Another Lofty Goal Begins

My name is Kristen and I am a goal setter! What can I say?  I set personal goals. I set professional goals. I even set financial goals.  That's a lot of goals for one person, especially if one wants to go after more than one goal at a time. Some goals are just for a day, a week, others are to be reached over time.  I'm not alone in all this goal setting though, at least my hubby stands beside me in most of them! Most of them, not all of them. Definitely not in my most recent one.He'll support me on this, but he has no desire to reach this goal for himself.  My most recent personal goal is to run another half-marathon.  Some of you might be gasping, saying to yourself, "Have at it sista!" Others of you might be saying, "Half- marathon, no big deal."  I'm saying to myself something in between those two.  The thing is I believe I can do ANYTHING I set my mind to and gear up for.  The other thing is I ran my first and only other half marathon almost 7 years ago.  So there's two "things" I  keep thinking about.... 1) 7 years ago I was in the BEST shape of my life!!!! 2) I ran that one with nothing to compare my time to.  So what's the big deal?  I don't know.  I suppose there really isn't a big deal, I just need to wrap my brain around the idea of running another race like this.  There's a bit of uncertainty due to the fact that I don't know the course and it's in May in South Carolina, so I'm also not sure about what the weather will be.  I also am not training with a personal trainer this time, although I workout regularly, my training is going to have to be up to me... no excuses! NO EXCUSES!!!!
Plan... I have to come up with a plan.  My first step was to put a training app on my iphone so I can track my training and progress.  The next step is to actually start running more.  Which I've had a minor set back with this weekend as I was really serious about getting started, I have succumbed to a head cold.  No bueno!  And finally I need to update my running playlist so that my tempo and pace will speed up!
Okay, that plan seems doable.
What will help me stay motivated and on track?  Here are a 10  items that will keep me running...
1. New Mizuno Wave Ryders
2. Half Coach app
3. Garmin watch
4. Pinterest (yes, I actually look for motivation on there!)
5. Getting to run along the Pacific while vacationing in CA in February.  (This is where I trained and ran my first half, so I think it will give me motivation and peace of mind again that this can be done.)
6. Homemade granola
7.Green Monster smoothies (Don't ask, just know that the smoothies taste good and fuel me)
8. Sunny days (I'd prefer warmer, sunny days, but as long as the sun is out, I'll deal with cooler temps.)
9. A new YMCA being built close to my house
10. Stephanie, my current trainer, friend, and the *&%$# who talked me into doing this! :)

A Week Apart

Before I met my husband I was incredibly independent. Independent to a fault- probably. He loves my independence, and I'm sure my stubbornness makes him smile :).  But there is something about being married to someone that makes you become even more aware of who you are and what's important to you.  Can I have my  independence and be dependent on my spouse, all at the same time? In other words, can I have my cake and eat it too?  Probably not, but my hubby sure does a great job at trying to give me both! We spend all day apart. Working. We spend evenings and weekends doing chores around the house. He brews beer. I cook gourmet meals. My "me" time is working out several nights a week. His "me" time is watching a hockey game. We don't require much of one another. It's funny though, he's just left for a week long business trip, and my emotions are mixed.  I feel "free" to a degree. Although I know I will miss him immensely.  Do I take him for granted? I don't think so. I hope not. I think it's healthy to remain "independent" of your spouse/significant other. I think it's also healthy to spend time apart, no matter how long you've been together. What's the old cliche, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder."? So, what would I do if I had a week without my husband? BIG plans, BIG, BIG plans my friends!  Walk the dog. Make spicy foods, like Chili Verde for dinner. Read my book. Watch a movie that he would rather not. Get sucked into Pinterest for hours on end. Catch up on reading blogs. Yep, that's it! My big plans for a week without my hubby. Yes, it's true... My Real Life really isn't that exciting! But I love every moment of it. With my hubby and without.

Grateful for Another Year

2011 was a GREAT year!  My Christmas card this year even stated the Top Ten of 2011 in the Hahn family.  It wasn't difficult composing this list, but it was difficult to find a photo for each of the wonderful experiences we had this past year. Somewhere along the way, with all of our new technology, we've gotten worse about capturing snapshots of some of the best of times.  I've always been a photograph person, not to have my own taken so much, but to capture photographs and be able to look back at them year after year. So I decided that I'm going to make a more conscious effort to capture the moments that mean the most.  And this probably means not capturing so many "staged" moments. Not that a staged photo isn't nice, but I often think those are the photos that make everyone think, " Oh, her life looks so easy." or "Oh they are the perfect family." Reality is, nobody's life is easy, and no family is perfect!
So here is the first moment from 2012 that I wanted to capture to remind me everyday how lucky I am, and how much I appreciate the fact that my husband has taught  me to take time to relax, enjoy silence, and just be!