Resolutions, part deux

Yesterday, I talked about my resolutions for my home in 2012. Now it's time to focus on me.

FITNESS

Did you people know that I run for exercise? If you've been coming here for any length of time, you probably did. Did you also know that I used to not be able to run for more than 45 seconds at a time only 5ish years ago? Now, I regularly run for 50+ minutes with no walking breaks. That's progress, my friends. No fooling, one day I said out loud to no one in particular, "I'm going to run 6 miles today." And I did. It wasn't easy but it sure felt good when I finished.

Running and I have a love-hate relationship. This is probably true for a lot of casual runners. I say casual because I run only 3 days a week and do other activities like strength training and zumba to balance things out. Well, this year, even though I love-hate running, I'm going to really focus on removing the hate part. I'd love to get to a point where I really love running and look forward to every single time I step on the treadmill. Running is so good for me. It's transforming my legs into muscle machines like no other exercise has ever done.

In an attempt to become a better runner in 2012, I'm going to run more races. As in, more than the one 5K I've ever run in my whole life. I'd like to run more 5K's and possibly a 10K or two as well. Some people say you burn out on running if you're not constantly working toward a goal, such as a personal record in a race. When I put up an awesome time on the treadmill I cheer for myself (stop laughing) but I don't get a medal. There's no t-shirt that says, "Personal Best for Ashley". As long as my jacked up foot will allow, I'm going to keep adding distance and upping speed. Being healthy is extremely important to me. Maybe 2012 is also the year I finally hit my elusive goal weight. When I achieve that, I'll tell you what that number is. I'm also going to keep track of the number of miles I run this year. My goal is 500 miles in 2012. Even with only 3 days of running each week, I think I can do it. We shall see!

FOOD

What's fitness without food, right? This is something I started at the end of 2011 and really want to continue. I know you all read my diatribe in too many carbs recently. Perhaps some of you took it to heart, perhaps some of you chortled aloud. Oh my friends, the first time I read about cutting out white foods I laughed too. I'm going to refocus my attention from carbs to protein. Something I've discovered in my running journey is that protein is a really important fuel component. Duh, right? I feel much better after a run where I ate a piece of cheese beforehand than when I run completely empty-stomached.

In fact, I'm actually going to explore more meatless protein options. Shhh, don't tell John. No, I would never give up meat completely. But, I also have very few main course recipes that feature alternate types of protein and I want to change that. Also, have you seen the price of meat these days? Kroger thinks I'm made of money. So, we'll see what happens and if these meatless dinners are met with much resistance Chez G.

I also want to explore different types of cuisine. I'm hoping to stumble on foods I've never tried and fall in love with them. I love food in general so I have high hopes for this. On the other hand, there are lots of classic recipes I've never attempted before so I'm going to circle back and try those too. Lots of growth in the kitchen from Ashley this year. I probably won't keep up my weekly new recipes but I'll still be branching out in a big way.

OK, if you're still out there, those are my resolutions for 2012. A good year, I can tell.