outta mind outta site

I still remember the password to this here blog!

And that's a pretty amazing thing.

Well, three months after I stated my goals for 2012, I figured it'd be worth doing a check-in, and also to let you know a bit about what's going on in my sexy, thrilling, exciting life. So sexy and thrilling I don't blog anymore!

Okay, it's not that sexy or thrilling. In fact I think I act more like a 90-year-old lady than ever. But it's all pretty great, though. What have I been up to? (...digging through Facebook timeline to aid my addled memory...)

January:

-I got an iPhone! What! I gave up my not-so-beloved Droid and quickly became the most obsessed user of Instragram. That app is something magic.
-I turned 32! Yeah for ambivalent ages that don't really signify anything.
-I continued to run quite a lot and threw in some speedwork and track workouts to try to get faster.
-And I also started marathon training for a spring marathon at the start of May.
-Um... that's it! Oh, I quit drinking for a month at the end of January...

February:
-...and continued to quit drinking through most of February. Guys, I made it 29 days without alcohol! I don't know quite how I did it. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, either. Tips on doing this:

• Start after a month of utter debauchery with your birthday, your boyfriend's birthday, all your friends' birthdays, your dear friend leaving for France forever and you gotta party all the time, ugh booze. Trust me, you won't feel like drinking for a month after that, either.
• Have a special present waiting for you at the end. In my case, that was a trip to Mexico with Zach, where I knew I could drink all the beer. Made waiting that much easier.
• Sodastream USA! Used this little fizzy guy a lot.
• Club soda and ginger ale, while out at bars, are your best friends.
• Just tell everybody what you're up to straight away at the beginning of the evening and then you're held to it that night.
• Track progress. I love using socialworkout.com and checking off each day booze-free and seeing them tally up was very motivating.

-What else? Oh yeah, then I went to Mexico and drank all the beer. Seriously, I turned into a can of Negro Modelo. Zach and I booked a, dare say I, fabulous vacation to an all-inclusive resort just north of Tulum. It was the Hotel Catalonia Royal Tulum and it was wonderful. I'd never done an all-inclusive resort thing before and worried it would be terrible and cheesy. I think some must be, but this one was adult-only, very grown-up, had excellent food, and one of the most beautiful beaches I'd ever been on. We read, snorkeled, swam, drank, napped and did that on repeat for four days. One day, we got pina coladas on the beach at 11am, because, why not? Mexico! A few photos.

March:
-I didn't quite quit drinking entirely post-Mexico (when I needed another cleanse) but I would say the sober month changed my relationship with alcohol a bit. To be fair, I was already headed down a path of not drinking as much as I used to (which has got to be pretty normal as you enter your 30s). Not because I don't still think beer's awesome, but because I get hungover from 2 beers and the pain and lost time due to even a minor hangover was not worth it anymore, I'd decided. Plus my body is taking aging hard enough and I don't need need to help out its breaking-down-process at all.

Anyways, so I decided at the start of March, from now on, I'm going to try to limit my drinking a certain amount. No more than 3 drinks in one sitting (because 4 drinks in one sitting for ladies is considered binge drinking by the CDC); at least 2 days a week without any booze whatsover; and ideally no more than 7-10 drinks a week total. Definitely exceptions will be made for special ocassions, but hopefully I can stick to that plan (which I still track on socialworkout.com).

-I also ran the Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon March 17 and came away with a new personal record of 1:43:57! Hooray. Sadly, that does not count as beating my brother in a half marathon (one of my 2012 goals) - his best time on that course is 1:39. Damn those fast legs of his. But I have the rest of the year to try another half.

-I continued to run a lot, in hopes of qualifying for the Boston Marathon at some point this year. Um, I think I blogged before that I thought quitting booze for a month would be harder than qualifying for the Boston Marathon. Um, I think I was wrong. Running that fast for that long is going to be real hard. If I want to make it happen (it being running a marathon in under 3:35), my (maximum) pace per mile has got to be about 8:10. I can run that pace for a half marathon (my pace on my half was 7:50), but twice that long is a whole different story.

I ran my first 20-miler this past Saturday and I felt pretty strong and hit my goal paces, but am trying to be kind to myself and recalibrate my expectations for the May marathon. If I don't hit 3:35 this May, I won't be disappointed in myself. I'll just work harder for a fall marathon. After beating myself with a cat o' nine tails, that is.

