Every New Year, I wonder about resolutions. Why do we make them when we can’t succeed? Why is the beginning of the year the time to set goals? Shouldn’t we be setting goals throughout the year?
I’m always curious to hear what resolutions people have each year. When I asked my friends on Facebook what their New Year’s Resolution are, here’s some of their responses:
To finally up my 401K contribution! Lisa R.
My resolution is to make no more NY resolutions; statistics have proven that you’re dooming yourself to failure by February, Ken J.
To work with great clients on meaningful projects, David P.
Winning has nothing to do about racing,winning is about struggle,effort and optimism, and never ever giving up, Vincent C.
Decide… Commit… Succeed i agree with Ken so I started before Christmas this time, Katherine L
To model faith by believing and hope by helping someone without guilt, Thomas W.
I was surprised at these responses because they aren’t the typical resolutions that you often hear like
As I consider these resolutions, I began to realize that people want to improve themselves and the world around them and whether they succeed or not, it seems to me that there is a lot to be said about trying. So I hope my Facebook friends can achieve the things they want in the coming year and as for me, I’m still trying to decide if I’m going to make a resolution…
The other day, I was sitting in the Emergency Room waiting area at a local hospital in South Florida, when an older woman walked by me, put her dollar in the vending machine that was next to me, and proceeded to enter a series of numbers to get a bag of chips.
I watched as she did this. And, I watched as the bag of chips slowly slid forward but never reached the bottom of the machine for her to take it out and eat them. They were just hanging there — half in, half out. They were hanging by a single thread.
She banged on the machine. Nothing happened. She banged again, this time with more force. Nothing happened. She started to shake the machine back and forth. Now, I was getting nervous that the candy machine would fall on me! She banged on the machine again.
“My chips,” she said, “my chips… they aren’t coming out of the machine. I want my chips!”
She banged again. “Can someone help me?” she screamed out. She banged again.
After five bangs, I started to laugh. I couldn’t control myself. She shook and banged the machine again. I couldn’t look at her any longer. I was trying to hold it back but couldn’t. She shook and rattled the machine again.
She banged on the vending machine 13 times. Yes, 13 times before she gave up. She looked at the machine and banged for the 14th time before she walked out of the emergency room in a huff.
A few minutes after she left, a woman with a small child in a stroller came by. She put her dollar in the machine, pressed her numbers and out came her candy bar along with the bag of chips. She looked at her daughter and said, “today must be our lucky day…”
Who goes shopping the day after Christmas? Don’t people know that next to Black Friday, Boxer Day is the busiest day for shopping?
Since I was out on Black Friday and didn’t find it too crowded, I decided to venture out to the mall. Do people really return gifts the day after Christmas? I know I don’t. I usually wait a few weeks before making a return. So how could there be so many people at the mall? Everyone already spent their holiday money.
But, low and behold, I went to the mall with my family and discovered that we weren’t the only family at the mall. There were hundreds of other families there as well. I couldn’t believe it. We could barely move. We walked at a snails pace.
And, as for the shopping, Coach was the most crowded store of them all. There was a line around the block with people waiting to get in. As they stood there, one of the Coach employees gave out an additional 30% discount.
As for the restaurants, forget it! There were lines everywhere! We waited over an hour to get food. It wasn’t fun.
We tried to get into several stores but they were just too crowded. So, we sat on a bench and watched as the people tried to race by.
The bathroom line was probably the worst line. That was almost an hour too.
We survived the crowded mall and as for next year? I learned my lesson!
“Well, we’re really not supposed to drink before a race,” I said. “Isn’t it going to dehydrate us?”
We both looked at each other and decided to order the wine. A week prior to this, we were both talking with a couple from our hometown who are marathon runners. They were telling us a story about how they ran better having a hangover from the night before. I was told though that when you are training, you shouldn’t drink. But I didn’t know why.
When I was talking to one of my employees, Lori Alexy, she told me that you don’t drink during training because it’s healthier for you. “But does it interfere with your training at all?” I asked.
She shook her head and said, “No.”
So, my husband and I shared a bottle of wine. After that, we went back to the hotel room—we stayed in Manhattan overnight—and went to sleep. That night I was up all night from the alcohol. Every two hours I was up. At 5 a.m., the alarm went off. I had the worst headache, felt nauseous and was in no mood to run 9.3 miles.
But, my husband convinced me to run. “You have to practice for the half marathon in Disney,” he said.
We drove uptown, parked the car in a lot and walked over to the park. It was 30 degrees out, but felt much colder. When we arrived at the starting line, the race was moments away from starting. We could hear the National Anthem and as soon as the announcements started, we were in line ready to go.
I set up my iPod to set the Nike GPS. Then, we were off. Brian and I were right in the pack this time, except it seemed like we were running backwards instead of forward. Everyone was passing us.
As always, the first 2 miles were tough. After the 3rd mile, it got easier. And, after that, the miles seemed to just fly by. Before I knew it, we were at miles 5, 6, and 7.
At that point, I didn’t feel anything. All I focused on was the music playing on my iPod and the amazing Manhattan scenery. I looked up and saw the Dakota, where John Lennon lived. On the east side, I saw the frozen over lake where I went boating in the summer, and the Guggenheim Museum. And, I saw the statue of Fred Lebow, who was the founder of the NYC Marathon and President of the New York Road Runners. It was an amazing experience.
Brian ran faster than me at some points, and I ran faster than him at other times. I didn’t feel nauseous and I didn’t have a headache. I just ran. My shins were hurting a little, but I was determined to reach our goal. I knew I had to do this no matter what.
Did the alcohol affect our run? Probably. However, after the run, I felt amazing. At least it knocked out my hangover!
The other day, I was sitting in the 
Who goes shopping the day after Christmas? Don’t people know that next to Black Friday, Boxer Day is the busiest day for shopping?
As always, the first 2 miles were tough. After the 3rd mile, it got easier. And, after that, the miles seemed to just fly by. Before I knew it, we were at miles 5, 6, and 7.
