Goals and resolutions for 2015

Happy New Year, everyone!

I have to work on New Year's Day, so these days I don't usually paint the town red on New Year's Eve. Also, over the past few days I've been feeling like I'm on the brink of catching a cold. My throat has been feeling ever-so-slightly raw. So Adam and I spent the night relaxing at home.

Party on, Taz!

Here are my goals for 2015:

Run at least 750 miles
This averages out to 62.5 miles per month. During my peak training months, I consider this pretty doable. However, it's the off-season months (e.g. right now, in the dead of winter combined with my busiest time of the year at work) that will make this goal a challenge for me. My hope is to chip away at this as best I can. An extra mile or two here and there will eventually start to add up!

Strength-Train
Do some form of resistance training at least twice a week. This can mean anything from using hand weights, weight-training machines, or fitness bands to just good old-fashioned body-weight exercises like planks and push-ups. I was very happy with the positive changes I reaped from increased strength-training in 2014. I am motivated to keep it up.

Yoga and Stretching/Foam Rolling
Do yoga at least once a week. Thankfully, my office gym offers fantastic free yoga classes for all employees at least three times a week. Therefore, this goal shouldn't be hard to achieve.

I also want to get into the habit of doing some stretching and/or foam rolling on a daily basis, or at least five times a week. My IT band, piriformis, hamstrings, and calves seem to be perpetually tight. I can really feel the difference, on so many levels, when I've taken the time to stretch out.

Set a new 5K PR
Ahhh, the 5K, my nemesis. This is the only remaining distance for which I have not been able to break my longstanding PR from well over a decade ago. I think I made four attempts in 2014 (I'm embarrassed to go back and count the exact number)!

Last year, my preparations included some interval training and shake-out runs. This year, I'm going to also try doing some runs at or slightly faster than goal pace.

Read more books
I generally don't have a lot of patience for reading books. My reading usually consists of periodicals like magazines. (Due to lack of patience, I don't watch many movies, either.) However, whenever I do take the time to plow through a book (or watch a movie), I almost always enjoy it. Therefore, my goal is average at least one book per month, if not more. It would be terrific to surpass this goal, of course. All book recommendations are welcome!

I am attending a new-to-me book club starting this month and couldn't be more excited. The book club will be an enormous boost to achieving this goal. I already finished reading this month's selection, weeks in advance!

Explore new cooking avenues
For someone who has over two dozen cookbooks at home and who watches a lot of Food Network/Cooking Channel, I don't branch out with new recipes nearly as often as I could. I am very fortunate to have convenient access to several places offering amazing grocery selections. Time to take more advantage. I'd like to try at least 18 new recipes/ingredients this year.

Things are already well on track towards this goal. In a few weeks, I'll be attending a pierogi-making class. I also just bought a Groupon for Adam and me to attend a pasta-making class!

Enjoy Chicago
The city has an infinite amount of things to see and do. While it's difficult to put forth a measurable goal on this, I do want to put forth the effort to enjoy more of the city's offerings. This could include spending more time exploring the museums (using my MSI Chicago membership more!), the park district, theaters, music venues (inspired by my experiences in New Orleans), neighborhood joints, fitness groups, the list goes on and on.

Others:

• Focus on quality instead of quantity, in general
• Drink more water
• Get at least 7 hours of sleep every night
• Brush my teeth after meals (I keep a case with a toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss at my desk in the office, but have rarely ever used it)
• Reduce my consumption of sodium and added sugar
• Walk or Divvy as much as possible
• Cut down on mindless Facebook usage
• Comment on every blog that I read at least once every few weeks
• Try to be on time for every meeting/appointment that I attend

Cheers to 2015 being a fantastic year for all of us! I look forward to all that the new year will bring, and to following everyone's journeys along the way!