 -I've also obnoxiously gotten into my diet and into juicing this month, as well. Zach was out of town for 10 days this month on a work trip, and what did I do while he was gone? Did I party to relive my days of boozy singlehood? No, I juiced, like, obessively. And then ran a lot. And I made cauliflower rice. Then went to bed at 10pm every night. WHAT IS GOING ON. I am kind of confused as to what's going on with me in terms of my interest in health. I've never been uber unhealthy, but I've never been very healthy, either, despite being relatively slim much of my life. I drank a lot. I smoked occasionally. I ate crap. I sat on the couch for long periods of time.A regular day's food for me would be: coffee, bagel, pasta, pasta, ice cream.

Now, out of nowhere, I have a very active interest in my health and particularly what food I put in my mouth. Is this just something that happens when you hit your early 30s, like how when you turn 50 or 60, you get a weird interest in your family tree and start documenting all of your ancestors? (That's not just my family, right?) Anyways, it's interesting and I can't quite explain why I'm so into it. I'm trying to eat 5-10 fruits and veggies a day as well as juice every morning as well as cut out most refined foods and wheat and processed sugar. It might be comforting thinking that with somebody of a family history of breast cancer, I can take an active control and role in my health in terms of prevention.

Anyways... what else? I've kept up pretty well with my other 2012 goals. I've been hiking each month. I'm listening to two albums a month (Tanlines is my favorite). Guys, I WENT TO THE DENTIST! Two cavities and need a new crown. Not great, but for not having gone to the dentist in about 4 years, I'll take it.

And most exciting of all, I just booked a trip to Glacier National Park in August! And I'm dragging along Susan and Tracey. It'll be a fantastic trip of girlfriends gone wild amongst the glaciers. Glaciers, please stick around for the next few months till I can see you.

I think that is a long and windy recap of what I've been up to the past three months. Et tu?

Goals goals goals: 12 Resolutions for 2012

Related: My 6 tips for successful goalmaking

1. Go to Glacier National Park

This is a leftover from 2010. I don't know why I'm fixated on Glacier, but it probably has something to do with the fact that there will be no more glaciers ever anywhere in the world in approximately two days. I've started researching ways to take this trip, and one option that is popping up is doing it via a volunteer work trip, repairing trails, etc. Sierra Club offers a great one, but it might require more days than I have vacation for, so I'll also consider this shorter one to a glacier-filled area of Wyoming, my ANCESTRAL LAND (sort of, in that my grandparents were born there, lived there, and have now retired there). 2012, the Year of Glaciers!

2. Attempt to recreate Bar Pilar's Pork Trencher

How to convey the amazingness that is this dish? It's savory; it's sweet; it's moist; it's rich; it's earthly; it's heavenly. Etc etc. I've never seen a recipe for it anywhere, but I know it's roasted "all day" and definitely has some maple in it. Help a blogger out if you know how this fabulous piece of food is made. 

3. Qualify for the Boston Marathon

In my heart of hearts, this goal is probably my most-desired one. I think I'm on the right path. I feel like I have the motivation to do the training necessary for this. I have to run a marathon in under (preferably comfortably under, as the Boston Marathon takes applicants who run well under their qualifying time first) 3 hours and 35 minutes. My Marine Corps Marathon time in Oct. 2011 was 3:50. Ideally, I'd cut off 20 minutes from that time. And ideally, my pace for my qualifying marathon will be 7:50/a mile. This isn't out of the realm of possibility, but it does mean I have to cut my pace per mile down by about a minute in the next 9 or so months. I think I can, I think I can... I've already signed up for a spring "tune up" marathon that will hopefully predict whether or not this is reasonable for me. Then I plan to run a fall marathon, Philly or Chicago, probably, to officially qualify (if it doesn't happen in the spring).

4. Beat my brother in a half-marathon

Hoping this can happen, though he's one fast mofo.

5. Go one-month booze-free

Sadly, I think this will be the most difficult goal of all on this list. The key, I believe, may be picking a month out now well in advance and just sticking to it. I think February could be a good bet. Uh, because it's the shortest month of the year. But it also doesn't include my birthday, any holiday celebrations (except silly Valentine's Day which I never really celebrate), and it'll maybe be really cold then, so I'll never want to leave home to go to a bar (even more than currently).

