Should auld acquaintance be forgot?

As seems appropriate, I woke up this morning determined to write a "looking back, looking forward" entry as I ice the hell out of my knee. So here are some resolutions, both running and secular, based on what I've learned in 2007 and want to accomplish in 2008.

1. Stop avoiding birthdays. Ever since I started living away from home I've taken that as liberty to skip on giving birthday presents to my family. It's a bad habit and that's why I'm ending it. So mom, sis, dad, etc., expect some presents from me along with those phone calls this year.

2. Get rid of this damned IT pain. Hopefully, this can be solved in the short term (i.e., the next 96 hours). But I have a sneaking suspicion that the pain probably stems from the regular abuse of running long distances. I spent the last 10 months of 2007 training for some half-marathon or marathon--this IT pain may be a sign to ease it up on the long distances and maybe introduce some 10Ks and trail races to the mix.

3. ...that said, it would be cool to break 1000 miles next year. In 2007 I logged 816 miles--which doesn't include running in January or February since I didn't start tracking my runs until March. Let's round up to 850 to account for Jan and Feb. If I didn't have Footgate back in Nov/Dec I would have at least hit 900. Increasing the mileage a measly 10ish% doesn't seem like a debilitating, pain-inducing goal.

4. ...that said, I have the unspoken goal of increasing my speed every year. And while 2007 wasn't a banner year for speed, it was one for endurance, you know, with MY FIRST MARATHON EVER! I set a crappy PR for 26.2, so speed at that level I hope won't be much of an issue. As for the Half-Mary, I was aiming to PR at Austin--but that relies on this damn IT band healing. I have my eyes on a few other Half-Marys this year with hopes of reaching an 8:00 min/mile pace or better.

5. Eat right. Good God, do I love to eat. Any food, any cuisine, day or night, sweet or savoy--although I'm a real sucker for the sweets. You know what it is that my wife got me a chocolate cooking class for Christmas in hopes of helping me achieve my life-long dream: opening a dessert restaurant of my own. Yeah, we're talking serious foodie here. This eating problem is one of the reasons I started running: so that I could eat whatever I wanted and not have to worry. But I've realized in the past year that if I want to improve my running/overall well being, that the diet has to change. So this is a resolution to eat that chicken salad instead of the steak and pomme frites, snack on those crackers instead of that cupcake, and for God's sake eradicate the ice cream from my freezer.

6. Apply some running discipline to our finances. 2007 was a recovery year after the major expenses of getting married and moving to a new apartment. And let's not even mention that I didn't quality for my company's 401(k) until today--yes, the company I may be leaving in the next few weeks. But as of right now, all the credit cards are paid off (including all the Christmas shopping) and we are in the black. Now it's time to get our save on.

7. Take more pictures. My wife got me a camera as her wedding present to me. The idea was to document our new lives together. Cute, I know. Even cuter was that she used the pictures I took during our first year together to create a photo album, which she gave to me as my anniversary present. What I've learned during the past year is that I like to take pictures...when I remember to take the camera. For most trips/events I just forget to pack the camera. So I bought a bag for the camera yesterday, and placed it near the door, in hopes of remembering it on the way out.

So here comes another year of running and trying to make the most of everything and anyone I am luck enough to have. Three, two, one...Happy New Year!