By March though, most of us have resumed the same unproductive routines that we swore off and resolved to remedy in January. This has made most of us reluctant to make New Years Resolutions, at least publicly. I too have shied from making "resolutions" and instead choose to set goals for the new year. Specific, measurable accomplishments to check off on a list. Calling them goals instead of resolutions hasn't made me any better at sticking to them though.
2012 was a really great year for me though, regardless of how many of my goals I actually accomplished. It was a year of great new friendships, growth, learning, loving, and, most importantly, adventure. After living in Colorado for six years, I finally feel like I have a group of real, solid friends that I can trust and depend on. Until now, those people have been few and far away. I've always had very high social needs, so it's really wonderful to be able make frequent plans with people I really care about. The best part of my whole day is the hour plus I spend at the gym before work. It's an intense workout, but it's also so fun, and so fulfilling because some of my favorite people are there.
Volunteering as a coach for Girls on the Run is one of the activities I'm most proud of this year, and most excited about for next year. I had the absolute pleasure of working with over 50 girls, ages 8-14, to train to run a 5K race. Not only did I get to share my love of running, but I got to play games, skip, ride imaginary dragons, and be generally silly twice a week some really amazing girls. It was great to find something to fill the void after my work with the AIR Foundation ended. There are few things I love more than helping someone accomplish their own goals.
Jim and I got to take an amazing trip to Reykjavik, Iceland in October this year. We went for the Iceland Airwaves music festival. It was so much more than we ever expected. It was colder, windier, darker, the landscape more barren, the Blue Lagoon was more otherworldly, the people more European, the beers more tasty (and more expensive), and the music more lively. It was incredible. While I'm now craving a beach vacation with lots of warmth, sunlight, and all-included booze, Iceland is a place that will stick with me.
It's hard for me not to be hopeful, optimistic, and downright thrilled about 2013. I have some really fantastic things in store. The biggest event on the horizon is the Boise Ironman 70.3 on June 8. It's going to be one of the toughest challenges I've ever attempted. I'm doing it with some of the strongest, most determined and amazing women I know, so I know it's going to be an incredible experience, regardless of my finishing time. I know June will be here sooner than any of us can believe, and I am psyched to start training.
One of the resolutions I'll have a hard time NOT keeping, with all the Ironman 70.3 training, is eating healthier in the new year. To aid in this effort, Jim and I are committing to eating vegan at least one day a week in 2013. I've been reading Thrive by Brendan Brazier, a professional triathlete, who advocates for a plant-based diet. It's pretty convincing to read about how much of a positive impact going vegan can have on an athlete's body, as well as the rest of the planet. I'm looking forward to seeing how effective this diet change will be on my own athletic performance. The vegan lifestyle is synonymous with my views about personal responsibility for making the world a better place, I think I just needed an excuse to make the leap.
I hope you'll follow me in 2013 as I attempt to keep a better record of the wonderful and exciting things I have going on. One of my goals for the new year is to limit my TV watching to just 3 hours/week. Let's see if that means I write more!
