We do not need resolutions; we need a revolution: The relationship between resolutions, goals and habits.

My post yesterday has given me occasion to think about my goals for the coming year; both the specific and short quantifiable goals and the more long-term habitual goals that I would like to start honing in and developing.

While I was walking across the street to Lifetime Fitness to get in my lunchtime Runner's World Run Streak mile run,  I started to think about the life that I want to live and the changes that this lifestyle will require.  I have made some of these and maybe even the toughest of these already however there are more to come.  I still have work to do as this is a journey with no definitive ending.   

It went like a cause and effect for me, "I want this and in order to achieve this I need to do that and in order to do that I need to develop x, y, and z habits."

Getting changed in the locker room I stopped to think that maybe now is the time to lay out the dreaded R word - 'resolutions'.  Just then I tune into a service announcement being broadcast over the loudspeakers.

Sometimes things happen just when you need them too.  The announcement was an advertisement for the Commitment Day 5k on January 1st, 2013 with lifetime sponsoring a 5k in any number of cities.  Locally for us that is Detroit.   What grabbed my attention was one sentence, and almost on cue Lifetime answered my thought for me...

"We don't need resolutions.  What we need is a REVOLUTION."

Yes, yes,and YES! 

A healthy lifestyle is built upon a foundation of healthy habits, not resolutions.  We may resolve to quit smoking but it takes breaking the habit of smoking and developing a new habit to live in the hole the old habit occupied.  Chasing resolutions is like marking off a checklist, at the end you have a checklist but what else?  Are you healthier or more rounded?  If resolutions worked, why are we still making them?

What we need is a revolutionary change in ourselves and our thinking!   Resolutions are like bigger picture goals, if there is no plan on achieving them, and if we do not make real substantial changes to our core beings then how are we ever going to achieve them?


I then though of the goals I had set for myself in 2011 to work towards this year. The truth is that I accomplished a good portion of what I set out to do only falling short in the reading goal which, considering the year that I had, is not bad at all.

2012 Goals in Review

Goal: I wanted to Lose 30-40# through training for the Ironman and figuring out a lifestyle that works for me.  
Result:  ACCOMPLISHED!  I went whole foods plant strong (essentially vegan with the exception of honey, silk, leather, etc.) and dedicated myself to training not just putting in time.  The pounds melted away.  I ended up losing 50# in my journey to Ironman from November 2011 to November 2012.  Not too shabby, and the best thing is that the habits that I have build will be with me until I decide to change them. 

Goal: I wanted to take up stand up paddle boarding this year in addition to continuing to add rock wall climbing and yoga into my training as cross training activities to spend more time with Mike. 
Result:  ACCOMPLISHED!   I SUP'd in Florida this year, did not make it to rock wall climbing, but definitely made it back to yoga and have been really good at spending time with Mike and friends.

Goal:  Work out my mind by reading 12 books (last year I read 12 in the first three months!)
Result:  NOT ACCOMPLISHED.  I fell very short of this, and ready only around half.  I am coloring this orange and not red, because I at least made an effort to read more than normal, training for an Ironman limited my time available for sure.

 
While I may have or have not achieved specific goals, my habits definitely changed for the better.  I read more now than I did before 2012.  I weigh much less and am still losing weight and gaining strength due to those lifestyle changes that I made, and I am still excited to try new things and go back to the things that I love as opposed to sitting on the couch eating cheesy-poofs. 

I made real substantial changes in my lifestyle that are continuing to reward me every day. I am actually surprised that I have not gone back to old habits; I have ingrained these new habits into my life. So now on to 2013... what are some things that I want to start developing in 2013 to help me along in this journey?

Selfishly one of my top goals is to become a faster/stronger runner.  What will I need to do in order to achieve this goal?

