New Year - New Me!

First, I apologize for the blog being so dormant over the holidays.  We had my in-laws over for dinner the Saturday before Christmas, left for my parents on Christmas eve and have been hanging with them ever since.  I will write a more detailed post about our holidays once I get home (we're at their cabin in the north Georgia mountains).

Sitting around here has given me a lot of time to think about what I want to accomplish for myself next year.  I can't believe that it's been 9 months since I made the decision to pick up running again with a goal to complete my first half marathon (which is only 53 days away!!!!)  Now that 2013 is literally just around the corner, I have begun to make new goals for myself -

Be Better About Meal Planning

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I did okay off and on throughout the year with this last year, but next year I want to make this a priority for both J and myself.  It takes the guesswork out of the infamous "What's for dinner?" question and will cut down on the amount of times I have to stop by the grocery store (which J hates!).  It will also lead to more healthy choices for us.  Making and taking my lunch also falls into this category - I need to minimize the amount of times I eat out during the week!

Lacing up a minimum of 3 days a week

Once daylight savings time hit and the temperatures began to drop, so did the amount of time I would spend outside running.  It didn't seem like that big of a deal....until I ran a 10k after running only once in a two week period.  I'm by no means fast, but I could really tell that I was struggling throughout the run.  They day after was even worse - my hips were killing me, my ankles were sore, and I felt like I had been beat up.  This was a huge eye opener that I cannot let my training runs slip and expect to do my best.  I absolutely HATE the "dreadmill" so in order to make this happen I plan to go back to taking my clothes to work and stopping at the Greenway on my way home to get in my two training runs during the week, and then leaving my long runs for the weekend.

Add strength training to my routine

I have been wanting to try Crossfit for some time now, and earlier this month Sharon and I bought a Groupon deal for a Crossfit gym.  We plan to start next week and I will definitely be documenting my journey.  I have hopes that this will help me increase my stamina with running as well as building muscle for my first Warrior Dash in May!

Lose Weight

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Ah...the cliche New Years resolution that about 90% of the world's population set as a goal.  I do not have a goal weight in mind, but I want my body to feel better and I want to feel better about my body.  Doing the things I have already mentioned will help me chisel off this weight.

13 in 2013

I joined a challenge to run 13 races in 2013, and so far I'm already registered for five (SeaBee 10k run, Locomotive 5k, Princess Half Marathon, Georgia Publix Half Marathon, and Warrior Dash), AND I have my eyes set on a girls "runcation" to California to participate in the inaugural Dumbo Double Dare.  As long as I'm able to remain injury free, I should be able to check this resolution off this time next year!

Beat my PRs!

In participating with Crossfit, running more, and eating better, I really hope to surpass my PRs in both the 5k and 10k distances.  Since the Princess half marathon is my first, I won't really use that as a PR goal to break as it's just a fun run.  The Publix half marathon in March will give me a better idea of what I will need to do to break its time, whatever it may be.  :)

Blog More and Up my Social Media Presence

There were times this past year where I went a little too long without posting, so next year I want to set a goal for myself to blog at least 3-4 days a week.  I don't feel that my life is interesting enough to post every single day, but 3-4 days is a more realistic goal for myself.  I also want to be more active on my Facebook Fan Page (if you haven't already, please go and "Like" it!), Twitter, and Instagram.

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I know for a fact that every single one of these goals can be easily met if I just put my mind to it.  I'm looking forward to what 2013 brings!

Do you have any goals for yourself?  

Until next time,

Jen