Resolutions

I was going to write about the barefoot running phenomenom today but decided that since this was the beginning of a new year maybe I would do something on New Year's resolutions. There's little question that making resolutions for the new year is not as common as it once was. In recent times the practice of doing so has been increasingly ridiculed. Many have replaced the phrase New Year's resolution with New Year's affirmations which to me gives the whole thing a new-age,feel good, no demand slant to it. The common reason provided for discarding these resolutions is because no one keeps them anyway. I don't know, does that sound like a good reason to you? I think for those of us who live for the run making resolutions are a great idea.
One of the definitions given for resolution in the American Heritage Dictionary is: "A course of action determined or decided upon."
As a committed runner,or as I like to say,a real runner,today might be a good day to examine things and possibly make a few of your own resolutions. Ask yourself some of these questions: Have you allowed your running to become sort of routine during this past year? You know what I mean by this, you run the same old routes because they're close and you know them. Have you tried to encourage other runners,especially the newer ones, that there is more to running than racing the local road races week after week? Have you tried taking them out for a trail or park run? I remember when I used to take the high school kids I coached at Canisius High School in Buffalo out for trail runs they would come back totally enthused and psyched about training and getting back out on the trails again.Something else to think about,have you,and this relates to the article on Percy Cerutty I wrote the other day, worked on your brain as hard as you've worked on your body? Or do you sit stupefied on the couch channel changing incessantly or watching and living vicariously through the lives of the overpriced professional sports "stars"? When's the last time you've read a book?
I could go on but I think you know what I'm getting at. I'll close with a suggestion,perhaps this will be the year that you make a resolution to challenge yourself. Pick something,it doesn't have to be something relating to competition which is what people think of when they consider a challenge in relation to running. Perhaps this will be the year that you go somewhere and run up a mountain or run a marathon in training or run for 2,4,6,or 8 hours through the trails or around a park. Think about it,challenge yourself.