It’s a new year, and like so many runners, I am back at it. While I did some running over the past few months, I have been bad about blogging — so there are two resolutions for 2016: run more and blog more.

On the last day of 2015, I spent the evening with friends playing a card game called “Anomia” and having a few grown-up beverages. There was some bubbly, and my variation on a cocktail created by New York bartender Dale DeGroff: The Satin Manhattan.

Here is the original recipe:

1 1/2 ounces Scotch

1/2 ounce vanilla liquor

2 dashes of bitters

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass filled with ice and stir. Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a cherry.

I’ve always preferred this cocktail with bourbon, and that what was I used last night, along with black walnut bitters. I skipped the cherry.

My night ended around 4 a.m. this morning, but it wasn’t all drinking. Much of that time was spent playing card games, talking, and eating snacks.

This morning the Needham Running Club had its annual New Year’s Day 5K at 10 a.m. The weather was good, warm for New Year’s Day, and skies were clear. I made it to the sign up and start line, and then we were off.

Here are my results:

This is a little slow for me compared to times over the past year. So, I have concluded that whiskey and sleep deprivation are not good 5k training. In the interest of science, I have run this experiment at least twice and can tell you that the results are fully reproducible. In control races, I find I move much faster without whiskey the night before.

Now, I have a long way to go before I am competitive. The winner of my age group ran the race in 16:54. So, there is a fair amount of work to be done, but a new year is a good place to start a new program because it makes for a good measuring point. So, if anyone has suggestions, I am open to them.