Yay for the new year!

Now that the festivities of International Present Day are over it's time to start thinking about next year. Usually I don't make a big deal about the new year, but maybe that's because it's been a while since I've been as hopeful as I am right now. For most folks who know me being fit was pretty integral to who I am and the last few years it seems I've gone from injury to injury to the point where I couldn't ride a bike or run without pain. Being distraught over my inability to the things that'd always given me such joy rolled into my enthusiasm for other things. The Pirate got me motivated last spring to train more consistently (we started with P90X) and I switched to running in minmalist shoes. Now that the year is over I can honestly say I can run without any nagging knee pains. Next year will be about getting some speed back. Running pain free has also refocused me on improving myself in other areas. To that end I've really committed to learning Java and have even written a couple programs ( I should really post my run converter here when I find the time) and hope to take my Java Programmer Certification exam before the end of next year. This next year will be about making a stand alone GIS with GeoTools and getting good with R (statistics programming language). The Pirate and I will also focus on racing with plans for half-marathons in California, Utah and Europe and plan to do a Warrior Dash and then a Tough Mudder later in the year with Currie. At least all be in shape when the world ends in December right? I can't wait for The Onion articles as we get closer to December! Hope everyone has a great New Year!