6. Go hiking once a month

Even without a car, this should be relatively doable. There's actually plenty of hiking within DC, and if I can get my hands on a zipcar once in a while, I think this should be easy enough. To get me started, here are a few possible day hike locations:

1. Key Chain Loop
2. Potomac Heritage Trail
3. The National Arboretum - this counts!
Anybody else have any good nearby hiking recommendations?

7. Go to the dentist in 2012

This may seem lame, but it's a big deal for me, because I'm terrified of the dentist and haven't been in *mumblemumble* years. But, this is on like donkey kong. January 5 being the date. Shudder. This goal was accelerated by the fact that I cracked a filling while eating a Lara Bar the other day. Yikes. What's up with that? Lara Bars are made of squishy dates and stuff. My teeth can't be in great shape if they're falling off while chewing one of those.

8. Go on a yoga retreat

Ideally I'd love to do this is some tropical locale like Mexico or Costa Rica, but looking at my money, vacation days, and overall 2012 plans, I'm not so sure that's realistic. I know there are local retreats on the east coast, so I'll be looking into that. Yogaville.org is one I'm considering; this winter retreat looks especially nice.

9. Put away 15% of every paycheck

I didn't know that was the recommended amount until I read this post by Megan, via Becks. 2011 has been a year I've been generally much better about my finances and savings (PS, no more debt, woo!) but I really need to kickstart my retirement savings. Becks, my own personal Suze Orman, also let me know a couple years ago about ING direct, which I find a great way to do savings. I've now set it to start taking out 15% automatically from my paycheck at the beginning of the month.

10. Listen to two new albums a month

I realize this is a relatively pathetic goal, but when you've hit rock-bottom in a particular arena, as I have in music-listening, you've got to start clawing your way back with small steps. Man, I used to be a MUSIC EXPERT. Well, not really, but at least I knew of new bands and my friends often turned to me for music recommendations. I was the original DCist.com music editor, for chrissakes! (really!) What happened? Seriously, the #1 cause of this downfall is that woxy.com went off the air. #2? I got old and stopped caring about music. I wouldn't mind caring about music again, though, and with services like Spotify essentially making this free, I think I can stand to find 2 new good albums a month to listen to.

11. Eat 5 servings of veggies and fruits a day
In just a few short weeks, I'll be 32 - a more-than-bonafide adult - and it's time I start eating like one. 2011 has been a great year for me in terms of starting to care about my health, fitness and diet. I'm not sure what the motivation has been, but I've started looking at food as actual fuel and nourishment, and not just as something to stuff down my gullet to suppress hunger or leftover childhood emotions or whatever. Specifically, I've become disgusted by process food, refined wheat, and white sugar. Gross. Like, I can't look at something like a bagel or a pastry or a slice of wonderbroad without thinking it's nasty now. I mean, it's not ACTUAL FOOD. It didn't come out of the earth, you know? It WAS MADE BY A MACHINE. Ergh. (Though yes I understand that many fruits and meats and veggies are also processed by machines, so I try to eat as many of those as whole/organic as possible). I made a promise to myself the past few months to try to eat as much whole foods as possible - lean meat, fruits and veggies - and I've done pretty good on that front. I've also become more interested in prevention of chronic diseases, especially as somebody with a family history of breast cancer. Most money for cancer goes to researching a cure, but I'm starting to feel like much of that money might be better spent on encouraging people to eat healthier and exercise... anyways. Didn't mean to turn this into a rant. BUT OOPS I DID.

So yeah, the original goal: 5 fruits and veggies a day. The easiest way to do this, I think? Make a smoothie every morning. In it, put: spinach, banana, frozen berries, plus milk or yogurt. Change it up every once in a while with frozen peaches or pineapple, maybe kale or other leafy greens replacing the spinach, or in addition to it. Then, take to work one apple and one baggie of baby carrots or other raw veggies to snack on. Any other veggies and fruit you eat at lunch or dinner by that time are just icing on the proverbial cake.

12. Try one new restaurant or bar a month

And finally, running completely counter to my healthier eating and booze-free goals, I'd like to try out one new establishment in DC at least once a month. We live in the U Street/Logan area, so stuff is convenient to us, and we're super-lazy, and we end up eating out at/drinking at the same spots over and over again. Not that I don't love Churchkey or Bar Pilar or DC Noodles, but I know there's more to DC dining and drinking than that.

