Saturday, January 03, 2009

The New Year

So far so good. We had a great time at Emily's on New Year's Eve. It wasn't as wild as that weekend in SF I posted about last time, thank God, but very fun indeed. Pics below.

I took January 1st off (obvi) but hit the road yesterday for my first run of 2009. Zach and I ran down along the river. There was some snow overnight so we had to be careful of slush and ice on the sidewalks.

Friday
4.0 miles/35:54/8:58 average pace

Today we ran along the bike path on Terwilliger. It's a beautiful run but very hilly! Again, there was a little slush and ice on the path but only at the very beginning. The hills were tough going up but fun flying down. Our last miles were 8:04 and 7:31 with the declines.

Saturday
8.0 miles/1:09:40/8:43 average pace

total miles for the week: 20

I did make some New Year's Resolutions, sort of. Basically they are goals I already had in mind and this is a great time to get going on them. The usual stuff about eating healthier, losing some weight, drinking less, saving money, etc (all of that stuff is related).

Most importantly, I am going to work on my self esteem- enjoying and appreciating myself as I am today. I don't know if it comes across here (I hope not), but I am awfully hard on myself, and I am often disappointed and mad at myself. It really applies to all aspects of my life but running is a great example. Instead of being disappointed that I didn't run a certain pace or annoyed that I struggled a little, I should acknowledge my accomplishment and be proud of myself. Instead of always wishing I was better, I should live in the moment. We only get one shot at life, I don't want to spend mine wishing I was faster, stronger, thinner, more successful, etc. I am who I am and I'm going to be happy with that.

:)

Pictures from New Year's Eve at Emily's:

Zach on the climbing wall:
Anne's delicious lasagna (Garfield Approved!)


Emily, me and Deana:


Champagne!

Me being dorky and with wicked wine lip:

New Year's kiss:

The wine lead to a yoga demonstration by Anne. I'll not post pictures of me attempting to do the splits or Emily doing the horse (?) but here's this:


I may have drunk dialed/texted Maritza more than 3 or 4 times... yikes. What can I say, I miss her. :) Happy New Year kids!!

15 comments:

Alisa said...

Fun times!!!

Yoga while drunk, that is a new one!

Amy - the gazelle said...

looks like a good time! I think maybe you SHOULD post those other yoga pics :)

SavvyFitChica said...

How fun! I love the yoga picture- too funny.

I think your 09 goal sounds like a wonderful one to have...and I'm so surprised to hear that you're hard on yourself. You honest-to-God amaze the hell out of me, with your motivation, your speed, your goofiness...you have a lot to appreciate so I hope you're able to do that!

Petraruns said...

happy new year to you and Zach! That's the best resolution I've heard so far.

I totally sympathise - while you would like to improve aspects of yourself there is nothing worse than spending your life in pursuit of a goal and then feeling you've wasted your life in the meantime. You are pretty amazing and impressive and inspiring as you are. Keep your chin up! Big hug!

N.D. said...

Great pics! New years sounds like fun and lasagna looks delish too!

Emily said...

I want more pics! Amazing how well the yoga worked out despite being toasty w/champagne. Maybe we should have gone for a quick time trial outside during the party too?

I hear you on the resolutions - why the F do we have to be so damn hard on ourselves? I obviously need to work on this too.

Anonymous said...

Fun pictures. Glad yo had a nice time. Happy New Year!

I think we are all a work in progress.

Billy said...

Ok, I need Maritza's # so I can drunk dial her too..

Happy new year!

Amy said...

Jen - We all need to be easier on ourselves and 2009 will be the year to do it! You are an amazing athlete who knows how to have fun so keep it up!

Loved the pics!

Aron said...

looks like so much fun!!! happy new year :) great job on the runs! and great goals - you are definitely very awesome right now! :)

Unknown said...

Having positive self-esteem is something that I think everyone struggles with at one point or another. But like everything else, if you work at it consistantly, you can achieve great things with that as well.

Gotta Run..... said...

we were parting ... alsleep by 10 pm.. we are sooo old.. but we love it :)

Steve Stenzel said...

Nice runs! And that grub looks GOOD!!

Have a great 09!

Ewen said...

That's an admirable resolution Jen. Keep striving for goals, but at the same time be happy and celebrate the now.

By the way, all the best with your 100,001st job application ;)

ShirleyPerly said...

I loved reading that paragraph about self esteem. I too used to be EXTREMELY self critical, esp. about school and work, to the point that my health often suffered because of it. Not good. Glad you've decided to make some positive changes at a much earlier age.

Happy New Year!!