New Years Resolution Recap 2011

This morning, I slept in gloriously late, ate a fueling breakfast, laced up my sneakers and hit the gym for my first workout during my vacation in Florida.

Breakfast - Thomas’ everything bagel thin with Philadelphia spinach and artichoke cream cheese, 2 devilled eggs, and a handful of grapes. 

Fun Fact – When looking at the nutrition between Philadelphia spinach and artichoke REGULAR cream cheese and Philadelphia 1/3 less fat cream cheese, there Regular one was lighter than the reduced fat.  Hmm.

I had a great workout at the gym and stuck to today’s plan.

• 12/27: 5 mile run and weight training arms check!

For my 5 mile run, I hopped on the treadmill and was going to try and watch a show on my iPad.  Unfortunately I was having technical difficulties so I decided to run for 3 songs, walk for 1, and repeat until the 5 miles were over.  The time flew and even with a lot of walking, I finished in under and hour and felt strong.  I used today as a day to increase my speed a bit while I was running, and I ran at a pace that was definitely faster than my normal jogging pace outdoors.

For the strength portion of the workout, I did 2 sets of an arm circuit of machines.

Exercise	Reps	Weight
Chest Press	15	30 lbs
Fixed Pull-down	15	55 lbs
Shoulder Press	12	35 lbs
Row/Rear Deltoid	15	50 lbs
Tricep Press	12	65 lbs
Assisted Dips	12	-100 lbs
Assisted Chin ups	12	-100 lbs

I was definitely feeling the burn.  I tried to increase by a few reps and pounds with certain machines that I knew I could be challenged more on.

Post workout lunch – chopped onions, peppers, tomatoes, grilled chicken, brown rice, and some Philadelphia regular cooking cream all mixed together for a little stir fry.  Plus 1 serving of fat free BBQ Pringles which officially finishes up that can.  Pretty sure no one else was enjoying them either…hmm.

Looks like a big mess, but it tasted delicious.

I thought now might be a good time to assess some of the New Years Resolutions that I set for myself this time last year. 

Resolution 1 – Run a 5K

Check! I ran my first 5K on February 25th 2011 and then a total of 7 5K’s during the year. 

Resolution 2 – Run a 10K

Well, I never officially ran a 10K, but I did run two 5 milers as well as longer races.  It just was hard to plan a 10K that fit in with my work schedule.  So officially it wasn’t reached, but it was due to scheduling conflicts.

Resolution 3 – Run Broad Street Run

Check!  My friend Pam and I completed the Broad Street Run in about 1 hour and 50 minutes with smiles on our faces.  Did I mention we ran the Sunday before taking 5 finals.  Eek!  We were definitely determined.

Resolution 4 – Run a Half Marathon

Check!  I had signed up for the half marathon in Philadelphia in September, but I knew that I did not train enough to have a good experience running it.  I pushed back my first half until November 21st and ended up running with my friend Ro.  We crossed the finish line in just under 3 hours.  It was very challenging, especially the last 2 miles, but well worth it.

Resolution 5 – Complete a Triathlon without drowning

Check!  I completed two sprint triathlons this summer and I hope to complete more next year!  I found them to actually be more enjoyable than a straight running race because the mini-goals reached along the way kept things more interesting.  Funny enough, I was most worried about the swim, and it ended up being my favorite part!

Resolution 6 – Log at least 1,000 miles in 2011 by foot

Epic Fail.  After running the Broad Street Run 10 miler, I started getting more into spinning and other forms of cardio.  I mentally needed a break from running.  Up until May, I was right on track to finish the year strong and over 1,000 miles, but the pressure of HAVING to run to get enough miles in and not fall behind was annoying.  If I want to spin, I should spin!  Not have to run 3 miles because of my running tally. I stopped counting around June, and don’t have any regrets for throwing this resolution out the window.

Resolution 7 - Get through my 4th year and first semester of 5th year of pharmacy school

Check!  I finished both 4th year and the first semester of my fifth year strong!  I cannot believe that I only have one semester of classes left before my year of rotations.  Where did the time go?

Resolution 8 Train for a marathon!

“My hope that 2011 is a year of great progress.  My ultimate goal is to run a marathon in late 2011 or early 2012.” 

I know that I definitely want to run a marathon someday, but that day is not here yet.  I have a lot of stress on me with school, work, and a hectic schedule in general.  Will I run a marathon in 2012…maybe, but probably not.  This is something I’m moving from the resolution list to my bucket list.  I want to train really hard when I eventually do it, and I’d ideally like to run it with a friend so I had someone to train with.  The idea of running a 20 mile training run alone is just depressing and intimidating. 

Dear 2011, I’m happy to report that I pretty much kicked your butt!  2011 was a year of some amazing changes.  In the beginning, I could barely run a mile without stopping.  Now, I’m running half marathons.  I know that in the upcoming year, I will progress even more.  I want to improve upon my speed, increase my endurance, and tackle some new obstacles. 

I only have a few days left to finalize 2012’s New Years Resolutions.  Better get brain-storming!!!

How did you do with this years resolutions?