Tips for successful goalmaking and resolutions

Related: My 12 goals for 2012

Alright,  ladies and gents, 2012 is upon us in  just a few days, and I'm working on my final list of 12 goals for 2012. I made some last-minute goals/resolutions last year, but didn't really put too much time or effort into the making of them, and as a result sort of forgot all about them and they mostly didn't get done. So this year my very first resolution of all was to make a thoughtful, realistic list of goals to achieve in 2012. COMING SOON!

Anyways, going back even further to 2010 goals, I kind of didn't 100% succeed on my 30 While 30 list, mostly because I Met a Boy and got sidetracked  (worth it!), but I took a look back at that 2010 list and realize that I've in fact accomplished roughly 66% of it in the past two years, and that's pretty good. What did I not do?

-Take a skiing class
-Learn to change a bike tire
-Do an overnight solo camping trip
-Go to the top of the Washington Monument
-Do yoga every day
-Get an article published
-Blog twice a week
-Find a signature scent
-Visit Glacier National Park
-See one concert a month

But what DID I do? All the rest of the goals, including pay off my student loans, go to the Caribbean, volunteer, be more financially responsible, read two books a month, get certified in CPR, learn to pitch a tent, etc etc and lots more. Not too shabby! That's 20ish goals successfully stuck to, in a 24-month period rather than the original 12-month period, but still.

What helped me out? Well, let me tell you. These are tactics I'm employing for my 2012 goals, and I've found them enormously useful. Hopefully you will too.

1. Start resolution brainstorming early and thoughtfully
Don't just make resolutions or goals for the sake of it being December 31st. And definitely don't make a list in one hour or under. Come December 1st, if possible, take stock of your past year. What was good, what was bad? What did you wish you did more of, where did you succeed? I do lots of mindless, aimless, wandering thinking about this stuff (usually on long runs or during meditation) but I think lots of random journaling or walks or drinking alone over several beers or wherever you think best would help you suss this out over a period of a few weeks. When you've done lots of musing on the topic, the goals/resolutions normally come to you pretty effortlessly. Write down your goal list; sleep on it; edit and rewrite it a day or two after; sleep on it; do one more final list and you'll have a pretty solid list of considered goals that are meaningful and important to you. If you haven't made resolutions yet, don't worry about January 1. Make your goals/resolutions start February 1 instead.

2. Be specific
The tip almost every resolution tip list includes. It's really important, though. You will never achieve vague goals, simply by the fact that they're not defined in any way, so you have nothing to aim for. Be Happier? Be Healthier? Those are bullshit goals (no offense). Try this: Lose 10 pounds. Train for a race (even better, pick out the race you want to train for ahead of time). Go to the gym 3 times a week. (Mightygirl.com has a really nice, measured approach to exercising more, btw.)

Don't say "be more financially responsible" -- I did that in 2010 and it sort of worked, but I would have been better off saying, I will save $xxx by the end of 2011, or I will meet with a financial advisor. Want to keep in better touch with friends? For the love of god, don't make your resolution "I will keep in better touch with friends." Say something like, "I will place one phone call a week to an old friend" or "I will create a standing lunch date with X friend once a week." Get as granular as possible. Think broadly, of course - but create resolutions specifically. The specific resolutions will get you to that broader end goal much more easily.

3. Be realistic
If you've had Quit Smoking on your resolution list for 4 years running and it's never happened, you're going to need a new resolution. How about something like, I will cut my cigarette intake by 2/3 by July, or I will go see a health professional about ways to help me quit smoking? Same for something like losing weight or being healthier. If you haven't ever lost the weight, but it's been on your list for years, try a different, more realistic goal -- I will sign up for a personal trainer for 3 months. I will exercise 30 minutes 3 times a week. Etc etc. This is a bit the same as the Be Specific tip, but still a good way of thinking about goals, I find.

4. Write down your goals
It doesn't matter if you do it in a public place or a private journal, for some reason, this really helps. Take it a step further: place that written list in a very visible place where you'll see it at least once a day. I did this with my 30 while 30 goals, broken up by quarter. I printed out the several ongoing goals per every three months (ie, read two books a month, so read 6 books in this quarter), plus the 5 main one-time goals I wanted to hit that quarter, and stuck it on my bathroom mirror. Oh, though, the embarrassment when I forgot to hid that list the first time Zach ever came to my apartment and he came out of the bathroom and was like, uh, what is that list all about that also includes the bullet points "Go on more dates" AND THEN I DIED.

