New Year's Resolu...

Nope. I don't believe in them and I don't do them. A resolution, despite it's root word being resolve, is nothing more than a wish with about as much substance as a dream. By the end of the day you rarely can remember the dream. And by the end of the year you probably remember back in January when you resolved to do something that you probably didn't do!

There - I said it!

I do, however believe in goals. A goal is a plan. With an action list, a  deadline, and thoughts toward whom and what can help you achieve that goal. A goal is something you can find a way to track, either by checking off the action list as you step forward, or ticking down the countdown, as you shed the pounds or get closer (and fitter) for the race.

So here's a FEW of my goals for 2012, related (obviously) to getting and staying fit and healthy:

#1 - Get the weight down to 198 by April 14. I'll be 50 years old and - if I succeed - I will be 90 pounds lighter than I was in April 2010. (I have 29.5 pounds to go by then - I CAN do it!)

#2 - Run a 50K "combo" (see my earlier post regarding the April Challenge) in the week before and including the day of my birthday. And then P A R T Y like a 35-year-old*!!

#3 - Run a Marathon. Not sure when or where yet, but this will be the goal behind the mini-goals of the Get Lucky 7K, the St. Paul Running Opener 10K, the Apple Blossom 10K, the Minneapolis Half Marathon, the Minneapolis Duathlon, and the Monster Dash Half-Marathon. (See all those measurable steps I can check off as I approach the Marathon goal?)

#4 - Most importantly, continue - and in fact expand - my role as a model to my son, who will be 12 next year and growing ever closer to the "tough years of teenage".

I would say "Wish me luck" but I don't need luck (another thing I don't believe in!). Just faith, hard work and dedication. Join me!


*I say 35 because that's about the age I was when I discovered "fine ale" as opposed to "get drunk beer". Fine Ale will be featured at my 50th birthday party!