Hi everyone! I hope your year is kicking off well. I decided to work on some of my goals for the upcoming year and thought I would share them with you. I know we can make goals any old time but the beginning of the year seems like a good time to think back on the previous year and what you did or did not accomplish. It is a good time to think through those things you still want to accomplish and what steps you need to take in order to do just that.
I like to break my goals into categories to help me keep them organized in my brain. This year I have:
1. Running Goals
2. Health Goals
3. Other goals (I just don't know a good name for some of my other goals, maybe self-enrichment goals?)
I have found that it is better to be fairly specific with my goals so there is no question what I want to achieve and then how I plan on achieving it. It doesn't mean I won't change steps along the way that aren't working and replace with something that works better. Sometimes you don't know that it doesn't work well for you until you get started. The important thing is getting started!!
So, I hope you will think about what you want to achieve in this year and put some steps into place to achieve your goals/wishes/dreams.
Here are some of mine:
RUNNING GOALS
1. My one and only goal in this category is to run all 50 races injury-free this year (I will likely come up with a time goal for our very last race, but I don't have that in mind yet.)
HEALTH/WELLNESS GOALS
1. Consistently take my vitamins/supplements (I am terrible about buying them and then forgetting to take them!)
2. Decrease my weight by 10 pounds (fat loss) by March 2nd (this will also help my running goal)
3. Do a full-body weight lifting workout at least 2x/week
OTHER GOALS (SELF-ENRICHMENT GOALS)
1. Be minimally conversational in Italian by the time we leave for Italy on March 6th
2. Be minimally conversational (especially for work) in Spanish by the end of the year
3. Be able to play at least 3 songs on the piano
4. Consistently post on interesting topics
5. Be able to walk both dogs on my own and control them even when rabbits run by
So, these are my goals for the upcoming year. I am sure I will actually have a few other ones along the way but these are the big ones.
Here are some specifics on how I plan to start taking steps towards achieving them.
For running: I plan to not only run to get in shape for my races but also to lose weight before the 50 races begin. With that in mind I will do mostly interval runs and workouts with some longer runs and tempo runs thrown in.
HIIT workouts are a good way to burn fat so I will use them as well as strengthening in the first 2 months to help drop weight and also to be ready to race at intensity several times a week as we have several races in March (I think at least 8). I need to prepare my body for that kind of frequent intensity. FYI, as the time draws closer I will begin to post our schedule of races.
My tentative plan is:
Monday-full body weights and cycling or swimming intervals
Tuesday-Run Intervals and core
Wednesday-Short tempo run and stretching and core
Thursday-cycling intervals and core
Friday-full body weight and stretching
Saturday-Long run (I am starting with 45 min easy progressing to a 90-minute fast finish run by the time we start our races)
Sunday-Rest or easy swim or yoga
For my Italian: I plan to practice the top 300 words several days a week as well as survival phrases; I will switch to Spanish when we return from Italy (let's face it, Spanish will help me more!)
For piano: I plan to start with 15 minutes every Monday and Friday (I have to start somewhere).
For blogging: I plan to create a schedule of types of posts, create 3 post ideas each Monday and create a time to work on posts consistently. I am finishing the painting on my office today which gives me a work space I truly enjoy working in.
For the dogs: I plan to start just up and down my driveway, then with some of their commands. I also plan to teach Frankie the treadmill (Jasmine can already do it) to get some extra walking in the winter. It was -1 this morning when I got up and neither me nor the dogs want to go for a walk in that!!
Well, that is it! I know this is just a start but at least it does get me started! The biggest hurdle is usually getting started. I suggest that if it is something hard for you to get started then make it ridiculously easy. For example, if you want to start walking on the treadmill every morning start with just getting on for 1 minute. This is so easy you can't refuse it. (I'm going to make you an offer you can't refuse-in the Godfather voice.) Once you have consistently done it for 2 weeks you will usually be past this hurdle and can progress.
Or if you want to do body weight exercises tell yourself you will do one squat and one push up every other day. Just get in the habit first then progress.
For me it is hard to want to get out of warm clothes and put on my workout clothes in the winter. I know that sounds crazy since I am inside but it is the truth. So, I have started just putting them on as soon as I finish my morning coffee. Then when I am ready to work out I already have the clothes on. There is no internal whining about not wanting to get out of my warm clothes!
Remember, be specific about what you want to achieve and when, where, how long, etc. you will do it. When you are vague it is too easy to never get started because you still have to figure out the when, where, etc. For example, say something like, I will walk 20 minutes every Monday, Wed and Friday as soon as I finish breakfast. This makes it very clear when you will do it. Just an idea.
Well, I hope this helps you get started on your goals/dreams for the year. Here is a quote from Arthur Ashe I really like that goes well with this post. (It can also apply in so many other areas of our lives!)
Happy Running!
Kristi
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