My New Years Resolutions 2016

Let me start by saying I love New Years resolutions. I think its a great day to imagine yourself as you want to be and what it would take to get there. That might reflect some dissatisfaction but as the Swiss philosopher Alain de Botton says "Anyone who isn't embarrassed of who they were last year probably isn't learning enough." So today I will gorge on all the things I would like to accomplish and add a few stories too.

First for the physical part of my life...

In the spring of 2009, I was running a final spring workout with our sub-4 minute miler Peter Callahan and a North Shore parent saw us running together down Winnetka Ave. The parent saw me later that day and said to me one of the nicest compliments any aging runner can hear. "Patrick, you still got it!" I was 47 and was still -- up until the year before -- able to beat every North Shore runner I had ever coached. That of course ended with Peter.

Since 2009, it has been a steady downward descent for me as an athlete. Over the last couple of years, one might say I have given up. Since most of the North Shore families I interact with regularly have about 7 years in our sports program (6th - 12th grade), only families with older siblings have any memories of me being anything but a steadily more pudgy athletic director.

Yes, I have a series of excuses. Life gets complicated when your kids are going through high school. Our athletic program is busier than ever meaning lots more days and evenings of events and practices. But the greatest issue for me is that I have a chronic cramping problem in my lower legs that sidelines me from my favorite activity -- running.

I have purchased a series of torture devises that I have used over the years to keep my lower legs healthy. But this is the year I figuratively throw the kitchen sink at this problem. I will use all my tools, I will wear my compression socks, I will get my massages and I will even try acupuncture (and I hate needles) if I have to. I am fixing my lower leg problem and running again or else!

Like many others I have a diet goal. As noted, I need to lose some weight, but I am also particularly interested in the work of Dr. Tim Noakes. Tim Noakes is a South African exercise physiologist who is known worldwide for challenging current thought on fitness and exercise especially in endurance sports. In the last few years he has stirred up quite a controversy in South Africa because of his adoption and promotion of a High Fat Low Carbohydrate Diet. There are may older athletes who have found his recommendations helpful in re-starting their athletic careers. So sometime this year I resolve to try a 6 week experiment on myself of High Fat Low Carb and see how it goes.

2015 was not as good a year as the years from 2012-14 for writing and reading for me. I hope to change that in 2016. I have a big reading list for the next year. Here is a picture of a partial list of the books I hope to read this year. I also want to get back to an every day post on this blog. Even though reading and writing every day takes time I find when I am consistently doing it I am much happier. The key to getting the reading and writing I want to do done is to get into a daily habit. There is an excellent post on a reading habit on the blog Farnam Street called Twenty Five Pages a Day. My blog started by a commitment to write every day for 15 minutes at 9:30 pm every night. So I resolve to return to the daily habit of reading and writing this year.

Some people know that I am a cellist. Since my son John -- also a cellist -- left for college 2 years agon, I have stopped playing. I know with exercise and reading and writing goals I do not have time to play the cello every day. But I would like to get back to 3-4 days a week playing for 20 minutes.

So those are my personal resolutions for this year. None of these are truly new for me. They are mostly about learning more and returning to habits and the fitness of my past. I guess it would be really nice if some time during 2016 -- my 54th year on this earth -- someone comes up to me and says "Patrick, you still got it!" So that's my ultimate resolution. I will let you know how I do.