Here we go again. Remember, I don't believe in resolutions, which I feel feed on the negative and tend to be vague. Instead I prefer the term "goals," which focuses on positive changes that can set you on the path of your choosing.
Last year, I succeeded in achieving five of my 10 goals. Here are another 10 (some duplicates from 2011) that I will work toward in 2012.
1. Reduce the amount of processed food I eat. This includes: frozen anything (except vegetables and ice cream), boxed items, snack mixes, baked goods not made from scratch. These are full of sodium and sugar and strange chemicals that I can't even begin to pronounce. Not healthy.
2. Remember to take my vitamins--Vitamin D and calcium, that is.
3. Run another marathon--since I'm scheduled for the Empire State Marathon in October, I'm already one step toward meeting that goal!
4. Read more.
5. Just like last year, lose 5-10 pounds. Foot surgery forces you off your feet, so weight gain is hard to avoid. Last year I lost 6 pounds, well within this goal.
6. Try to relax completely every 10 days. So very hard to me to do--I equate sitting on the couch with being lazy. (See #4).
7. Throw out/donate the stuff I don't use or don't need. All that extra stuff takes up space; I want to clear the decks!
8. Balance my weekly workouts, meaning pay attention to frequency of strength training, cardio, stretching/pilates, etc. Don't try to do too much of any one discipline. Getting older means sometimes realizing I can't run 8 miles two days in a row. It's OK to mix it up.
9. Realize I'm getting older.
10. Continue to pay down/pay off credit card debt. Every monthly payment is a minor victory. Keep it going!
I suppose these are modest goals, I don't know. Still, they're goals. Like last year, I will check in from time to time to see how I am progressing. Putting this in writing, posting it where my friends can see, keeps me moving forward.
Happy New Year!
More than running (but not much more).
Showing posts with label exercise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label exercise. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Making Progress
Not being a fan of New Year's resolutions, when it turned 2011 I decided to log some fitness goals for the year. I truly had no idea how well I would progress since I chose these goals two weeks after foot surgery and I couldn't predict my recovery. Well, I'm pleased to say that I've recovered exceptionally well from a bunionectomy and dislocation repair, even though I'll need similar work on my left foot. But that'll keep until after marathon season.
Accountability is half the battle with goals (and resolutions, for that matter) and while I won't bore my readers with all my goals I will report on my success or failure in achieving certain ones. I'll assign a letter grade to better define how I'm doing.
Pay better attention to diet. Some of that comes naturally for me the fitter I become; I just crave junk food less and less. That said, sweets are killer for me, and it doesn't help when my husband likes to give me candy (no complaints, mind you!). Specifically I have been drinking more water and eating more protein. Supplements are still a sticking point. I'm reluctant to have a multi-vitamin at the same time I down a calcium and a Vitamin D pill. So that has been spotty at best. B.
Run another marathon. Haha! Check with me in mid-October after the Bay State Marathon I'm scheduled to run. Incomplete.
Compete in different races/different places. Traveling across Upstate New York to race has become a series of mini-vacations for me, yet another reason to mix things up. For 2011, I have signed up for these new races: Delta Lake Triathlon, outside Rome; Cayuga Lake Triathlon, outside Ithaca; Turning Stone Half-Marathon. A.
Strength train twice a week. I love lifting weights, but when it's sooooo nice outside, I'd rather be on my bike. Still, I'm needing to work on my hamstring strength if I intend to race a strongly as possible this year. A.
Swim four times a week. This is tough to do around work and end-of-year kid schedules. The best I've done is three times a week. C.
Run 35 miles a week. This week past I got to almost 30 miles, and I've deliberately built gradually from my post-op layoff or else risk injury. When I'm gearing up for the Oct. 16 marathon, however, 35-mile weeks will become a must. I'll likely drop one bike a week to make up that distance. B.
Rest every 10 days. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I have one thing to say about that: F.
With 7 months to go in the year, I'll check back in and see how I'm doing.
Accountability is half the battle with goals (and resolutions, for that matter) and while I won't bore my readers with all my goals I will report on my success or failure in achieving certain ones. I'll assign a letter grade to better define how I'm doing.
Pay better attention to diet. Some of that comes naturally for me the fitter I become; I just crave junk food less and less. That said, sweets are killer for me, and it doesn't help when my husband likes to give me candy (no complaints, mind you!). Specifically I have been drinking more water and eating more protein. Supplements are still a sticking point. I'm reluctant to have a multi-vitamin at the same time I down a calcium and a Vitamin D pill. So that has been spotty at best. B.
Run another marathon. Haha! Check with me in mid-October after the Bay State Marathon I'm scheduled to run. Incomplete.
Compete in different races/different places. Traveling across Upstate New York to race has become a series of mini-vacations for me, yet another reason to mix things up. For 2011, I have signed up for these new races: Delta Lake Triathlon, outside Rome; Cayuga Lake Triathlon, outside Ithaca; Turning Stone Half-Marathon. A.
Strength train twice a week. I love lifting weights, but when it's sooooo nice outside, I'd rather be on my bike. Still, I'm needing to work on my hamstring strength if I intend to race a strongly as possible this year. A.
Swim four times a week. This is tough to do around work and end-of-year kid schedules. The best I've done is three times a week. C.
Run 35 miles a week. This week past I got to almost 30 miles, and I've deliberately built gradually from my post-op layoff or else risk injury. When I'm gearing up for the Oct. 16 marathon, however, 35-mile weeks will become a must. I'll likely drop one bike a week to make up that distance. B.
