Reflecting on my 2012 New Year’s Resolutions

All over the blogosphere and Twitter, people are publishing their recaps of 2012 (and I think I’ve seen the “2012 in Running” meme on more blogs than I can count). Am I jumping on the bandwagon? Sorry, but I’ve never been much of a meme girl. Instead, I’d prefer to take a look at my list of eight New Year’s resolutions for 2012 – better to review what I was actually focusing on this year!

1. Make blogging part of my daily routine
Ha, no. I still kind of blog all over the place – sometimes in the morning, sometimes at night, and just generally whenever I have something to say and enough time to write it down. Hopefully that doesn’t bother you all too much! This goal of improving my blog is something that’s going to stick with me for 2013, though in very different ways than how I did it this year… stay tuned.

2. Reconnect with old friends
I think this one lasted about two weeks before I decided the method I had set really wasn’t going to make it that meaningful. Sending an email/Facebook message with nothing more than an update doesn’t really allow you to connect as easily as an in-person meeting! However, I’m really proud of the progress I did make in meeting up with some now-distant friends. For example, in the fall, I took a trip out to Colorado to catch up with two of my girlfriends who’ve moved out to the Denver area with their fiances/husbands. I’ve also reconnected with college friends who live in the Dallas area, and am excited that we haven’t just reconnected, but are now much better friends than we even were in college. Success!

3. Get back into dancing on a regular basis
Well, I spent the early part of the year enjoying Zumba, but then in early summer I got hooked on Vbarre. It’s definitely not ballet, but the dance-like movements took me back to my 18 years of ballet classes, and I loved how graceful I felt doing VBarre while still getting in a killer workout. Furthermore, by going every week, the instructor learned my name, which was another one of my motivations for this one. I discovered that knowing someone will notice if you’re not there is great motivation to get out of bed early and head to a class! I haven’t been back to VBarre in a while now, due to changing schedules, but I’ve become a regular at Flywheel Dallas, which satisfies the “be a regular where the instructor knows your name”, and my friend Blake and I just picked up a Groupon deal for more Vbarre classes at Classic Pilates in Dallas. Time to get graceful again!

4. Run a marathon a month
Check! The only month in which I didn’t complete a marathon was July, when I wasn’t feeling well for my Birthday Fun Run and dropped down to a half marathon distance. But I more than made up for that lapse by completing a total of 16 marathons and 2 ultras in 2012. And I set a new marathon PR at the Wineglass Marathon! If at first you don’t succeed, try again and aim even higher than before! This was a great year for me for running – after getting kind of tired of marathons post-50 states finish, I now rediscovered what I love about running and just how fun marathons can be. I’m definitely going into 2013 with running/marathons high on my list of priorities.

5. Hit 400 unique beers logged on Untappd
I stopped logging beers toward the end of the year, but I more than beat this goal after going to a few different beer festivals. Current Untappd total: 514 unique beers. And yes, most of those were logged in the form of tastings instead of pours, which was something else I wanted to do in 2012 🙂

6. Read 100 books
Unfortunately, this one was a pretty epic fail on the list – and I’m not happy about it. I got behind in my reading about halfway through the year, and thought I could catch up, but I just never did. I’m currently at 84 books read this year, and thinking I might be able to hit 90 books if I focus on it for the rest of this week’s vacation, but we’ll see. Failing this goal really disappoints me, because I’ve come to realize whenever I do take the time to read just how much it relaxes me. Part of why I loved my cruise so much was getting time to lounge around and read while I was there (so blissful! So decadent!). This also factored heavily into my early rising in October – it felt wonderful to wake up early and get to stay in bed to read before beginning the day. Going forward, I really want to devote more time to reading so that I can hit this goal next year.

7. Keep a stable weight
As much as I wish I could drop a few pounds, I think I phrased this goal in a very reasonable way – and I totally achieved it. My weight has fluctuated only by about 5 pounds this year, which means it’s one that my body is happy to maintain. Of course I’d love for it to be a bit less, but the most important thing is that I am strong and fit enough to do all the activities I love. I know that my weight would drop significantly if I stopped traveling, but I’m going to be working in Dallas through at least next fall, so that’s not something I can control. I’m hopeful that in 2013, I can bring my weight’s set point a bit lower, but for now, I am content. Goal achieved!

8. Make more fitness friends
This, above all else, is what made 2012 a wonderful and successful year. I started out in January organizing lots of different group runs and events – the Courons à la Cassoulet, the 10 mile run to a mac & cheese cookoff, the free Figure 4 class plus 16 Handles, SELF Workout in the Park, and numerous group runs with Athleta and Urban Girl Squad. As the year progressed, I didn’t organize as many things officially via the blog, but I kept growing the friendships I had made and I got to know so many wonderful people as a result. I love that now getting together for a “friend date” doesn’t just mean going for cocktails (though that’s fun too!), but it can be getting together to watch the NYC marathon on TV or meeting up for a Soulcycle class. I love that my new friends share so many of the same interests with me, instead of it being a constant battle to do what I want and see my friends in my limited time at home, and I love that we even go on marathon road trips together and celebrate with craft beer at the finish line. Who says that alcohol and fitness don’t mix??

I cannot say enough about how grateful I am to have so many wonderful people in my life. With this foundation, I am psyched and ready for 2013 – a year in which I think big things are going to happen. Whenever I strive for “the impossible,” I’m always surprised to discover that the limits are far beyond my expectation. Here’s to pushing those boundaries and winning big in 2013!