Resolved

Well, I started marathon training today! Woo! Actually, the training technically started yesterday, but the first day (ignore the days of the week; I’ve rotated them back a day to have my long run on Saturday) was cross-training, so it hardly felt like a “start.” I went to the gym and spun for half an hour, then did some weights. Sunday cross-training is going to be tricky, since the gym doesn’t open until 9AM on Sundays. When weather improves, I can bike outside before church, but until then, it’ll be catch-as-catch-can.

Today, as prescribed, I did 3 miles, which hardly felt like enough to scratch the itch, but I imagine I’ll appreciate those shorter runs on Mondays and Wednesdays as time goes on. Running primarily much longer distances, as I’ve been doing, is good for endurance, but pushing the pace for shorter periods will make my overall performance on race day a more satisfying thing, I hope. Plus, there’s less risk of injury, and after this year, I’m all about keeping my body as injury-free as possible.

So, if all goes as planned, by May, I’ll be crossing off Number 6 on my list, and even before the half-marathon goal in Number 5. How do you like that? I’ve been checking in on those 101 things every so often, and little by little, I’m marking off the goals. I have a little less than two years left, which will be plenty of time to get many more done. This works so much better for me than a yearly resolution! I don’t feel the same pressure or the disappointment in myself when I inevitably fail. There’s still time, and lots of it, and even if I don’t complete everything, I’ll have a pretty impressive list of things that I did do.

But I do have plans for 2009, if not “resolutions.” The Wisconsin Marathon, naturally, falls at the top, and I want to do another marathon in October, either the Marine Corps (probably) or Chicago. My logs are a bit confused for the first half of the year, thanks to mainly writing down treadmill minutes instead of miles, but I probably ran about 1,100 miles this year; in 2009, I’d like to aim for at least 1,500. (The psycho part of me would love to say, “2,009 in 2009!” but I want to be conservative. ) I want to get my yard better; the rhododendrons out front are just pathetic with their lack of sunlight, so I’ll move them and put something out there that doesn’t require much light. Oh, yeah, and waterproof my basement.

If we take a family vacation in 2009, I want it to be a low-key one, with just a couple of “must do” items and lots of unstructured time. (I joked that we should vacation at Mall of America, since it’s not that far from us, and Eric informed me that it might be more doable than I pictured. Hmmmm…) This summer, Gabe finally and happily will be big enough for the Kiddie Corner playground program, and with both him and Sam having a blast in their respective programs for a couple of hours every afternoon, I “plan” to have a very relaxing summer, myself.

I want to try to get better about planning vacation time further in advance, so that, for example, if I want to go to West Virginia for Easter, I’ll be more likely to be able to do it than if I start looking at the calendar the week before. More success and less likelihood of giving my long-suffering husband an aneurysm that way. Also, if I plan my calendar better and with more notice, I’ll be better equipped to do things like finally have the yard sale I’ve been “thinking about” for three years now. My basement will thank me.

Really, the biggest and best “plan” I have for the coming year is to be less duck-like and more like a fish. You are familiar with the cliche about being like a duck: serene in the world’s eye, but paddling like mad under the surface? All that paddling is making me bonkers. But fish, other than salmon swimming upstream (another image that resonates within me), seem to have it better solved: take turns drafting behind others, go with the flow as much as possible, and be equipped to adapt and make changes at a moment’s notice with jut the flick of a tail. Did you know that fish can even lie down to sleep? I didn’t, either, but when Sam and I pointed out what looked like a rather deceased large goldfish to the manager of the Chinese restaurant with the large fountain in the middle, the manager just leaned down and patted the fish’s tail, and he was up and swimming again, if looking a little perturbed. Not a bad life, all told.

For the rest, I’m planning to leave my mind open as much as I can. I don’t know exactly what’s in store, but I’m feeling surprisingly (considering my usual mindset for this time of year) up for yet another ride around the solar system. It’s a great big carousel, and I haven’t gotten my money’s worth yet!