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I’m not usually one for great big resolutions, as I think the more grandiose the idea, the more likely you are to fall through on completing it. I am always one for setting both short and long-term goals, however– doing whatever you can to better yourself and to achieve a more balanced lifestyle.

That’s why I’m so excited for 2013. To move on from an up-and-down 2012: do everything in my power to learn from the mistakes I made, but also to build upon the many positive changes I made in my life.

In recapping my year in running, I’ll be honest, it got a little hard to find too much to smile about. I was unable to defend my win at the Disney half, I didn’t PR on the track, and I didn’t make much progress just running mileage over the summer.

What I did do, though, was take those negatives and do my best to make change happen. I moved to a brand new place, started a new job, and I found, in Kristy Popp, a coach that I click with–that is focused on progress, and patience– two things I fully believe in, but on my own, found it hard to practice what I preached. With her help, I finally had the strength and sense to take well over a month off from running and recharge my batteries.

I am fortunate enough to have already built up a great support crew from a great company called Activ8, from my own spectacular place of employment (shoutout to TC Running Co.!), and from several fun, inspiring women (and men!) I run with nearly every day. I enjoy meeting more and more runners from the area just about every day. The community here is so active; even on nearly sub zero days I see people out and about around the lakes. It’s impressive.

And it is this support and positivity in my life that makes me believe 2013 is going to be fresh, different, and full of fun.

My 2013 GOALS are:

• To be and stay healthy– physically and mentally. Be positive, be smart, and be confident about my body and my training. Strive for progress, not perfection.
• To be more present. I know occasionally you have to look back and you have to look ahead, but I want and need to be patient and appreciate who and where I am here and now plenty more. Yoga and meditation are great practices for this.
• Get back in to racing, and ENJOYING racing and competition. Some 5K-10K distance stuff this spring (USATF MN and MDRA both have great racing circuits!), and for sure the TC 10 Miler come fall (I will NOT just spectate that one again, even if it was a lot of fun!).
• To continue to get out of my comfort zone — enjoy meeting new people/making connections and creating valuable and lasting relationships
• To further inspire others to run and be active
• To say no when I need to, not overextend myself, and therefore never be late to anything. Oops, I’m supposed to be realistic here. Let’s say, be early or on time to meetings/get togethers more often than I’m late. Related to that non overextending thing, it can allow me to keep my apartment more organized/well-decorated and inviting, too.
• To explore different ways I can use my talents and interests in marketing/social media/writing to contribute to this world outside of just running.

There you have it, my NON exhaustive list of achievable goals for the brand new, shiny year.

Hope to have inspired you to set your own realistic goals. Please do share if you’ve thought them out! We can help each other stay on track.

Here’s to a healthy, present, PR-filled, risk-taking, inspirational, prompt, organized, positive, compassionate, better-balanced 2013!

~Jenny “We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives…not looking for flaws, but for potential.” -Ellen Goodman
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