Anyway, truth is, I've been avoiding this part of my blogging a bit because I've so been slacking with my running, and frankly, with a lot of my other resolutions/pledges. Does little good to make them if I'm not going to hold myself accountable to them, though, so it's time to face the music. Still early enough in the year for some serious course corrections, right?
- Drinking more water goes hand-in-hand with healthier habits. Yeah, I'd like to lose 5-7 pounds, yada, yada. But I've found that what really keeps me on the right path is having a goal that requires me to remain dedicated to training. I will be running the Go! St. Louis! Half Marathon in April, and the Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon in October. I will also compete in at least two sprint triathlons this year.
Well, I've been drinking about the same amount of water. I may have even lost 2-3 pounds. What I've not been doing is running. Like, at all. The past two weeks, in particular have been tough in that regard, being out of town for five days and then pretty much exhausted for the following five days, and now I have a lovely chest cold to boot. None of that's going to matter come April 15th. The mile markers aren't interested in excuses. I don't know that I'll be able to pull it together by then, but, hell, I can walk-run the thing if I have to. At least I'm signed up for it. But I have to admit I'm pretty disappointed in my showing thus far on this front. Warmer weather will help, as well getting healthy. But, oh, do I have a long way to go on this one.
- Writing more for the sheer enjoyment (and catharsis) of writing is all well and good -- and to that end, I'm going to reinstitute my smile series. Not necessarily daily. But a minimum of three per week. More importantly, I aim to take my political blogging more seriously. It's an election year, after all. Minimum of one substantive, political blog per week.
The smile series has taken a serious hit. Not because there haven't been plenty of smiles this year. There have. My attentions have simply been focused on the political blogging of late. So, it's a little lop-sided there, but relatively easily corrected. The important thing is I've been writing. Quite a bit, actually. And it feels great!
- Keeping my feet on the ground is obviously a challenge for me. I will therefore be implementing a 30 Day/Dragon Slayer Rule. That will make practically no sense to anyone, save one or two of my closest friends. That's okay.
I'm not even going to comment on this one at the moment. I couldn't address it coherently if I wanted to.
- Loving the people who love me and loving them well -- I'm far better at this when I'm not awash in self-pity, which I will combat by..
Oddly enough, I'm doing okay with this one. I think. I've been trying, anyway. I do still have my Poor Me moments, but they haven't been so bad, of late.
- Focusing on what I have instead of what I don't. Since this is the concept with which I struggle the most, I think it's probably time to call in the Big Gun. What I see when I reflect on the above is a flagging spirit. And though I don't believe the answer to that lies in church alone, I know that when I was regularly attending, I was on steadier ground, spiritually speaking. Though God and I have heart-to-hearts on a quite regular basis, I find that attending church helps nourish my spirit in a way that our little chats don't quite accomplish. So, church. At least twice a month. Shoot - they have five different services. I think I can squeeze one into my schedule. And the podcasts for my long runs.
Well, I've made it to church twice so far this year. And there's still a Sunday left in this month. So, room for improvement, but definitely a move in the right direction.
Then there were the various odds and ends: Decluttering my life. (Which is to say, primarily, my house.) Starting my work day out at 8:00 a.m. And starting a new hobby/passion, which I've already decided will probably be: photography...
Yeah...I'll get back to you on those in another month or two.
Basically, it's a mixed review. Some areas need a little improvement. Some need quite a lot. And I'm not even sure why I'm subjecting my readers to this round of navel-gazing. I'm trying to keep myself honest here, but this is hardly inspired-blogging. May just publish and not link. If you're reading anyway, God love ya.