Rest every 10 days. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I have one thing to say about that: F.
With 7 months to go in the year, I'll check back in and see how I'm doing.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Just Move Already!
I am not a big gadget person, nor am I too familiar with all the options available with our Verizon FIOS service. However, in looking for a movie to watch last night with the On Demand feature, I discovered a whole bunch of free workouts on Exercise TV. And that leads me to the point of this blog.
With so much fitness information and so many resources available, there is really no excuse for those healthy enough for exercise to do just that, at very little cost. You don't need the gym (though some snowy mornings I do miss the elliptical trainers). And this is in no way a criticism of the gym--if it's what gets you motivated to get some exercise, then great. Frankly, it just got too costly for us to maintain a membership. I was using the gym for twice a week strength training, core using a stability ball and balance work on the Bosu. In winter it was nice to have that cardio equipment a short drive away. But once we canceled the membership, there was no looking back.
My husband found a stability ball at Target for $10, and we bought a Bosu online for $50. I have accumulated all manner of strength-training equipment--plate weights, dumbbells, a barbell, two kettlebells, ankle weights--over my 25 years of working out. So there really was no reason to keep paying the gym.
And when it comes to swimming for triathlon training, I urge everyone to seek out free or low-cost options: they are out there! My pool of choice, which I will not name for fear it'll no longer be a best-kept secret, costs nothing and offers plenty of adult and open swim times Monday through Saturday.
So, what's my point? It's that you can find low- or no-cost exercise options just about anywhere. Add library DVDs, magazines and books for all sorts of workouts, and you really have no excuse.
With so much fitness information and so many resources available, there is really no excuse for those healthy enough for exercise to do just that, at very little cost. You don't need the gym (though some snowy mornings I do miss the elliptical trainers). And this is in no way a criticism of the gym--if it's what gets you motivated to get some exercise, then great. Frankly, it just got too costly for us to maintain a membership. I was using the gym for twice a week strength training, core using a stability ball and balance work on the Bosu. In winter it was nice to have that cardio equipment a short drive away. But once we canceled the membership, there was no looking back.
My husband found a stability ball at Target for $10, and we bought a Bosu online for $50. I have accumulated all manner of strength-training equipment--plate weights, dumbbells, a barbell, two kettlebells, ankle weights--over my 25 years of working out. So there really was no reason to keep paying the gym.
And when it comes to swimming for triathlon training, I urge everyone to seek out free or low-cost options: they are out there! My pool of choice, which I will not name for fear it'll no longer be a best-kept secret, costs nothing and offers plenty of adult and open swim times Monday through Saturday.
So, what's my point? It's that you can find low- or no-cost exercise options just about anywhere. Add library DVDs, magazines and books for all sorts of workouts, and you really have no excuse.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
The Waiting. . .
I am looking at eight days until my foot surgery, and while I'm not relishing the thought of being unable to use my foot for five weeks I also realize the problem has to get fixed. Since I scheduled the surgery for Dec. 10 I've been running some (not at all fast), racing when I could (just because I can), swimming often and biking when the weather cooperates. I'm still lifting weights and practicing yoga, but at this point it's all to keep some amount of fitness. It's hard for me to believe that two months ago I finished, in a respectable time, a half-ironman triathlon.
Still, I anticipate the surgery to fix a bunion and dislocated second toe because I know I'll come through it a better, stronger athlete. I'll be entering a new age group in 2011 (50-54), competing against some of the strongest women athletes I know. I've had it easy these last few years because they have bumped up in age. Now I'll have to work hard just to be able to chase them.
Competing against the sisterhood is one reason I enjoy competing at all. We are all so supportive of each other, even though we all want to win!
So, my plan is to rest up as long as the doctor says I have to (which will be verrrrry difficult for me), and start upper body and ab work as soon as he gives his approval. Then after five weeks he should be able to take the pin out of my toe and I can get back into the pool. With luck, I can walk/run starting in March. I have already signed up for an Olympic-distance triathlon, July 31. That should give me plenty of time to train enough to at least finish the distance. That'll be a good race to gauge my progress and proceed from there.
I am in no way whining about this surgery; I know this is a blip, especially when I look at folks suffering from a chronic disease, or dealing with cancer. But it's my reality and I'm trying to make the best of it.
See you on the roads in April!
Still, I anticipate the surgery to fix a bunion and dislocated second toe because I know I'll come through it a better, stronger athlete. I'll be entering a new age group in 2011 (50-54), competing against some of the strongest women athletes I know. I've had it easy these last few years because they have bumped up in age. Now I'll have to work hard just to be able to chase them.
Competing against the sisterhood is one reason I enjoy competing at all. We are all so supportive of each other, even though we all want to win!
So, my plan is to rest up as long as the doctor says I have to (which will be verrrrry difficult for me), and start upper body and ab work as soon as he gives his approval. Then after five weeks he should be able to take the pin out of my toe and I can get back into the pool. With luck, I can walk/run starting in March. I have already signed up for an Olympic-distance triathlon, July 31. That should give me plenty of time to train enough to at least finish the distance. That'll be a good race to gauge my progress and proceed from there.
I am in no way whining about this surgery; I know this is a blip, especially when I look at folks suffering from a chronic disease, or dealing with cancer. But it's my reality and I'm trying to make the best of it.
See you on the roads in April!
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