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.

Pain, No Gain

It's remarkable how tolerant of pain I have become. I don't know if the ability to zone out when things hurt is the mark of a successful endurance athlete, but I have many friends who experience the same effect. Still, I'm not sure that's so good either--I turned a stress fracture into a full-blown second metatarsal break from ignoring the pain.
Here's what I'm talking about: This morning I went to the track. I detest track work in the moment, but once I'm done and then when I experience the benefits of around-and-around I'm glad I did it. Because it had been awhile (and I'm still technically recovering from foot surgery), I went easy: 4 x 400, with 400 recoveries, after a mile warmup, and then a half-mile cooldown. My goal was to complete each fast lap in under 2 minutes, and I reached that goal--1:58, 1:58, 1:59 and 1:54. It felt good to be done!
When I returned home to log my workout I was curious to see the last time I had been to the track. It was June! But there was a notation in that log entry about my toe hurting so badly that I was going to call my ortho about enduring a second cortisone shot. Uh-oh. I had forgotten how much that second toe had really started to hurt me, but considering I eventually laid off the track for nine months, my sensible self was clearly trying to protect my foot from even more pain.
The point is that even though pain tolerance is a strength of mine (though not something really to brag about), I clearly had had enough a full six months before I finally got that foot and toe fixed (and this would be the right foot, not the left foot I broke in 2007). I guess the lesson is to listen to yourself, even if you don't like what you have to say.
And now for something sort of different: The folks at Beachbody.com have asked me to link some of their products from my blog to their website. My daughter tells me she has done the P90X workout and it kicked her butt, but that it's a quality workout all the same. I urge you to check it out (and the other beachbody.com workouts) for yourself--it's never too late to get into shape. They include the P90X2, the Tai Cheng and the 10 Minute Trainer.

Resolved: No Resolutions

I am not a big believer in New Year's resolutions. I mean, why wait until the first of the year to think about and implement changes. If you're thinking a mere once a year about improving yourself, it seems to me you're doomed to fail; shouldn't you be thinking about getting better every single day?
That said, I rather prefer to refer to them as goals. It turns what are negatives into positives.
So, instead of "I will lose 10 pounds" (oh, the work those five words dredge up!), how about "I will run 35 miles a week" or "I will strength-train three days a week." Already we feel better because the goal is action-oriented. And those five pounds will pretty much take care of themselves.
"I will quit drinking" sounds like you're beating yourself up. Try instead, "I will replace the alcohol I drink with water or herbal tea." Ahhhh, so much more soothing.
And of course there's no reason to wait until the turn of a new year to get to work! You can start running tomorrow, and take a glass to work that you will keep full of water (after you've already emptied it, of course).
So, here are a few of my Fitness Goals for 2011. Some I can implement while I'm recuperating from foot surgery. Some will have to wait until the doctor sends me on my way (April 11, I'm hoping--my 50th birthday).
Run another marathon; if I qualify for Boston, so be it. I'm not going to beat myself up if I don't.
Mix up my race selections. I did this last year and we enjoyed going to new places to compete, Shoreline Triathlon, Loop Around the Lake. We look at these as mini-vacations, day trips to new places. It's even more of an adventure that way. And our tradition is to get breakfast afterwards; upstate New York truly has an eclectic collection of diners, with interesting characters sitting at every table.
Practice yoga once a week, and joyfully. Some days I just don't want to, but here's what I've discovered about yoga--you always, always, always feel better after challenging your hamstrings in downward-facing dog.
I'll leave you here with a biggie, one that is very difficult for me, though it's more and more essential as I face my 50s--rest; every 10 days, take a day off.
In a few months, we'll check back and see how I'm doing. As it is, I have printed off a list of 10 goals and will tape them to my dresser mirror.