2011 Resolutions Review

It's that time of year, time to look back and see what we did or did not get done in 2011, and to make plans for 2012. 

Here's a link to my original resolutions, with some description of each and some explanation of why I chose it, or what it meant to me.

1. Italian at home (evenings on the second floor (where the kitchen and living room are)).

Result:  Big resolution failure. We did well through about February, but I had a job interview and then an offer, and hubby and I had lots to discuss about those big life changes.  So marital communication took priority over Italian practice.  But there's really no good excuse for why we never picked it back up.  Maybe I was just lazy.  Maybe I'm frustrated that my husband speaks so much better than I do -- and it's hard for me to be taught by him.  The good aspects of this resolution though were that all year we continued to attend an Italian conversation class (the class where we actually met), so at least I spent 1.5 hours speaking or listening to Italian most weeks.  And when hubby is watching the news at home, he frequently watches RAI, so maybe it's seeping into my consciousness a bit?  When we were in Italy, I'd say our communication level was average.  It's always tough though, no matter how much we study, because most of his family speaks dialect, which is frustrating. 

2. Follow at least one ambitious marathon training program to the best of my ability (with this eventually leading to a marathon PR in 2011, either in the spring or the fall or both).

Result:  Success!  I trained very hard last spring and ended up with a PR in Boston by a few minutes -- fast enough to requalify to run Boston next year, which was nice, though I don't plan on running it again anytime soon.  I did not train as hard for my fall marathon (San Antonio) and in some ways, it showed in my results.  But I'm torn, because I think the horrible weather would have doomed me even if I'd had the best training of my life, so maybe it's best that I didn't waste the effort?  Hard to say. 

3. Log at least 1400 miles of running.

Result:  Success!  And I'm actually over 1700 miles!  That's a big increase for me.  2009 = 1284 miles.  2010 = 1400 miles (just over).  2011 = 1700 miles and change.  Wow. 

4. Attain a new 5k PR.

Result:  Failure.  Getting the soleus injury in August kind of derailed my plans, but it's hard to lay the blame there completely.  It's very hard to train for distance and speed at the same time, and my 5k PR is already near the top of my ability I think, so this was an ambitious goal, though technically, I only want to break it by 2 seconds.  This resolution may reappear on my 2012 resolutions list, though possibly in a modified form. 

5. Entertaining at home -- similar resolution to last year's in terms of quantity, goal is to host several people we did not host last year.

Result:  Success!  We had several dinner parties, one brunch party (actually, that was just my party, hubby was working), and then several nights where we cooked for just another couple.  I think I broke bread with at least 24 different people in our home in 2011 (not counting book club) for formal meals.  That's awesome and I love it.  I may make this a resolution for the third year in a row now. 

6. Flossing five days per week.

Result:  Failure.  Just didn't happen.  I think I flossed more than usual, but I wasn't close to five days per week.  My dentist will no doubt be very disappointed in me.

7. Operation: Fit-Closet (moving toward having everything in my closet fit me and be things I wear).

Result:  Partial success.  I got about 10 skirts altered, and I picked out 10 pairs of pants and 1 dress that I'd like to have done, but instead of doing them, I gained some weight in Italy and haven't lost it yet.  And I don't want to have them altered until I do.  But my closet organization is pretty good, I did well at varying my outfits at work, and I wear most of what is in my closet.  But I need to purge as I have so much more than I need. 

8. Book Research.

Result:  Failure.  I guess I made some progress in 2011, but there the research process can be never-ending, and I've devoted less time to research given work, yoga, and all the other things that I spent time doing this year.  The big step in 2011 was probably when I changed jobs I got the research a bit more organized, rearranging emails and setting up folders, etc. 

So there you have it, my 8 published resolutions reviewed.  A mixed bag.  But I had some unpublished ones that even out the score a little -- particularly the job change and some financial ones.  So I'd say it was a 50/50 year.  No complaints here!  I think I'm ending the year marginally healthier and happier than I started it, so that's a good year in my book. 

It will probably take a few more days to come up with my 2012 list, but I'm giving it some thought.  I love resolutions, so I don't want to take them lightly.