REACH & RESOLVE

"Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day."

~ Edith Lovejoy Pierce

A couple of weeks ago my friend and fellow coach, Chas, asked me if I'd set any resolutions for 2016.  No I said  I don't typically make them.  He seemed a little surprised by my response so I gave him my thought process on it.  I'm a pretty goal oriented person I explained.  I have quite a few (both running and non-running) and they're kind of ongoing from day to day.  I think about them a lot, I talk to others about them even more and I'm striving for them all the time.  So, I guess I feel like making resolutions on top of that might add a whole new layer of pressure that I'm not really up for putting on myself.  Okay he said.  I get that.  He then went on to let me know that he'd set one for himself back in January and was happy to report that he would be closing out the year having successfully achieved what he had resolved to do.  Nice!  I said.  That's awesome.  And I meant it.  It's a serious challenge for anyone to claim they are going to make something happen and then to actually see it through from start to finish for an entire year.  I can understand how it would feel pretty damn good to say you got it done.  Not surprisingly, this notion of making a New Year's resolution has been resonating with me since we talked and I've been giving the whole thing quite a bit of thought.  In the past I've looked at resolutions and goals as one in the same.  But I'm now realizing that they fall in two very different categories.  When you resolve to do something, you are making a firm decision to do (or not to do) it. You and I both know that I'd love to resolve to run a marathon PR this year.  But, sadly, it doesn't work that way.  That decision is for my body to make on race day and as much as I want it to happen, there are no guarantees.  I knew that when I set this goal in 2016 and despite the fact that I made several attempts to hit it, I was not, in fact, able to make it so.  That said, running a marathon PR has been and will continue to be one of my biggest goals for this year.  What I can do, though, is resolve to do everything I can from a training perspective to be as prepared as possible the next time I toe the line.  Whether it happens or no is to be determined.  But at least I can say I kept my resolution.  So, my goals are my goals.
~ run a marathon PR
~ help my high school XC team win the State Meet again 
~ visit, eat, run and hang with as many of my friends and teammates from around the country as possible
~ make Rosie and Grace laugh (most likely at me) at least once a day, if not more (this won't be too hard)
~ eat less sugar and drink more water (yes, this a goal, not a resolution.  I'm being realistic here)
~ worry and stress less, relax and chill more (this is a biggie)
~ fear less, smile more
Some are the same as last year.  Some are new.  And there are probably others but I just can't think of them right now because it's 6:30am and I've only had one cup of coffee.  Seriously, though, whether I reach them or not, I will resolve to aim for them as often as possible.  At the same time, I can resolve to do a lot of other things in my life that don't necessarily add pressure; just help make it a little better.  Things like:
~ resolve to tell my kids I love them at least twice a day
~ resolve to call my parents once a week (we talk sporadically, but not enough)
~ resolve to stretch after every run, even if only a little
~ resolve to learn and grow as a coach as much as possible
~ resolve to wake up every morning and have one positive thought before I start my day (Chas will appreciate this one)
~ resolve to run once a week without my watch
~ resolve to step outside my comfort zone (in running and/or life) at least once a week
~ resolve to support my kids and their passions whenever and wherever possible
~ resolve to remind myself how lucky I am before I go to bed every night
Happy New Year everyone. Here's to goals and resolutions, both new and old.  Let's do this.

Listen to this:

Kingdom - NAATIONS