Resolution #1 comes from the counsel of my wife. She says that I spend too much time on single blog posts which are admittedly super long rather often. Instead, I will try to post more often and be more concise. How often does "more often" equate to? Well, I'm not going to nail it down to anything more measurable that an average of once/week. That's at least 50 blog posts in this year: pretty significant.
Resolution #2 comes in the wake of finishing the Runners World Run Streak from Thanksgiving to New Years day. Confession: I did miss a day - the day before New Years Eve - for reasons unknown, but I technically completed the streak because I started a few days early. At least that's what I'm telling myself (Ran 37 days in a row. That definitely counts, dangit!). I learned a whole lot about myself and the discipline required to run every day no matter what. I will blog about that challenge in an upcoming post (See? Already more concise!). In any case, instead of running daily, I will committ to doing something physical each and every one of the next 364 days - either running, bicycling, or weight training. I would love to add some functional muscle to my lanky frame, so hopefully that can happen through this commitment. In addition, thing like rain or other unfortunate weather circumstances out of our control cannot not derail this resolution.
Resolution #3 is a biggie. I'm going to run over 1000 miles in 2012 with at least half of those being barefoot. That averages out to just under 20 total miles per week! I was at or near that average during the run streak, but the rest of the year... not so much. My total mileage for 2011 was 532. Weaksauce! The principle behind doubling my yearly mileage will be preparation for races. Which races, you ask? When, you ask? Well, I want to be prepared to run any race that strikes my fancy at any time during the year and be semi-adequately prepared for it. That is quite a tall order, but I think averaging over 20 miles/week will get me pretty darn close to adequate preparation to respectably finish anything up to a marathon. We'll see, I guess.
Resolution #4 has spiritual and social implications. I want to run with people more often. Sebastian, my boxer/lab mix is a more-than-willing jogging companion any day of the week, any time of day or night, but he's not the best conversation partner. I want to use running as an avenue to grow in relationships with friends. Running with a very experienced pal the past couple days (Richard, a physical therapist friend/brother in Christ) has really hammered home the benefits of this. I had an absolute blast picking Rich's brain and exchanging thoughts on minimalism/barefootedness, family, faith, and just about everything in between.
To recap my running-related resolutions:
#1 - Post on here at least once each week.
#2 - Run or cross-train every day.
#3 - Run 1000 miles this year.
#4 - Run with other people.
So, what are your resolutions? Post 'em in the comments below.
