Who doesn’t love a new slate? A blank page? Okay, people who have a block for writing may not like a blank page but truthfully, there is nothing but possibility in newness. In starting over. In starting again. A new day. A new week. A new year.

Of course, those new beginnings are made so much better by a critical eye on what came before. An eye that loving looks at where improvement can be made and where changes are okay. Two days ago, I took that eye to my year of running for 2013. I do things other than run, though, and have not yet evaluated how those goals went. That will come later. Maybe later today. Maybe later this week. Today is for looking forward. For beginning anew.

Looking ahead at 2014, I have some achievements I would like to reach. I have always hated the word resolution so try to come up with fancy ways to say it without saying it.

Running and Physical Activity

I am going to #RunThisYear – in kilometers. This will end up being over 1200 – 1252 to be precise – miles which is more miles than I have ever run in a year before. I do believe it is doable without injury. I am once again going to aim for 2014 total miles – running walking, swimming (which I hope to do more of this year), biking and hiking (which I haven’t done in a long time). While I fell woefully short in 2013, I am enthusiastic 2014 will be different.

I have also signed up for 14 in 2014. I will run 14 races this year. I have a plan through April all set and will get that published soon. I will work on the remainder of the year soon.

I am going to try Pilates three days a week. I need more core strength. I used to do Pilates five days a week. I feel that I was in my top shape in the fall of 2010. I need to get back there. I was not running an inordinate amount but I was running, swimming three days a week and taking a kick boxing class three times a week. If I can get that type of activity back in my life, I can kick any holiday weight – I do not normally gain any but did this year – and additional weight I want to lose to the curb.

I am not setting a weight loss goal. I am, though, being more careful about tracking my food and my activity.

Reading

We all need to learn. Learning is a life long activity, like running in my book, and to learn, I read. I read a lot. My house is full of books of all kinds – fiction, non-fiction, poetry. You name it. I probably have a book about it. Not really but I do not have enough book shelf space so have books that are boxed in the garage.

I will read 36 books this year. That is three books a month. That is a doable goal. I am going to try to not buy a lot of new books but there are so many out there I want to read. I am going to become reacquainted with my library.

Food

Big topic! People say you should not set goals that are non-specific. I have my food goals down to small chunks.

I will go back to menu planning. I have already discussed how hard this is in my house. I am going to be posting these menus on Sundays here. Hopefully, a lot of the prep for those menus will be done on Sundays also.

I am researching a CSA. I loved the one I had many years back. I want to find another one I can fall in love with also. Again.

I do not make goals about what I eat or where I eat as I seldom eat out. When the opportunity arises, I like to embrace it but realize it does not happen too often.

I will also be going back to MyFitnessPal.com to get my caloric intake under control. I have not been good about logging foods for a while. I need to do so.

Finances

Back at the beginning of December, I saw a 52 week savings plan. I started it right then and there. I currently have saved, and put in my savings account $10. The deal is you save a dollar for each week. Week one is $1; week two is $2 and so on. This week is week five and will result in that account having $15 in it. I realize this is not a lot but I have never had enough savings as an adult to cover an emergency. This is a start.

I am sure there are other areas that I am looking to create a goal in but at the moment, these four are the big areas. I need to focus on these for this year and hope that by doing so, everything else falls where it should.

Do you set goals? Resolutions? Aspirations? Achievements? for the coming year? What are you looking forward to about 2014?