5. Create a plan
Immediately after settling on your resolutions, tackle them like they are work projects - because, uh, they sort of are - and create a full fledged plan for how you're going to do them. They're not going to magically happen, after all. One of my goals in 2010 was to get certified in CPR, and as soon as I'd settled on that goal, I researched CPR classes and signed up for one in February that fit my schedule. This year, my biggest goal is qualifying for the Boston Marathon, so I've already signed up for a race and created a training calendar. Volunteering is one of your resolutions? Research now, and identify your top 3 fits for where you want to volunteer, taking into account your interests, location, and schedule (I can tell you now that no matter how bad you want to volunteer somewhere, if they're located 20 miles from your house and only have volunteer opportunities like, Wednesday at 11am, it's not gonna work out).

Seriously, put stuff like google calendar reminders in there about your resolutions. Plan. It. Out.

6. Visual reminders
This is most helpful for me in my goals. In addition to printing out my goal list and looking at it every day, I incorporate goals into my daily computer routine (the place where I spend the most time, dur). This is how I do it:

I sign up for programs like socialworkout.com or mint.com or pick a site that aligns with a goal (for running, my Runners' World training log online, for my goal of qualifying for Boston Marathon), and I make all of those sites my home page. IE, in the AM, when I open my work browser, several tabs open at once-- I have mint.com, runnersworld.com, socialworkout.com, and other sites, auto-loaded, staring me in the face. Any time firefox crashes on me (176 times a day) and I have to reopen my browser, those sites are loaded and looking at me, saying, Catherine, don't forget, YOU PROMISED TO SAVE $XXX MONEY/DO YOGA THREE TIMES A WEEK/RUN A FREAKING MARATHON. It may even be worth it to create a google doc with your goals and make that one of your homepage tabs, too. YOU WILL NEVER FORGET.

I also used to use an auto-tweet program for running because it really encouraged me but apparently my friends would rather not receive those tweets 3-4 times a week so I had to stop. But I found it really motivating and helpful, because it held me accountable and I enjoyed sharing the fruits of my goal-making labors. So if you're into the social media, Garmin and Nike+ and a ton of other programs will autoshare your workouts, and I think it's a great way to keep on track with health/exercise goals.

Anyways, I think that's my full gamut of goalmaking/resolution-making tips. Hope they are helpful for you! Got any others to share with me? What are your goals for 2012?

Another super sexxxxxy 2012 goal

Just kidding, this is about as unsexy as you can get. My 8th goal for 2012?

Go to the dentist.

I'm sure my mother's toes are curling as she reads this but, uh,.... I literally cannot remember the last time I went to the dentist. It was probably at least 4 years ago. Wow, that is really shameful to type out loud.

I'm not afraid of the dentist, per se... I'm just afraid of the enormous amount of soul-wrenching pain that comes with dentist trips, for me. See, I have gums that have receded a bit, exposing all my nerves. So when dentists do anything even as basic as a regular cleaning with their pointy metal tools, it hits those nerves and it's the worst pain I've ever experienced. You know that sound fingernails make on chalkboards? It's that sound personified as a feeling. In my mouth.

I don't know why I'm so dentist-avoidant - I try to take really good care of my health otherwise. I get an annual physical, an annual lady parts checkup, I started mammograms this year, I take vitamins, I exercise, I've made a conscious decision this year to drink way less and eat way better. And no doubt there exists a dentist out there who could numb up my gums somehow...right? Please tell me that dentist exists out there and he's in DC and takes my insurance.

Anyways, if you have any local dentist recs, or know of a dentist who could address my particular fears, please let me know. Though I brush twice a day and I do floss every night, no doubt I probably have something like 35 cavities now, and it's time to be a grownup and deal with them.

I thought of another goal to add to the 2012 list

7. Go on a yoga retreat

I'm pretty stuck on the last 5. Hoping they come before 2012 hits.

UPDATED TO ADD: I seriously still want to do a solo overnight camping trip, but last year my mom, while we were out at brunch with Zach (not embarrassing at all), literally made me promise to not do it so I wouldn't get murdered. Mom, what do you think? Have you reconsidered?