New Year’s Runs and Resolutions
Hey, guess what- I DID IT! Back-to-back long runs on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. I ran 20 miles the morning of New Year’s Eve, and then 16 miles on New Year’s Day. The weather was beautiful, and I can’t think of a better way to ring in the New Year! While I was running I listened to some interesting podcasts. In this episode of the James Altucher show, James recommends having “quests” rather than “goals” for the New Year. He describes a quest as something that might sound slightly crazy, and that you might not be able to complete- like becoming a chess grandmaster or running a marathon in every state. Or, a quest could be a little more realistic- like visiting every lighthouse or Frank Lloyd Wright house in your area (Hi Elisabeth! Hi Beckett!) I would even say a quest could be something like reading every book by a certain author. I guess quests are more fun than goals. Then, I listened to this episode of Sally McRae’s podcast, “Overcoming Fear and People Pleasing.” She said most people fail to pursue their dreams out of fear- fear of what other people will think, and fear that we don’t know enough or we’re not ready. Well… the older I get, the less I care what other people think; and I’m more and more likely to throw myself into something and figure it out as I go. It’s always good to have a reminder though. You might be thinking, “This is all well and good- but what ARE your goals for 2024?” Okay, okay… I have some. First, I don’t have a word for 2024- I have the phrase, “Every Day Counts.” I’ll continue to work on appreciating every day, instead of wishing the day away or wasting it by worrying or ruminating. I also have some specific goals: Read 50 books. I set this goal every year, and always fall short because my reading takes a huge hit in November and December. I have a good feeling about 2024 though- the year is off to a great start with my “book flood.” Focus on sleep. I realize this is too vague. I need to analyze what’s going on and come up with concrete solutions. One place to start may be eating dinner earlier, so I can shift my evening activities earlier as well. Get organized with my strength training. Again, vague. I’m toying with the possibility of following a program- possibly the one on Sally McRae’s app. OR, to start with, the program in Ben Patrick’s Knee Ability Zero, which I just got for Christmas. My running goals are more like quests. No one is telling me I have any business running a 50 mile race, but I’m doing it anyway! Possibly two of them! Those are quests, not goals. By the way, the top photo is my new planner. It was literally the first one I picked up in TJ Maxx. It has everything I need: Plus about 20 pages of notes in the back. I was actually kind of disappointed because I had been looking forward to browsing leisurely through planners (I was also going to Barnes and Noble that day) – I was like “Darn! This first one is perfect.” I’m linking up this week with Jenn and Zenaida for their Tuesday Topics! Check them out- their theme for this week is “What’s Your Word for 2024?” Do you have your 2024 planner? Do you set New Year’s goals?