New Year's Resolutions: Mid Year Checkin

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Since we are a little more then half way through the year, I thought it would be a good time to do a quick checkin on my New Year's resolutions.  It's easy to make resolutions, but it takes effort to actually stay accountable to them, which was part of the reason why I blogged about them.  By forcing myself to take stock mid-way through the year, I can refocus for the rest of 2013 on those that I slacking on.  My original post can be found here.

So, without further ado...

1.  Eat better - B

I think I've done pretty good on this one.  I've kind of bounced all over the place with this one (I tried Paleo, I went Gluten Free), but I think I've gotten to a good place.  I have discovered that I feel best when I eat as little processed food as possible.  Anything overly processed seems to upset my stomach.  To that end, I've been following the Tone It Up nutrition plan for the last couple of months.  It focuses on 5 small meals throughout the day and lots of clean food.  Hydration is key as is eating lots of fruits and vegatables.  They have their own protein (Perfect Fit) which they use in a lot of recipes.  At first I wasn't sure if it was worth the money, but I did buy 1 box to check it out and I am hooked.  I've been making their protein pancakes with it for breakfast and I am full all morning!  It has definitely been helping and my eating has gotten better, but I am still not great all the time.

2. Follow my workout schedule better - A-

I am probably doing too good with this one.  It took me a while to get into the groove, but now that I have, I have been really diligent about following it.  Per my post yesterday, I feel like guilty when I skip workouts even if I know that it is the right thing for me to do.  Need to make sure to listen to my body.

3. Work life balance - B-

This one is getting better.  Not quite were I want to be, but much better then last year.

4. Running goals - B+

I am giving myself a B+ on this one.  I finished my number 1 goal, which was my 30 by 30 Challenge.  I also announced a new challenge, running a half in all 50 states.  I think I've got a good balance of races for the remainder of the year, so I am racing but not getting burnt out.  There will not be a marathon in 2013, but I am doing one (Dopey) 12 days after the year ends, so I will still be doing marathon training in 2013.  Therefore, I am giving myself partial credit for not doing a marathon in 2013.

5. Travel more - B

I have done some solid traveling so far this year - 2 trips to Disney (my happy place), Chicago twice (once for a weekend, then for a week), San Fran, Cincinnati.  I also have some trips schedule for the balance of the year, but not too many (Disneyland and Disney World, Providence).  It's not as much travel as I would ideally like, but my budget only goes so far.

6. Be a better blogger - B

I can definitely getting better at this.  I settled on a name (keeping 'sarah runs a lot') and for the most part, I am more consistent about blogging.  My race recaps are going up closer to the actual race occuring (woohoo!).  I have also added in some pages and am remembering to update them.

I'm still not the best at replying to comments (I always try to I promise!), so if I didn't respond, I apologize now :)  It's still a work in progress.

7. Save more - C+

This by far is the hardest for me.  I have a budget and when push comes to shove, I would rather spend the money traveling then putting it in savings.  I am saving, but should be doing more.  This is the one I hope to improve for the rest of the year.

8. More time with friends - A

I have done really good with this one.  I have made my friends a priority and it's been great.  We've had dinners, we gone away (weekend in the Hudson Valley in a log cabin?  Check!), I've travelling cross country to spend time with them (weekend with Vanessa and Meghan in SF? Check!), I've celebrated engagements and weddings and birthdays.  I've been better about responding to emails from friends.  Life is short and my friends are important to me.  Want to continue to be at an A with this one.

I've definitely done well with my resolutions, but there are still areas I can improve in.

How are you doing with your resolutions?