feel free to share this list to show people that setting goals is not easy, and that it is OK to fall off of the horse as long as you plan to get back up.  Retweet, email, whatever.  Also, remember to sign up over at the right hand side (if you are reading on The Blog Website, not on unwind.topeka.net) to have new posts emailed to you directly when they are posted.  OK, enough self-promotion.  Until next time...later.