2006 Resolutions

Well, it’s that time of the year again…the last day of it that is!!! Time to review the year and how I did on the resolutions I set about this time last year. I really don’t remember any but two of my goals but with this blog, I bet I won’t have that problem next year! I know I did pretty well on both of the resolutions I set, but I did not successfully complete either, which is a little disappointing.

I know one of my resolutions had to do with my Christian faith and reading the Bible through in a year’s time. I started off strong but had a big problem with consistency throughout the year. I finished all of the New Testament (which I read first) but only got through Joshua in the Old Testament. Sorry God!

I also wanted to lose all of the weight I need to lose in this past year. I had some success in this department as well, losing about 50 pounds; but I still fell short – probably about 25 pounds short to be honest! Now with this, I feel like I was more consistent but when I got 25 pounds away from my goal, my body didn’t seem to cooperate. Eating and working out as I had before, I hit a major plateau. I never seemed to push through and will probably find that I have packed on an additional five pounds or so after these last couple of weeks!

There have been some ups and downs in 2005 as I am sure many of you have experienced in this year as well. I will have to say; overall, it has been a great year. We have enjoyed pretty good health as a family and I have got to see my two precious kids grow another year older. My little one-year-old buddy has grown from a baby to a little handsome toddler and my precious three-year-old daughter continues to amaze me with how smart she is.

We have settled into Tupelo now and the community seems to suit us. I have become successful in my job and began work on a license that will allow me to practice independently. We have made many new friends that we love and enjoy being close to so many of my family members.

Most importantly to this blog, I have stayed on track with my running, despite a few setbacks and injuries. I ran two 5-k runs and look to run several more races in the new year.
Now I am not one to get all philosophical, poetic, or cute in my resolutions for the new year. I just like to spell them out there in specific black and white. So far all of you still reading along, here goes:

First my running goals because if any experienced runners are reading this, I would love your input. I am not sure if it is possible to improve my speed while working on increasing distance at the same time. As you will see with my goals, I want to better my pace but I also want to run much longer than I am. I have access to the training programs in several books I have but I am not sure how to improve in my ability to run both faster and longer. But here are goals I have that I think are realistic based on my latest 5k time:

RUNNING

• Improve my recent PR 5K time (27:59in Oct. 05) by at least 3 minutes (under 25 minutes)
• Run the Gum Tree 10K Run in May 06’ in under 55 minutes
• Run and finish the Tupelo 14.2 miler in September 06
• Run and finish the St. Jude Memphis Marathon in December 06

Seriously, I am a beginner and would appreciate any feedback from those more experienced out there. I ran some in college to lose weight and had faster times then. I did a 5k 15 years ago at 23:38 and ran miles close to six minutes. Maybe some one can tell me how long it will take me to reach just that level again. Run and finish the St. Jude Memphis Marathon in December 06

Now, on to my other resolutions.

HEALTH

Of course, I want to lose those 25 pounds I mentioned earlier. This may not show exactly on the scale, however, because I want to work out with weights and improve my overall strength and physique as well. So, I guess my resolution here is just to improve my overall physical health through weight loss, continued aerobic training, and strength training with weights.

INTELLECTUAL

I want to keep challenging my brain in 2006. I read more in 2005, but want to consistently read more non-fiction that will increase my knowledge as well as entertain me. So my resolution is to read 4 non-fiction books every two months in the following loose rotation (that I plan to follow loosely). 1 Religious/Inspirational/Christian Living Book, 1 Sports/Adventure Book, 1 History Book, and 1 Psychology/Counseling Book. If I read any fiction, I still plan to stick to my overall goal for nonfiction books. Some of you may read much more than this but I have a lot on my plate and it is hard to read with two little ones running around!

In addition to this reading, I want to keep abreast of the latest research in my field of psychology and counseling. I know I will be attending more workshops in 2006 due to the requirements of my licensure but I plan to carve out a few hours monthly to go the library and read some of the latest research on best practice techniques.

FAMILY

I am blessed with an incredible family. I already mentioned my two beautiful kids but I also have a wonderful, supportive wife who is much prettier now than when I married her twelve and a half years ago. Although I am already closely connected with my family and have a great marriage, I want to concentrate more on bettering these relationships in 2006. This includes watching a little less television and having more date nights with my wife.

FAITH

I would be remiss not to mention the most important relationship in my life. This is one area I want to give the most attention to in 2006. God has been a source of constant strength and support for me and my family, but I want to strive for a closeness in 2006 that I have not experienced in some time, if ever. I resolve toward consistency in every area of my spiritual life. I WILL make time for daily study, meditation, and prayer. Although God knows me pretty in and out, I want to know Him like never before. Toward this effort, I will establish a new blog tomorrow that will include reflections from my journey toward knowing God in a deeper way. This blog will continue to focus primarily on running but the new blog will have a decided emphasis on my spiritual life.

BALANCE

My wife and I have talking about this a lot lately. People often describe me as a very balanced individual and I guess this is true in some respects. But I have a tendency to do well in one area to the detriment of several others. I have struggled throughout my life to stay focused on several pursuits and to do well at those pursuits. So in 2006 I plan to be more balanced in my thinking, in my view of people, in my pursuits, and in my worldview. This is a complex issue and I am not implying that I will lose all subjectivity. Mainly, I just don’t want to be too focused on certain goals that I lose sight of the bigger picture and the things that are most important in my life.

ENVIRONMENT

I have reading more on global warming and although I am a conservative thinker, I am convinced that there are changes taking place in our climate due to our over-consumption of resources. Although I don’t plan to become any whacko (big sigh of relief from # 2 oldest brother), I do plan to do my part. Recycling is not easy where I live as there is no curbside recycling and not an abundance of drop-off sites. Nevertheless, my household has pledged to begin recycling our newspapers, plastics, and aluminum cans for 2006. We will also slowly replace our bulbs to miniature fluorescents, and maybe even write our political representatives about issues of concern. I already drive an economy car and although we don’t plan to trade my wife’s SUV in 2006, when we do, it will also be for a smaller-sized car. Who knows, maybe we will even trade for a hybrid.

SHARPEN THE SAW

I know may have heard this phrase coined in the Covey books but I do see this as an important element I overlooked in 2005. I plan a weekly review of my goals and that I have in my life, the dreams that God has given me, and plan to stay focused on the task that lies ahead of me. I will post a brief weekly review on both of blogs to summarize my efforts and plan to review this for other areas as well. So many times we fall into a state of lethargy that eventually leads to us giving up on things that are really important to us.

I am excited about the new year and I hope anyone reading this is as equally excited. I will now leave you with a paraphrase of a quote often attributed to various individuals from Martin Luther King, Jr to Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do, not that the nature of the thing has changed, but our power to do is increased.”