Open Thread: New Year’s Resolutions

Happy New Year, everyone! As I may have mentioned in the past, I like the tradition of making New Year’s resolutions: it’s an entirely secular holiday whose point is self-improvement, which is something any atheist ought to be able to get behind. In that spirit, this post is dedicated to New Year’s resolutions: whether you kept the ones from last year, and what you resolve to do in the year ahead.

I’ll go first: As I mentioned last year, I resolved to keep a food journal in 2011. This one went pretty well – I used MyFitnessPal for Android – and ended up losing about ten pounds, which was what I was aiming at.

I also resolved to be able to run a 5K flat-out, without resting or walking, and I wasn’t as successful at that one. My times and top speed have improved a lot, but I still can’t do it without stopping to walk at least a little. I think I may be more of a sprinter than an endurance runner, genetically speaking.

And lastly, I resolved to get my book published. I couldn’t keep that one in 2011, I admit – but I just might have an announcement to make on that front fairly soon. I’ll keep you posted!

As for new resolutions for 2012, I have a couple: I intend to go to the gym at least 144 times (my record for this year was 136), and to increase the maximum weight I can lift in overhead press to 200 pounds (currently at 165) and my bench press to 250 pounds (currently at 200). I’m reassessing the 5K goal and I’m aiming to be able to consistently run one in 30 minutes, which is the single best time I’ve gotten.

Now it’s your turn. What are your resolutions for 2012? And if you made resolutions for 2011, did you keep them?

Image credit: Ryan Hyde, released under CC BY-SA 2.0 license