Since it's the first day of February, I thought I'd check in on the status of my New Years Resolutions to keep myself accountable. Let's see how I'm doing:

1. Complete a half marathon.
-Well, I can't fully update you on my progress until May 1, race day. However, I can tell you that training has OFFICIALLY begun! I'm nervous, excited, and motivated at this point... so I'm feeling optimistic! (Okay, not gonna lie... I'm also scared shitless.)


2.  Keep in better touch with friends/family by calling them more often.
-Doing okay with this so far... work/training has been busy lately, but I'm trying. 
            **note to self: try HARDER.


3.  Save more money each month and become more financially knowledgeable/responsible.
-So far, so good! Eating out less, cooking more, shopping less! Apparently I need to open a Roth IRA (according to Turbo Tax). Any advice about this... anyone??


4. Drink more water.
-This has DEFINITELY been successful so far, as my bladder would complain. I'm drinking at least 64 ounces of water throughout the day and I've really noticed a difference. I'm feeling less snacky, my face WAS clearing up (until last night for some reason), and I feel like I have more energy... which may be a combination of factors.


5. Stop biting my nails.
-Well... I'm trying. This should NOT be my hardest resolution. Apparently people swear by HYPNOSIS! That will definitely not be the route I take.


6. Lose weight.
-5-6 pounds this month. I know this isn't much in the grand scheme of things but it's just enough to keep me motivated and optimistic. Not gonna lie, I could really use the $600 that's on the line. Even though there isn't a visible change, there's a mental one, and that's what matters! :)


I'd say I'm doing pretty well! I hadn't really thought about my progress until I started to look back on them today, but I think the key is that I set realistic, measurable goals! I chose resolutions that I knew I could stick with and I can see the progress that I'm making. This is why I didn't make a resolution to find a boyfriend, ha. :)

How are you doing with YOUR resolutions?

Rachel (one of my best friends/coworker) and I are officially training for the Oklahoma City Memorial Half Marathon on May 1! I had started my training at the beginning of January, however, training has been on hold as a result of this back injury. I'm following Hal Higdon's 10K and Half Marathon training plans as best I can.

We're planning on running the Capitol 10K together in Austin at the end of March, as well. I'm also considering the Dash Down Greenville on March 12th if anyone is interested!

The half marathon will be the farthest I've EVER run, so I most definitely need to stay on top of my training to stay injury-free!! Can't wait to achieve this amazing milestone with one of my best friends!! I wonder if on the day of the race I'll be sharing sentiments with this shirt:


I'd really like to raise money or something for some kind of cause (don't know what yet)... however I have no idea how to even go about that. If you happen to have any knowledge in the area, let me know!

I've been thinking a lot about why I consistently fail to achieve my new year's resolutions... and I realized that it is because I set myself up for failure. I make a list of way too many things that are basically unattainable because they have no way to measure progress... there's no way to say it's been "mastered". If 6 years as a Speech Path student taught me anything, it's that all goals must be specific and MEASURABLE. I'm so guilty of writing resolutions (goals, if you will) like "lose weight", "have more fun", "save money" etc... but how can you tell if you've ever achieved those goals? You can't. Now if only it hadn't taken me 25 years to realize that I could have probably achieved quite a bit more in my life.

But why dwell on the past? 2011 will be MY year of success! These are just brief overall goals... and I realize they sound similar to the 'vague' resolutions that I've written in the past and just told you I wasn't going to write, but I've written measurable objectives for each of these goals to help me achieve them. I'm just not putting all of that on here because some of it is rather personal (i.e. money/weight/etc). I'll keep you posted on my progress. :)

1. Complete a half marathon.
2. Keep in better touch with friends/family by calling them more often.
3. Save more money each month and become more financially knowledgable/responsible.
4. Drink more water.
5. Stop biting my nails. (Am I 5 years old?!)
AND...
6. Lose weight.



My parents, sister and I are doing a Desjardins' Biggest Loser. Danielle and I put in $100 each, and my parents put in $200 each... so there's a $600 pot. The winner with the highest percentage of weight loss on May 1 will get $500 and second place will get $100. I'm actually really excited about it! (and also glad that there's plenty of time!)

What are your resolutions this year? Are they measurable? It's not too late to 'fix' them and set yourself up for success.