How went the 13 in 2013?

Happy Annaversary! Can you believe you’ve been reading this high brow literature for a year already?! Crazy, right? Well, time flys when you’re having fun 😉

Those of you who’ve been here from the very beginning, I’m sure you’re itching to know how I did on my 13 goals for 2013. Well, you’re in luck! Here is how they went…

Dr-ing goals:

Become good at learning and remembering peoples’ names

So I’ll be the first to admit that his is still not exactly my strong suit, but I have become loads better at knowing who the hell I’ve talked to and why. It doesn’t come particularly naturally yet, but the embarrassing situations of clearly not having a damn clue are much fewer and farther between.

Become comfortable making non-painfully-awkward small talk

Much better. Still not my favorite, but a necessary evil game that I can not only play but also now usually win.

Read one paper a day (NOT the MN Daily)

HA! Fail! Big fail! This will be recycled for 2014. At this stage in my career this really shouldn’t be hard. But it is. It really is. 😦 Why?

Graduate

Done! 😀

Trotting goals:

Run 5 days a week (1 mile, 5 miles, 20 miles, whatever, just get my ass outside and do something)

Nope, didn’t happen! In retrospect, this was also not realistic. 4 days a week is reasonable and this happened when it needed to (marathon training season…the second one).

...come hell, high water or 100°F + 100% humidity...

Unfortunately it didn’t happen during the off season. We will be revisiting this issue for 2014.

Finish the Mt. Kilimanjaro marathon (t < 6 hrs)

Done! (By the skin of my teeth and thank god, but never mind…)

Half-marathon PR

So I didn’t have the chance to race any 1/2s this year so officially this was a fail. But, if you’re willing to grasp straws with me, the middle half of my Philadelphia marathon was a 1/2 marathon PR… If you’re not buying this (you shouldn’t be….I’m not…) it’s ok, this will be on the 2014 list with some uncharacteristically high stakes attached. The plan is to pace the first half of a BQ marathon for my faster, more dedicated couisin. God help me.

Me goals:

Be a non-promiscuous, healthy vegetarian again (i.e. eat loads and loads of fresh fruits and veggies, no cheating on tartar, sushi or bone marrow and cheese curds and beer are NOT an acceptable dinner — even during orals season)

I’ve been better… This probably needs to stay on the list.

Drink enough water

Hmmmmm….unless coffee and tea count in the tally this also needs to stay on the list.

Get a reasonable start on my/our children’s book series TAPP — hopefully this will make sense in a year

😦

Maximize the use of my electronics: iPad, cell phone, computer(s), mp3 players. All of them.

I’ve definitely been better. This will also continue to be a work in oprogress, but I’m happy to report that my technologically challenged self hasn’t totally failed here.

Be at work during “normal business hours” (+/- 20%)

So this was going reasonably well in MN but is literally impossible in the land of persister assays. Consequently, reestablishing something that loosely resembles a work/life balance has a special place reserved on the 2014 list.

Note: it IS important to still look cute when leaving work at 3 am

Start and maintain a blog on the joys, frustrations, enigmas and epiphanies of science and running — you’re welcome

We’re all still here, aren’t we? A year later you are still most welcome 🙂

This year has been rather eventful actually. I (somehow) managed to graduate with my PhD and move 2000 miles to the ~~armpit of the northeast~~ lovely Garden State for a postdoc (with which I’m still having serious relationship issues), in the opposite direction of all parts of my family. In my “spare time” I got to spend 2 weeks on an adventure in Tanzania (complete with a safari and Mt. Kilimanjaro marathon) and managed a second marathon with my second-to-none Team CEMS and a 10 min PR. Not bad.

Happy end of 2013!