Happy New Year!

I'm having a little trouble believing it is 2009. I know everyone says it but, the year went by so quickly and quite a lot changed. I got married, left one job, got another job, trained to run two marathons, didn't run either one, sat out for two months because of an injury, started a blog, and restarted my running. I visited a Caribbean island and added another state to my list of places I've experienced. I went hiking, camping and even tried cross country skiing. The year may have gone by quick but I was still able to fill it to the brim.

My resolution this year is simply: Be Consistent.

If I'm consistent (and smart) with my running I'll end the year a much stronger and more experienced runner than I am beginning it. The key will be to avoid injury and this is where the running smart comes in to play. In order for me to achieve consistency, I have to be willing to sit out a day if something is nagging rather than try to run through it and possibly make it worse. I can't be a slave to my running schedule.

However, I also need to stick to my schedule and not be tempted to do more just because I'm feeling good. I think this stupid optimism is what got me in trouble this past year and I need to play it smarter. If I want to be consistent over the long run, not just this year but in terms of being a lifetime runner, I need to run smarter.

I am also going to try to make more consistent choices when it comes to nutrition and food. I'm not suggesting that I will eat healthy all of the time but rather that I be more conscience of the choices I do make. I shouldn't expect that my pants aren't going to be tight after wolfing down a plate of nachos if I don't follow that meal with several that are healthy and nutritious.

The last aspect of my life I want to focus on being consistent about is spending (and as a result, saving). I don't need any more clothes, the ones I have are just fine. I don't need any more shoes, I have plenty. I don't need to buy more things, in fact, I would like to get rid of the excess I do own.

Finally, I want to go on record with some things I would like to accomplish this year:

• Run a marathon or two. It doesn't matter my time as long as I finish them feeling strong and empowered.
• Write a short story.
  
• Try something new - swimming, ice skating, cycling, ultra racing, mountain climbing??
• Buy a house.

Deceptively Active

Today I head back to Virginia on the train, nearly bringing the Christmas season to a close. I've spent the last four days in Vermont at my parents' house for the Christmas holiday. Although I brought my running gear, I'll be honest and admit that I didn't have much hope of actually getting outside to run.

Tuesday and today, Saturday, I will be more slug than active healthy person since they are travel days and I spend more than 12 hours on the train. However, Wednesday through Friday I was deceptively active and even if I didn't run a step it couldn't have been much worse.

Tuesday night and Wednesday I went outside to play in the snow and watched everyone else shovel snow (I did jump in once and shovel some snow). The rest of the day Wednesday I spent introducing the WiiFit to my Mom who was curious about the type of "workout" you could actually get from a video game.

Thursday, Christmas Day, I went for 2.5 mile walk around the snow-covered town of Northfield with my family and took up a great deal of the rest of the day, playing Dance Dance Revolution (DDR). The box states, "It's a great CARDIO workout" and I'm not sure about the "great" part but it definitely beats sitting on my butt watching TV. Plus, it is fun and you don't even realize that your heartrate is increasing and that you're being active and healthy.

The best part of my Christmas vacation came on Friday. As a Christmas present to my Mom, I bought her and the rest of us, a beginner's Cross Country Skiing Lesson in Stowe, VT. I plan on writing more about that later but I will say it was a great way to spend the day and even ended in some (pleasantly) sore muscles.

All in all, the WiiFit was only OK, DDR was a definitely hit and the CCS was an amazing "real" workout and the most fun. I know I more than made up for any of this activity with the cookies and chocolate and Macaroni and Cheese and the Turkey Noodle Soup (Mmmmmm!) that was consumed during my Christmas vacation in VT but I feel good about the decided lack of laziness. I am just going to chalk this week up as a week of Cross Training!

Happy Christmas All!

Happy Thanksgiving

One of the things I look forward to when I visit my in-laws is going for an early morning walk or run with my MIL, FIL and the dogs. Waking up before the sun we head out for a 2.5 mile round trip walk (and occassional run) along the road and through the fields. It is nice to catch up with them before the rest of the world wakes up.

This morning it was brisk but the wind chill was non-existent. It was a perfect morning for a walk.

The rest of the day I had too much turkey, too much stuffing, too much mashed potatoes, too many slices of dessert but it was worth it and knowing I had at least kicked it off with a good start regardless of the predictable backslide of the rest of the day. Happy Thanksgiving!

Today's Daily Dozen:
2.5 mile walk
1 hour Wii Fit
Today's Wii Fit Age - 34! (I'm getting better AND younger
Plan for tomorrow: I don't know, I'm hoping to finally shake this head cold but it'll undoubtably involve some video games.