Not too long after the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Day I was talking with a couple of my friends about the theory of New Year’s resolutions versus that of setting goals or plans for the new year. The three of us had discussed the exact definition of the word resolution that I posted above and that is one of the many reasons why New Year’s resolutions do not work.

I’ve always been a big fan of setting realistic goals and they don’t necessarily have to begin at the start of a new year. That is what is so great about goals, any time you decide to set one is a good time. But this is the new year when so many are doing just that so I’ll tell you some of my goals that I actually set back in November.

The first is to overcome my foot injury and get back into solid running shape. It has been hard coming back from this injury and it has only been in the past few weeks that I began to realize how much this shook me. It really did take away a lot of my confidence and when you combine that with the fact that I don’t really like to run in cold weather well getting back to running consistently has been a challenge. It’s an ongoing process to get back into running shape and I know I’ll get there.

Another goal is to focus on my nutrition. When I was hitting PR after PR I had a nutrients and was focused on what would specifically help me as a runner eat properly. I’m by doing that other things will start to get back into proper alignment. For example, when you eat healthy you’ll have more energy and this will make it a bit easier to get out the door for some of those runs.

I would then like to travel to more destination races. Not necessarily far away races but some that could be done on a somewhat inexpensive overnight weekend trip. I’ve got one lined up in Chicago and I’m planning on entering the lottery for the Broad Street run in Philly. I’ll also be looking at a couple of races in Boston, DC, and Connecticut. Oh and let’s not forget the Miami Half!

These are all attainable goals and I look forward to achieving them this year.