Running in the Boston Marathon again in 2022 is one of the things to look forward to in the new year! (And smiling for the cameras!)

(Sunday Paper, Year VI, Issue 52)

Well, here we are at the end of the year.

It seems, looking back, that sometimes I do this goal-setting post at the end of the year, and other times it’s the first post of the new year.

(Last year, for example, “What I Read” was the last post of the year. We’ve been through that…although - good news! - I might be breaking out of my reading slump just in time for 2022.)

I guess this can either be a disappointing activity, looking back each year at what I didn’t accomplish that I’d hoped to…

Or, of course, an invigorating and motivating one as I rehash what I did do.

I think this year it’s a little bit of both.

For a cruddy year in the grand scheme of life, 2021 was a memorable one for us.

A lot happened that was good for our little family.

And, for me, it was a successful year.

Work-wise, I started teaching as an adjunct professor. I’ve had a steady stream of writing work. I’ve been inspired creatively more than I had been and though I don’t have a bunch to show for it I have submitted a couple of things recently. (I would guess December into January has probably been my most productive time in recent years with submissions…but there hasn’t been a ton of acceptances out of that.)

And, of course, personally, I ran the Boston Marathon. A huge goal that I wasn’t even thinking would be realistic at this time last year. (It was the biggest - or at least running a marathon was - of my “February Challenges” a few years back. I’ve done OK with those challenges since February, 2019…I just can’t figure out and retain how to play cribbage.)

So I think I have three big things to keep an eye on in the new year:

Running: My big running goal this year is to run the Boston Marathon in 4 hours, 45 minutes or better. The nice thing about where I finished in October is that I left myself room for improvement. It was not the best I could run it for a variety of reasons, but that’s fine. I know what I can do better and I’m better prepared for the actual marathon day so I like my chances. I’ve tweaked a little bit of the training, too, and I’m really focusing on my pace. I’ll also be running a half-marathon in February - that is the one time this year I’ll do a long run where I won’t run at my marathon pace, but I have no time goals or anything. That one’s for fun.
Comedy: As of right now, Comedy Night at Exhibit ‘A’ is supposed to come back to the second Saturday of the month in January. Watching everything - sports, Broadway shows, etc. - get canceled, though, it’s hard to get excited about something that’s still a couple of weeks away because who knows where we’ll be and what it will be reasonable to do. I trust Exhibit ‘A’, though - that’s one of the places where I’ve felt safest and taken care of all year - they seem to have made all of the right decisions about hosting stuff. So if they don’t cancel, I’ll feel relatively confident participating. And I guess the goal here is for that show to continue to be as successful as it was before the forced hiatus. And that it helps me rediscover a love for performing comedy which I might not have maintained these past 18 months or whatever it’s been. 20? I guess it’s more like 20 or 21.
Writing: This is the annual “I hope I get more creative writing done this year” goal. I mean, I guess if I keep saying it, eventually it’ll happen, right? But I do feel like I’m in a good spot. It’s nice that as every new year begins I feel like I’ve progressed, at least in terms of my freelance writing work, from the previous year ever since I left teaching.
Bonus social media goal: I have felt a bit betrayed by the algorithms lately. I posted a picture of the dog on Twitter recently and it got NOTHING. A DOG PICTURE!! So something’s definitely off there. (That’s why I re-used the picture for the Every Week on Wednesday post this week.) The Wednesday posts were supposed to help me make sure I posted on the Facebook page more than just on Sundays. So they’ve worked in that sense, and I’m pleased I’ve kept it up as long as I have…but I might not be as consistent in the new year. i’m not sure yet. You can certainly continue to Like the Facebook page (thank you so much - I do appreciate those of you that are active readers and participators) and follow me on Twitter - I’ll keep up with those things like I usually do. But the big new thing for this year is I’ll be chronicling my running (I’ve already started, actually) on a new Instagram page - @johnnyrunsalot. I’ll be posting about my running and marathon training updates on all social media, but that Instagram handle will be an almost-daily update of the training and all things running-related.

Notes

*You know what? I don’t have many extra things to say this week. So have a happy and safe New Year’s if you celebrate in any way. I’ll be watching some college football, I guess. (If those games aren’t canceled.) We’re not big New Year’s Eve celebrators around here. And I’ll see you next week to kick off Year number VII of the Sunday Paper. Thanks for reading!