My resolutions for 2021

It’s a new year, so it’s time for some new or freshly dusted resolutions.

Bobblehead limited his number of resolutions, and I think that’s a good idea, so I plan to keep it simple for 2021. Most of these resolutions will likely be recycled, but that’s OK.

1. Drop below 180 pounds ... and stay there.
I dropped below 180 pounds in 2019, but I did not stay there. I decreased my weight to around 187 in 2020, but that was as close as I came, so I want to get back to the 175–180 range in 2021. I tipped the scale at 195.6 yesterday, so I have about 16 pounds to get there. I can do that.

I don’t eat poorly, but I eat too much. And I eat way too many carbs and not enough protein. I have been aware of my carb problem for a while—I love cereal and bread, a lot—but the MyPlate app, which I started using last month, put it in numbers. My plan allows me 202 g of carbs per day, and I can easily overshoot it by 100 g. Almost all of those carbs are fruit and whole grains since I avoid added sugar, though. I’ll continue to eat fruit, but I’ll need to cut back on grains.

2. Get stronger, slim down, and stay loose.
Here’s another recycled resolution, one that I have been doing and plan to continue to do in 2021. I want to be consistent with cardio and weight training on the days I don’t run. I used Fitness Blender videos a lot last year and plan to make them a regular part of 2021.

Also, though I stayed loose in 2020, I did not stretch as much as I had been. I need to make stretching a daily habit once again. Bad things happen to me when I don’t.

3. Keep running, and run 10 miles nonstop.
Along with my usual running goal, I’ve added the 10-miler. I ran a 10k in 2019 (another Nu Shooz post is long overdue), so the next step up is 10 miles. If I can run 10 miles, I can run a half-marathon.

For my 10-miler, I want to run the North Shore Trail from Solon to Macbride and back. That should be 10 miles.

4. Replace the pedals on my Raleigh and cycle more.
I need to put new pedals on Leigh, my Raleigh road bike. When I get that done, I’ll be able to cycle a lot more than I did in 2020. Mount Vernon is not a great cycling town, but there is a good route to Sutliff.

5. Play cards more often and learn euchre.
I still don’t know how to play euchre, mostly because nobody has the patience to teach me. I still want to learn, so I might have to do it myself, if it’s even possible. I should dust off my knowledge of Polish poker, Egyptian ratscrew, and hockey. I don’t know how to play Uno, either, so I should learn that at some point. I also want to play more rummy. (The variant I play is apparently called 500 rum.)

6. Watch more sunsets.
I watched more sunsets in 2020 than in the past, and that is a trend I want to continue. I love sunsets. Depending on the time of year, I can admire them when running and did that a lot in the fall.

7. Write and read more.
I did not write much in 2020, so I resolve to write more in 2021. I’m a writer, so I need to write. I want to write something every day. What I write does not have to be anything substantial; it can be a blog post, a journal entry, or an entry in my running journal. A novel is still kicking around in my head, and I’m always thinking of good first lines for short stories. I should capitalize on those.

8. Finish getting the Led out.
This is, as I wrote last year, not hard: I listen to Led Zeppelin and write about. Listening to Led Zeppelin and writing are two of my favorite things, so they should go together easily. I plan to pick up where I left off in 2019, so my next session will be what I will simply refer to as Led Zeppelin IV.