Races and Resolutions for 2010

December 31st 2009 will be a night to remember! Not only will we be welcoming a new year but also a new decade and to add the icing to the cake, tonights full moon will  be a blue moon.  It will be the first since 1990 to fall on New Years eve. The next time it falls on New Years won't be until 2028.

I have not been  one to make resolutions or keep them when I did. They always seem to start out with a bang and end in a sad fizzle about the time February comes to an end. You know the ones, loose weight, quit smoking, be nicer to my fellow man, not be angry all the time.ect. Resolutions need examination and planning and are not in any way simple. They require far more than a new years bit of gusto to become true life changes. (although it is a good place to start, just not stop!)
This year I am thinking of goals that are realistic and flexible. Goals that have milestones and can be planned out and checked off a list. Goals that in turn will add to my self esteme and help me improve in the abstract areas of life and my overall well being .There are aspects of myself I want to work on that are spiritual, emotional and mental  however they are not easily tracked and are lifestyle and day to day things I want to work on regardless of the year or time.

Some of the things I worked on in 2009 and that I want to continue to work on are here in list form (no particular order)  and are fodder for their own individual blog, however I want to jot them down for the sake of posterity.
There is no end to these, no destination, only the journey.

• be honest with myself and speak the truth for the sake of it. Recognize that icky feeling in the pit of my stomach when I can tell that I am trying to make things seem the way I want them too and not as they are.
• come to terms with the gray area. This is a hard one. Perspective is tricky and seems unsafe at best however its what most of life is made of.
• take responsibility for how I look and how it makes me feel. There is no quick fix or super fast weight loss trick. Its hard work and determination and an ongoing process. I have lost about 15 pounds and like more and more how I look. I have a fair amount of endurance and strength as well and I know when to quit counting calories if  my body needs to fight something off or build some muscle.
• listen instead of waiting for my turn to talk.
• breathe deeply and let the anger go
• reprogram my subconscious response to positive rather than negative reactions
• smile more often
• like what I have the best of all.
• stop and think instead of going on pure emotion
• accepting that happiness is what I want not drama and instant gratification
• being able to recognize what my needs are and how to get them met so I can be happy
• remembering that "this too shall pass".
• Talking about things really does help
• Less really is sometimes more 
• Barefoot running means more fun and less injuries (and has serendipitously led to some amazing new friends!)

That list could go on and on but I have to move on and get this posted so without further ado my list of races and then some resolutions.

Childserve Run for the Kids 5k. sometime in April or early May
The goal is to beat last years time and do it barefoot and also to place in my age group. Maybe even win in my age group! I came in 4th in my age group last year.

Drake Relays 1/2 Marathon April 24th
PR barefoot of course

Dam to Dam 20k June 5th
The goal is to beat last years time and do it barefoot.


Psycho Psummer Run Toto Run 50k trail race July 10th.
This will be my first 50k (31 miles which is considered an Ultra marathon) whats another 5 miles really!
(there are other factors involved so this may or may not happen since its not in the Des Moines area)

Capital Persuit 5k  September 26th
The goal is to beat my 2009 time . Last years race was my first barefoot race! I ran it faster than the Childserve 5k earlier in the year!

Des Moines Marathon  October 17th
I ran the half marathon in 2009 and was very pleased with my time and the conditioning I had. I ran the half barefoot and plan to run the full barefoot.

Living History Farms Race  November 20th
The goal is to beat my time in 2009. This was my first off road race and I fell in love!  RUN IN COSTUME AAAAHHH!!!!!! (suggestions welcome) and to shave 15 minutes off my time.

Sycamore 8 trail race   early December
This one is up in the air....

Resolutions/Goals

• 1000 miles...Barefoot of course however since I will be trail running too I just put miles.
• Run a race in costume. 
• Of course a weight loss goal...to keep doing what I have been doing. Track the foods I eat on Livestrong's Daily plate and listen honestly to what my body is saying like when I feel  I am getting sick to ditch the diet and eat more so I can have fuel to fight off whatever is going on.  Ultimately I want to like what I see in the mirror and feel comfortable in my clothes and I do more and more, however I want to keep improving. I am feeling a great deal of satisfaction from the hard work I am putting in. I would like to weigh 135. I want to have less weight to lug around when I run. (I weigh 148 now)
• My friend Krista posted an update about going on a shameless celebrity website fast in 2010 and it really hit home. I am a Perez Hilton junkie. I do think that he is a descent journalist despite  all of the celebrity posts however I spend too much of my life on his website. So no more Perez. I will read or blog or digg or stumble or get off my butt and play with the kids or cook some food!
• Blog at least once a week
• Do things that scare me.  A friend is working on this and she mentioned it after she put herself out there to get to know me better. She bravely took a chance and I think its wonderful. I don't have a list of fears to concur however there are old patterns to change that scare me, believing in myself in certain situations, I will know it when those times come and I will push myself to take risks.
  

 I am so furtunate to be living in this time in this world. There is such potential for growth and change!

So I guess that's going to have to be it for now as the new year is only a few hours away and I want to post this in 2009!  Happy New Year my friends!