2014 started with what I thought was a witty, original sounding post about how New Year’s resolutions aren’t bad, but you need to be smart about your motivations behind them and planning steps to achieve these goals. Reading it now, the post is a bit of a hot mess (the constant urge to Revise!) and there are a lot of unfinished resolutions. Ok, like all of them.

#7 is a constant battle for me.

So now that my credibility as a goal-setting source has been debunked, what can we learn from this #epicfail? First, we do not need to use #s in front of everything. It’s annoying. That’s actually a really, really good resolution for half the social media universe – learn how to use hashtags right. #justuseone #maybetwo #threeispushingit #fourisannoying #youarenowblockedfrommynewsfeed

But just because a resolution wasn’t accomplished does NOT mean there wasn’t something valuable learned or gained from the attempt (like the art of denial). So let’s see what we can learn from my fails. #learningisfun #themoreyouknow #defgettingtoowittyformyowngoodthisyear

This past year was fueled by caffeine…lots of caffeine.

Ok, so let’s look at the 3 goals I had:

1. Do at least ONE unassisted pull-up (using the bench/a stool/a 12-foot ladder to reach the pull-up bar does NOT count as assistance when you are 5’2″)

2. Set a Personal Record (PR) in a half marathon

3. Legally change my last name (or completely change it to Veronica Foxwell for when I sell out and write smut novels to make money)

These really didn’t seem like unrealistic goals at the time. The last goal especially seemed like a total freebie. The one thing I could get done for sure. Oops…

So when going back over your failed goals, take a look at what you did do this year. Perhaps these things took up the time you needed to achieve your goals:

1. Starting going back to school to become a web developer. Spent sleepless nights trying to make my programs work and coming up with new curse words while coding.

2. Ran 8 half marathons, 1 10-mile trail run (in a foot of snow), 3 10Ks, 2 4-milers, 9 5Ks, and volunteered for a race. Oh, and TOUGH MUDDER PORTLAND. #insane #f@ckingcrazy #wedidntknowwhatweweregettingintobesidesmud

So maybe I didn’t PR but check out this medal! I’m all about that bling.

3. Went from doing CrossFit 3x a week to 4 or more.

These T-Rex arms have been working hard to do a pullup. Yes I used a bench to get up here 😛

4. Got a puppy.

So then after thinking about what took up a lot of your time this year, look at what you gained or learned from that experience. Did any of these things help you get closer to accomplishing any of your past year’s resolutions?

1. Now I can code! Sort of. Like I can make a program that converts Celsius to Fahrenheit, or you can play Black Jack with the computer and it keeps score for you. As an English major, I need these valuable programming skills that someone might actually pay me for. Then I don’t have to change my name to Veronica Foxwell and write 50 Shades of Grey rip-offs. Or at the very least I have created something that can do math for me. #thestruggleisreal

2. I learned I need to be smarter with my race scheduling and training. A good balance of running and strength training keep me ready for any type of race. Once I got past shin splints (combo no more treadmill and finding new shoes), I didn’t have any injuries. I felt better during races when I was doing a lot of CrossFit, but I wasn’t very fast because I focused more on my mileage than speed work. Also, I’m not running 3 half marathons in 4 weeks. Ever. Again. Recovery is important and tapering too! Going to CrossFit the day before a half marathon, for example, and lifting like a BAMF is not the smartest decision.

We survived. Five hours later and lots of mud up my shorts later…

3. I can’t do an unassisted pullup, but I am very close. I did increase my 1-rep max on a lot of my other lifts and can finally snatch somewhat mostly correctly. Also enjoying the muscle definition I’m starting to see when the angle of the lighting is just right. #gains #Instagramfilter

Eva is so adorable…when she’s not eating everything.

4. Our 4-year-old black lab now has a puppy friend! Wall-e wasn’t super thrilled with Eva, but now they wrestle and annoy the shit out of the cats together! I’m pretty sure we just gained more work training her, hiding our shoes, and cleaning up doggy messes. But she’s so darn adorable. And she’s fast. When she’s old enough to run with me, she’s going to get us a 7-min mile.

So perhaps I haven’t accomplished these goals yet, but I’m still on track. Sometimes the journey takes longer than we’d like it to (this is especially how I feel at mile 8 of a half marathon), but we should still enjoy it and not give up quite yet. After all, I can at least change my last name on Facebook, which really is what makes these things official. #justmarried #soinlove #magical #hesmybestfriend #hemakesmelaugh #heleavesbeardhairinthesink #andleavesthetolietseatup #andhogsthecovers #whatwasithinking