The Resolution Run

On New Year’s Eve, the Running Room holds an annual run known as the “Resolution Run.” It’s a 5K fun run (i.e. not really a timed race) which is a great chance for people to start the New Year off right, with a bit of exercise. With your entry fee, you also get a jacket, so it’s pretty worthwhile.

I decided in November that I would sign up for this year’s run. What better way to kick off a whole new year of running goals than with a 5K fun run? So off I went to the run, clocking it in at 27:10, my best 5K time yet. (Although it wasn’t timed, the girl behind me was timing it, so I asked her after we crossed the finish line.)

But, more importantly, the run gave me some time to reflect on the purpose of New Year’s resolutions. Yes, I realize the majority of us make resolutions and don’t keep them, but the new year does bring a fresh start – a perfect time for resolutions.

Just before I headed off to my race, I read a great note written by one of my Facebook friends. It was a list of her top 10 resolutions for the New Year – and they were inspiring. Not the usual “I want to lose weight” or “I want to stop biting my fingernails” kinds of resolutions, but real, honest ways in which she wanted to change her life.

So while I ran my “Resolution Run,” I decided to come up with a few resolutions of my own. It’s no secret to those close to me that the fall of 2007 was a rough one for both me and my family. I found I was working too much, stressed out too much, yelling too much and far, far too snappish with everyone. I piled on the work (and stress), and found myself far, far worse off than before.

And while there’s not much I can do about a lot of it, I’ve come up with 10 of my own resolutions to try and make sure I don’t go through this again. Some of it is just changing my own attitude – and some is just putting my mind to making some changes. So here goes…

1. Worry and stress less
Yes, my biggest problem isn’t really even the amount of work I have or the never-ending “to-do” lists. It’s the fact that I worry and stress myself sick over those items. Deadlines are a part of my business – and I’ve never missed one in my life. Worrying about things that are out of my control is just a useless waste of time. The kids are sick and can’t go to daycare? I’ll deal with it. The washing machine breaks after a night when everyone pukes six times? I’ll deal with it. The idea here is to roll with the punches and not sweat the small stuff anymore. It’s going to take a lot of work to get to that point, but with a positive outlook, I believe I can do it.

2. Get organized
I know a number of people will kill themselves laughing at that statement, because most of my friends tell me I’m the most organized person they know. And it’s true… I’m pretty organized, particularly when it comes to work. (You cannot work from home with two kids and not be organized.)

But I’m not really talking about that kind of organization. I’m talking about clutter. The clutter in drawers, and cupboards, the papers piling up and the kids’ artwork… all the crap that seems to take over your life. I plan to organize my house, room by room, and find ways to realistically deal with all the clutter. (By realistically, I mean not setting myself up for failure. For example, I KNOW I will never scrapbook – so why tell myself I’m going to put the kids’ artwork and pictures in a scrapbook? Instead, I’m going to get more labeled Rubbermaid containers and stuff their artwork in there.) In fact, I’ve already started. This morning, I painted the boys’ rooms, and when they come home from the grandparents’ house on Saturday, their rooms will be freshly redecorated and organized.

3. Go organic
This one is going to be my toughest challenge, because I’m inherently cheap. But I’ve been doing a great deal of reading and research on the subject, and I’m really starting to see the health (and environmental) benefits of going organic. This means both food and cleaning products. Mike and I both complain of being tired, and I'm wondering if it's not related to all these chemicals in our homes and food. Not only that, but I’d love to think I could feed my family the healthiest foods possible. I know I can’t do it all at once, but I’ve resolved to start. I’ve already started switching cleaning products, which is a good first step. (Although, I have yet to find a cleaner for my bathtub that works as well as Vim, I must admit…)

4. Make new friends, and keep the old
Our busy lives mean sometimes friendships get a little bit shoved aside. But being on Facebook has put me in touch with so many old friends, and I've gotten to know a few new ones better as well. I know I don’t spend enough time with my closest friends, and I resolve to change that. There are also some newer friends in my life that I would really like to get to know better. I want to do that this year.

5. Improve my finances
Always an area of struggle for the family, for a few reasons. One is that both Mike and I just like to buy stuff! It was also a rough fall financially, because although I was working a lot, a few late-paying clients and a time lag between starting work and getting paid for it meant we had a number of big expenses with no money coming in. So this year, I resolve to finally get on top of the finances for good. And the best way to that, of course, is to do number six on my list…

6. Get tougher with late-payers
It keeps happening to me time and time again. I do work for a client, invoice them and then… nothing. Months pass, and no cheque. I e-mail saying, “Can you check on this invoice for me?” and I hear nothing. By then, I’ve had to borrow that money from credit – and am now paying interest so it actually COSTS me money to have done that job. (And this happens to me far more than I’d like to admit.)

It’s partly because I’m wishy-washy and hate confrontation. My accountant yells at me every year for letting it happen. “Charge them interest!” he says. At least five percent for every 30 days the account is in arrears. (But, of course, they have no legal obligation to pay it…) But this is the year I’m finally going to take that advice and start threatening people who don’t pay with small claims court. And, the other biggie, is that I will no longer work for those clients any more.

7. Stop comparing myself to other people
This is something that’s plagued me all my life. And I always thought that if I was fitter, or thinner, or something, that I would stop doing it. But today, I’m probably in the best shape I’ve ever been in my life. I work out, I eat (mostly!) okay, and I’m still unhappy with myself. I constantly compare myself to other people, and find myself lacking.

But the truth is, I am 5’11” tall – in my bare feet. I am never going to be tiny. I don’t have a great deal of excess fat anymore thanks to running (which is great for health reasons), but I’m far too tall to be a size zero. It’s just not me. I’ll never look like a few of my super-tiny friends (some of whom are 5’2”). I look like me. My husband, my sons, my family and my friends really don’t love me any less because I’m not a 5’4” size zero. So this year, I will stop comparing myself to others and learn to accept myself for being a healthy, fit, 5’11” woman. Which leads me to number eight…

8. Improve my running times
Okay, that’s a shallow goal, but, hey, this blog is supposed to be all about running! And I do want to improve my times this year. According to my 10K clinic instructor, the best way to do that is to run! Run more often, run longer distances and just generally run faster. So I will ensure I add both speed work and hills to my workouts and continue with weight training to improve my muscle strength. I aim to run 10K in 55 minutes, and bring my 5K time down to less than 27 minutes. (25 would be awesome!)

9. Be charitable
The last few years have seen me give more to charity, and that’s a resolution I want to strengthen in 2008. We will ask for donations to charity for the kids’ birthdays, I will run several charitable races, and just help out whenever I can. It’s tough to find the right causes out of so many good ones, but I will continue to support pediatric brain tumour research at Sick Kids, breast cancer research, MS and perhaps choose an international aid charity to help those less fortunate in the rest of the world.

10. Have more fun
I think this fall really took the fun out of my life. I feel like my family suffered because mommy just wasn’t any fun anymore. So this year, I plan to have fun. We started off with a trip to Niagara Falls after Christmas, and I want that to continue this year. I want to get bikes and go for bike rides with the family this summer. Take day trips to Niagara Falls, African Lion Safari, Canada’s Wonderland. Go swimming in our pool. Have a picnic. Just generally find some time in our lives for fun. (I also promised Andrew we would do a 1K fun run this summer.) Life is short, and before I know it, the boys will be all grown up and gone. This year, I’m going to enjoy my babies while I still can.

Will I keep these resolutions? I sure hope so. I hope to revisit them all during next year’s Resolution Run – and show that I’ve come a long way.

Happy trails…