Resolution Time

Well, folks, it’s almost that time of year.  

I am a very solid believer in New Year’s Resolutions.  Almost every year I sit down and write out some things that I wish to accomplish.  Each year is different, and I have experienced varying degrees of success from year to year.  Will I be successful this year?  Who knows?  But what I do know was that 2015 was not a smashing success for me when it came to my resolutions.

I set out to lose some weight and run back-to-back marathons, but I did neither.  I did finish two marathons (the A1A in February and the Marine Corps in October), but my finishing times were progressively slower.  This morning I weighed in at 235 pounds – still far off the 2013 highs, but about 15 pounds heavier than where I finished 2014.

So where does it go from here?  What kind of goals should I set for 2016?

I Won The Lottery! (But It's Not What You Think)

If life were truly ironic, then according to Alanis Morissette I should have died today.  Because yesterday, I won the lottery.

But before you starting writing letters asking me for a few bucks to help pay your rent or perhaps to get little Johnny the ten-speed he wants for Christmas, this ain’t that kind of lottery.  No, I didn’t win millions of dollars; I won something better.  I won entry into the 2016 NYC Half Marathon.

Set Yourself Up to Succeed

It was summer, 2014 and my marathon training runs had become a little sluggish.  I didn’t know why, but my splits were getting slower and my legs were feeling heavy.  Most days I was out running more than 5 miles of various hills, intervals, repeats, effort levels, and fartleks.  Maybe I was getting bored of it.  Maybe I was just tired.

I got to the trail for what I knew was going to be a disappointing run.  I didn’t feel like running 5 miles, knowing that the pace would be slower than I wanted.  I felt that despite all of the effort I was putting in, I just wasn’t improving.  So, I tried something different.

Screw the plan.  I needed to feel good about myself again.

There Is No "Try" When it Comes to Tight Pants

The 36’s are all useless.  They hang there, but they are no longer an option.  I remember when I bought my first pair, thinking if I kept up the pace that I would be buying 34’s someday soon.  But I seemed to settle in to the 36’s and that lasted quite a while.   Yet here I was, back in the store buying 38’s again… something I swore would never happen.

I am on a pretty severe downslope.  It’s no longer a short-term blip, but a long-term trend.  I have tried to restart the engine countless times but there is a pattern that is consistently emerging – I recognize the problem, I declare a reset, I start incorporating good habits again, and then... I fail.  In the beginning, the iterations of these resets were wide – a few months apart.  Once I got on the right track, I generally stayed on the right track.  But it’s been difficult lately and with winter here and no discernible schedule or routine, the iterations between resets became shorter and shorter, and it has become increasingly difficult for me to get back on track.

What do you do?  What can you do other than declare that today is the day you’re going to change?