Yikes!

I'd been avoiding tallying up my mileage data for the past few months. Looking back at my calendar I didn't really add it all up for any month past March of 2012. Maybe I should have looked at it earlier and had this epiphany but man, I need to step up my game. 2012 was one of the worst years ever as far as my run miles are concerned. The lowest since I started recording them back in 2008. Granted, I may have missed some... my method isn't exactly scientific. I just write them down on my desk calendar at work.
Anyway, I realized that over the past few months especially, I've been lazy. I haven't been packing lunches as often as I should and I have been putting on some weight. I can still wear most of the same clothes as before but I just feel more uncomfortable in them and that needs to change.
I hate to set new year's resolutions and I even hate to discuss the topic but I have been making better choices already this year. It's easy to say on January 4th but I'm happy with the direction I'm heading right now. Joey and I decided to join a gym in our town and it is in a very convenient location (I even pass it on my way to and from work for the whole 3 minutes I'm in the car). I have been a member of my office gym since 2005 but decided to cancel and just have the one gym membership. I hadn't even used that gym in months because I mostly just run or walk at lunch anyway. I have high hopes for the new gym membership and working out with my husband. Our good friend Lisa just joined as well so that's one more person to encourage me.
As far as races go, I really want to register for a spring half marathon. I had given great consideration to running one in March but the logistics and timing just aren't working for me. I decided to focus on one at the end of April instead. Hopefully the weather will be alright and not too humid. My goal for this race will be to actually train well and hopefully, finally get under the 2 hour mark in the half.
Other than the half in April and a 10k the week prior that I do every year, I do not have any other races on my calendar. I may do the same triathlon I did last year but I haven't registered yet. I still fear the cold lake water of early June (I got lucky last year with our warm winter/spring).
In addition to running more, I also want to walk more, lift weights, and eat healthier. I am already taking steps to improve my eating habits. I downloaded a calorie counting app on my phone and hope to use it to keep track of all my food and exercise. I don't have a great track record for keeping up with these things but hopefully I'll stick with it for at least a few months so I can get myself back on track. I've also decided to cut back on alcohol. Too often I'd get home from work and have a beer (or two) or a glass of wine. I'm trying to save my alcohol drinking for the weekends. Having long runs scheduled on the weekend will help with this as well.

This post was kind of rambling but I really wanted to get some of these thoughts out.