2013 Goals

   So it's a shiny new year. Time for resolutions, goals and the resetting of priorities. Well, it is for most people. To be honest, I'm not really one to make a lot of resolutions on the New Year. I kind of just set and change my goals throughout the year as needed. New Year's is fun and all, but for me, it's really just another day and actually a reason for people to procrastinate working towards a goal. "I'll start working out on January 1st." "I'll start reading in the New Year." Etc. Etc. There is absolutely no reason why someone can't wake up on some random Wednesday in June and start those goals. But, generally, they don't. They have to start on New Year's. Want proof? Go to any gym in America over the next week and see how many people are in there. It will be PACKED. Then wait about a month and go again and see how many people are there.
   HOWEVER - even though I'm not big on resolutions on the New Year, I'm setting some anyway. I'll keep track of them here and at the end of the year, we can check back in and laugh at how terribly I did at reaching them. FYI - not all of these are athletically related. Which leads to my list...
GOAL 1: Maintain a healthy balance of lifestyle outside of running/swimming/biking. This can be really hard for triathletes - especially those training for long course and get into your two-a-day workouts. It's SO EASY to get sucked into training plans and obsessing over your times and planning your next race. How do you know when you've possibly crossed over the line of athletic obsession? When your husband tells you "You know, we can actually go on a vacation without running a race while we're there." Oops. Point taken, honey!
GOAL 2: Take a vacation without running a race while there.  See Goal 1.
GOAL 3: Read 52 books in 2013. I used to be quite the reader. A lot of people probably would say I still am, but I don't read anything like I used to. I was the weird girl who brought "War and Peace" to read during my high school beach week. I'm a pretty quick reader, too - I finished "Gone with the Wind" in a weekend, so hopefully 52 books in a year won't be too difficult. Though some might have to be Dr. Seuss if I get desperate late in the year. First book - "Red Mist" by Patricia Cromwell. Hey - I never said I had to read heavy literature - just a book!
GOAL 4: Sub 2:00 Half Marathon. Yes, I snuck an athletic goal in there. This has been a goal of mine for a while. I'm A-L-M-O-S-T there at 2:09. Hopefully 2013 will be the year!
GOAL 5: Learn to knit. I just came up with this one today when I had insomnia and was looking at Pinterest at 4:00 am. I like pretty scarves! Why not learn how to knit them myself?!
GOAL 6: More music. I used to play out in Nashville as a jazz vocalist on a pretty regular basis. But when the economy tanked, many of my gigs did as well. And then I went to grad school...and then Dudley went to law school...and so on and so on. Result - I do about two gigs a year for charity. This needs to change.
GOAL 7: Get out more. I love my home and am quite happy sitting on my sofa with my pups and hubby on a Friday night thankyouverymuch. However, doing it almost every night, especially when the reasoning is because I have to get up early to workout (see Goal 1) probably isn't good. So expect to see me out and about more being all social and what not.
GOAL 8: Give back: This is an ongoing goal, not a new one. I try to be generous with my time and money for various charities. But I always feel like I could / should do more. Along those lines, I decided to join the TNT program for the Nike Women's Half Marathon, which benefits the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I'm trying to get 500 people to give $10 to my campaign. If you can help, please click here: http://pages.teamintraining.org/tn/nikewhlf13/kmylls
   So there is my list. I'll probably add to or amend these as the year goes on. Here's hoping everyone has a wonderful 2013!!