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Here We Go

Once again, I find myself in the last day of the year, which seem to come so much faster these days.

I'm getting older.  For the first time in life, I am really starting to feel (and see) this "getting older" rather than just fretting about my chronological age, mostly because the holidays always feel a little less magical every year.

Yet, somehow, I still retain many of my immature habits that I hope will start disappearing more with my age.  And I think if there is anything I want to commit to acknowledging and working on in 2013, it would be those.  I'll leave it at that.

As was the case this year, I am not overly concerned with how many miles I run in the coming year.  Besides maintaining my weight and fitness level (and surviving LA Marathon 2013), I don't think I have any real running goals besides the hope that it will be fun again and remain a part of my general fitness activities.  It is really strange to see such a lack of "Upcoming" races on my sidebar, especially after a busy 2012 in the racing realm.  I just don't have the same trigger reflex that I used to have when it comes to signing up for races.  I've done most of the appealing local ones, seemingly, and at this point, I'm hoping the saved registration fees will go toward me getting me away from my stomp-y upstairs neighbors.  Tentatively, "The Ukrainian" and I are aiming for two or three marathons over the course of next year (LA, possibly an Ojai repeat, and something in the Fall), but I'll first see how I handle the first one with my iffy attitude and training habits.

Finally, my professional status needs some work... and not by choice.  Again, leaving it at that.

It's really easy for me to chuck out a list of goals and hope that I meet them, but I really just want to focus on just "being" in the coming year.  Without adhering too much to my 2012 list, I think I've done a pretty good job at making my time count this year, regardless:

- I've had a lot of fun times with friends this year, more than previous years, perhaps because I opened my mind more to things.  Because of past circumstances (grad school, mostly), I was worried that I'd stop getting invited to stuff, but now I'm always grateful to those who remember me.

- My job became legit.

- I've read a lot more this year, and this was even true before I got a Kindle.  In the past three months alone, I think I read at least five books, which considering my history and how busy things have been, I consider that pretty good.  Some of those books have changed the way I perceive and handle things, though as with anything, additional time/work is required.

- With "The Ukrainian," we managed to pull off a wedding that exceeded our expectations and are adjusting well to married life.

- Although I never reached my weight loss goals, I reached a point that I found myself quite satisfied with physically (though recent holiday habits mean that I will need some work to get back to that point early in the year).

- I'm pretty sure I've cooked less in 2012 than previously, but when I did, I found myself to be more adept at it, and the results were tastier than before.

- Even with decreased training, I pulled off two half-marathon series and two marathon times of which I'm pretty proud, as well as my first race in "costume."

- I covered a lot of miles this year -- miles traveled, that is.  In the past six months, I've stayed in Boston, Chicago, San Diego (multiple times), Las Vegas, Mammoth Lakes, Oahu, New York, and San Francisco.  Many of these were work-related, so I got to experience traveling alone, which was definitely different.  I don't foresee any real travel next year, though.

- I finished Insanity twice!

Some pretty significant unpleasant stuff came up this year, particularly toward the end of it, but rather than dwell, I'd rather think about the stuff above.

Here's to another year!

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