Happy New Year!  Ok, well, yeah, I know–we’re three weeks into the new year already, but I’m just now getting time to sit down and write this post, thanks to another (unexpected!) snow day off from school.  Hope your 2014 is off to a bang!  I know mine has been great–although busy–so far!

As you probably expected from the title, I am not a fan of all of the resolutions that pop up around the end of December and beginning of January.  Not because I don’t think it’s a great thing to make decisions, or to vow to change things, but because I’m pretty sure that most people (man, I wish I had a statistic here–maybe I should look one up…) don’t keep those resolutions they make much past this third or fourth week of the year.  I guess there have to be some people who are really dedicated and last all the way into March or April, but there probably aren’t very many.

And so for those reasons I decided last year to NOT make a New Years’ resolution.  Instead, I make plans.  And yes, it’s probably just semantics, but since I’m a writer–and therefore a lover of just the rights words–I have chosen to do that instead.  I will make plans, take challenges and set goals.  I strive to change things so that I will be able to keep having my desired outcomes farther into the year than March.  Hopefully for more than just the year ahead–for many years to come.

This year my challenge comes in the form of running.  If you’ve been around this blog for a while, then you know that sometimes I can be labeled as a runner.  I know, it sounds funny, but I go in spurts.  Like I’ll be really gung-ho for 6 months (usually because I have a weight loss goal or race to drive me), and then I won’t lace up my shoes for the following 6 months at all.  Until another race or a few extra pounds motivates me again.

So that brings me to my challenge for this year: to run 500 miles in 2014!  I have many friends on Twitter and Facebook who are teachers, and the more I am there I am finding that many teachers are also runners–and  hard core runners at that.  I mean running-more-than-one-marathon-a-year runners.  Running-outside-in-a-blizzard runners.  Nothing-at-all-like-me runners.  But alas, I have taken the challenge to join this group of dedicated ladies and gents and give my all.  And my all is all I can expect, right?  I am probably not going to run a marathon this year (or maybe not ever), but I have taken a challenge, set a goal AND have a plan to make it work.  For me, it’s that last part that’s the most important.

Here’s the whole challenge:

2014 Run Teacher Run Challenge
*Run or work out at least 14 times a month in 2014.
*Post at least 14 times on run teacher run.
*Run at least 4 “real” or virtual races in 2014. (Or create your own with friends!)
*Run at least 400 miles in 2014. (Or create your own workout equivalent to miles.) (I guess somewhere along the way I changed this number.  Or someone else did, too.  No worries.  I’m in for 500!)

Sounds like a tall order since I haven’t run since before Thanksgiving (would you believe it was because I had a race coming up??).  But then my fabulous cyberfriend Shannon sent me a spreadsheet to use to log my miles and time and it was just what I needed.  So here’s how I’m doing so far:

It’s not glamorous.  It’s not fast (just don’t do the math on how fast I run a mile, ok?), but it’s getting done!  And that makes me more motivated to keep getting it done.  I have to laugh actually, because today was supposed to be an “off” day because I have plans tonight, but then when we ended up with a snow day I got really excited because it means I can make time for a run today!  More miles for me!  And since there is accountability here (albeit “virtual” accountability via my Facebook group), I am pushed to make sure I do what I say I’m going to do.

So, yeah, it’s probably semantics, but hey, words have meanings for a reason, right?  And that’s what synonyms are for–making sure you have just the right word.  So join me in making plans and setting goals instead of making resolutions this year.

What have you planned to do in 2014?  How will you make that happen?  I would love to hear about your goals and dreams!  Believe, I’ll join your cheering section as you begin your journey!