2012 Goals: Mid-Year Check In

June is almost over, so I thought I'd check in and report my progress (or lack thereof in some cases) with the longterm goals that I set at the beginning of the year. I've been making good progress on some of the things that I wanted to achieve in 2012, some progress on some of them, and a couple have stalled. I would say that, realistically, almost all of my goals are still in the doable camp. I need to reassess the two exceptions and see how I can come out of the year with measurable progress even if I don't check them off my list.

Running and Health Goals
1. Run 800 miles in 2012.  I am no where close to being half-way to meeting this goal. I've run fewer than 300 miles so far this year, so I would need to run an average of 85 miles a month for the rest of the year to meet my goal. I just don't think that's realistic for me right now. I'm not training for a fall marathon, though I am registered for a fall half (more on that later). July and August will probably not be high mileage months as I have 2 research trips to New York, an epic move of more than 3,000 miles, and the start of a new job to contend with. I'm trying to reassess and come up with a magic number of miles that is more realistic considering the circumstances but still challenging. 650? 700?

2. Get faster. I wanted to set new 10K and half-marathon PRs. I have yet to find a 10K that fits my schedule this year and have come no where close to strong performances in the two half-marathons that I've run thus far this year. The good news is that there is still time to work on this. I am registered for a fall half-marathon and have started working on getting some speed again. I'm also registered for a 5K next month in New York and am going to focus on being in a position to try for a PR at that distance then. And maybe a 10K will pop on my radar before too long.

3. Continue my home yoga practice and take some classes at a studio (or studios). I have been doing less yoga than I would ideally like to be doing here lately. I never made it to my studio in Madrid. However, I've made up my mind to check out a studio near where I'll be staying during my first research trip to New York. I've also been doing some internet sleuthing to see if I can find a yoga studio that's not too far from our house in Anchorage. One studio has a pretty decent introductory rate for a month of unlimited classes, so I'm thinking about doing that in September.

4. Maintain my food journal for the entire year. I was doing pretty well with this goal until I had my oral surgery and went to Madrid shortly thereafter. Since I didn't have internet in my apartment there I pretty much completely fell off the journaling wagon. This past week I've been trying to get back into the habit of logging what I eat.

Writing and Professional Goals
5. Write or Revise a minimum of 3 pages/week of academic writing for the entire year.  This is probably the goal I've done the best with so far this year. I've been keeping a weekly log on one of the pages here and knowing that I would have to report a number less than 3 was what kept me motivated to take time to write even when things have been really busy. I just need to keep going and doing what I've been doing.

A) Submit at least two articles to journals for publication. While I haven't submitted anything yet, I think I should have one article that's ready to go out soon after the move, and I plan to finish revisions on another article so that I can resubmit it to a journal in the fall.
B) Send my book proposal to publishers, get a book contract, finish writing the manuscript itself.  I'm not where I'd like to be with this one. I'm making progress on the proposal and revisions, but I'll need another research trip before I'll be able to completely finish the manuscript in its entirety. As it stands, I'm reassessing this one. I am determined to get the proposal and a revised sample chapter out to presses before the end of the year, though.
C) Apply for grants that will enable me to do more research. I have done okay with this one. One of the grants I was going to apply for canceled their 2012 competition due to the economic crisis in Spain, and I wasn't eligible for research grants from the institution I left because I would not be returning. I did, however, have input on a co-authored grant that is paying for my research trips to New York this summer and will be keeping my eyes open for opportunities in the fall.

6. Look into doing service for a professional organization. I haven't really managed to get to this yet, but I am working on a cataloguing project while I'm in New York and I will be the faculty advisor to the local chapter of a history honor society once I arrive at my new institution, so those things will count.

Personal Goals
7. Keep a wine and beer journal. I was doing pretty well with this in the winter months but sort of petered off during the spring. I've started back up again, though, since my house hunting trip to Anchorage where I had some tasty local beers.

8. Learn to be a better photographer. I initially joined a 365 website, but I struggled to keep up with it after the first few weeks. I think in part that was because it was yet another social media that I felt like I needed to log in and keep track of. Since I started my 365 blog at the end of April, I've only missed one day, and I do think I'm getting more comfortable with my DSLR. Taking the camera with me to Madrid - something that I debated doing - turned out to be a good decision for me.

If you set goals for the year, how are they coming along? I'd love to hear about your achievements and progress!