Monday Wrap Up: New Year's Eve - 1, Claire - 0

I've spent much of the last week reading the internet (I mean, working hard...), and it seems like every blogger out there is proclaiming their resolutions. Good for them! Goal-setting is important, regardless of the time of year, and going on the record with your goals makes you accountable (see my Boston Marathon goal post. Or don't, because accountability makes me all nervous and sweaty). The thing is, unless your resolution is "bone more," (while a worthy resolution, not one I'm going to commit to publicly, if only because my parents are reading), no one really cares. Telling people your resolutions is like telling people about your dreams, only even more self-indulgent. And probably with less public nudity, unless your resolution is "bone more, in public." If it is, shoot me an email.

Everyone sets New Year's Resolutions, so your specific and personal resolution just ends up becoming white noise. And since no one is listening to your particular resolution over the din of all the other resolutions out there, no one will know you totally DID eat deep fat fried Oreos for breakfast even though you resolved to be a macrobiotic vegan this year. At the end of the day, and certainly by the end of the year, no one remembers your resolution and you're totally unaccountable. Also, if you want to be a macrobiotic vegan, you're also probably totally a dick.

Number of Miles Run Last Week: 18. I spent my New Year's Eve camping out in a hunting cabin with some 15 other fun-loving folks. No electricity, no running water - just friends and nature. And alcohol. Lots of alcohol. Which came in handy. Sometime after the sun had set, but before I'd remembered I'd actually packed a headlamp and my YakTrax, I was walking to the outhouse in the dark and absolutely ate it. Completely laid out on the snowy ground by a root. I lay there for about a minute in the dark cold, willing myself not to cry. When I finally picked myself back up, brushed myself off, and hobbled back to the campfire, my right knee had swollen to cantaloupe proportions.

Our first aid supplies were limited to Advil, Tums, and donut holes. Ever the outdoorsman, Nina packed a snowball for me to use as an ice pack. She also force fed me more pills than Lindsay Lohan could manage in a night. And then she kindly opened me another beer. Pretty soon, I was good as new. Except for a horrifying bruise. And limited range of motion or weight bearing. And a possible liver damage from combining 450,000 mgs of ibuprofen with beer.

While I did eek out a New Year's Day run, I was still in considerable pain when Sunday's first "long" run of the training season rolled around. So I bagged it. On the plus side, it was only slated to be 7 miles, and I had already logged an extra three for the week. On the minus side? Breaking from the plan before getting through week one feels pretty crappy. But not as crappy as my leg does.

Number of Beers Consumed Last Week: Um, 2,011?

Types of Beers Consumed Last Week: In scenic upstate New York, you can buy Genny Cream Ale in 24oz cans. This terrifies me, and I avoid it like the plague. But I did drink plenty of Utica Club, whose packaging is either deliberately designed to look retro, or is actually way old. I suspect the stuff just lingers on the shelves collecting dust until some out-of-town urban hipster buy it to be ironic. Either way, it's pretty terrible.

Also worth noting: Nina's parents got me a Christmas present, which would be astoundingly thoughtful and generous regardless of what it was. But they know and love me enough to know exactly what I want and need: a Beeriodic Table of the Elements. I look forward to improving my scientific classification of beers this year!

Let's go back to the busted knee for a moment: I tried to run on it again this morning, which was not the best idea I've ever had. My "run," which is a generous way to describe it, was sad and awkward and pretty uncomfortable. The swelling is mostly down, but the IT band on that side feels super tight. I'd massage it, if it weren't covered by an angry and painful bruise. So I'm sort of in a pickle, eh? (Not like my friend Caroline though). I'm keeping up with the ice and Advil and hoping to be on the mend by the end of the week. Don't judge me if I'm not putting back high miles and quick paces for the next few days. Thanks in advance for your cooperation.

Happy 2011, kids. This year is going to be a big one. Let's try to get through it in one piece, shall we?