Obviously I will need to run faster overall, which requires training in order to do so. In order to do this, I will need to be more consistent in my training overall.  Being consistent in anything leads to improvements and efficiency.  The body adapts quickly but we need to get past the early transitional resistance that we face which is the point that most people give up because it is, well, resistance. Our bodies do not like change for in historic times change meant something bad was happening.   The irony is that is modern times reluctance to change is what is killing us.

In order to be more consistent in my training I will need to exercise earlier in the mornings as rarely things have an opportunity to effect me in the morning like the things that pop up throughout the day do that derail my efforts. Stress is the number one of those things; stressors give me headaches and bad ones at that.

In order to be able and willing to be a morning exerciser, I have to become a morning person.  This means that I will need to develop the habit of the weekly planning of meals, training, and social activities to assure that I can get to bed at a decent hour in order to sleep enough hours and get up early enough to work out.

Part II of this also means that I need to learn to deal with stress better.  Yoga and meditation are going to be musts going forward. 

So to become a faster runner, I will need to wake up earlier and continue with my habits that I have recently started of meal and exercise planning, as well as continued meditation and yin yoga to keep me accountable and on track.  

See how this one simple goal actually involves my entire lifestyle?  If I want to achieve it then I have to have the lifestyle to make it happen.  Change rarely happens in a vacuum.  Obviously some habits will help achieve multiple goals. If we look at it as habits being the building blocks of our lifestyle foundation,  goals draw upon this foundation to become realized. The stronger the foundation the better the chances of goals being attained.


   So how do you all approach goals and resolutions?  Do you map them out as a plan to achieve them, or do you find yourself making the same resolutions and the same resistance to changing the things needed to be changed in order to fully achieve them?

My goals for 2013:

• Goal: Become a faster/stronger runner.
• Habits that need to be developed/reinforced/continued: Consistency in training, Early morning exercise (i.e. stop being a night owl and get some sleep), put in effort not just time (i.e. be present in everything that I am doing not just sitting there watching the clock move), rehab/restorative exercises both physical and mental (i.e. meditation, journaling,  and yin yoga)
• Results: The habit of morning exercise will help me stay consistent in my training which will aid me in achieving my training specific, long term goals i.e. being a stronger runner.

Try making a list of 2-3 things that you want to achieve over the course of 2013, these are your goals. Research shows that having a smaller list of goals to work on leads to a higher percentage of goal attainment as you can focus your efforts. real change takes commitment and work.  Habits that have taken a lifetime to develop will  not be changed overnight.  They say that it typically takes 30 days of continual focus to make the desired change a permanent habit. 30 days.

After you have your list  note the longer-term (possibly even life-long) habits that need to be developed, strengthened, or continued to make it work.  .

After that, write down the reason that these habits will support your goal.  If you find that you cannot make the connection then you are looking at either the wrong habits or the wrong goal.

There is definitely a time and a place for time sensitive goals; I think that if we make the connection between resolutions, goals and habits we will be more successful in the new year (and every year), since we will be moving forward and not just across a checklist of finite to-do's.  

#RWRunStreak update:

Going strong and today's mile was just under 9:15 for 1 mile!  Last night's 4 mile run was sub 10 minute miles as well... I feel a change a coming! A hard earned and worth working for change.

Rekindling my vegan love afair - with a side of lobster (hold the butter, please)

Hello everyone!  I have not fallen off of the face of the Earth, but rather have been doing some soul searching working through some stress.  It is coming out all good and I am feeling a sense of both relief and amazement that I am overcoming the largest hurdle in my life as of yet - myself.

I find that knowing the reasons why I am doing something helps me to pull through mentally tough times because it is about something greater than that moment.  Lately my focus has been on healthy eating and trying to break the code as to why I have an unhealthy relationship with food.

I saw a nutritionist and I have found a true partner in this.  I told her my history - all the good the bad the ugly (ugliest) of truths - as well as told her my goals:  I want to arrive at Ironman healthy and fit and ready for a long training day where I finish 140.6  miles strong and happy, as well as to look amazing for Mike on my wedding day (and lifetime thereafter).

I can train like a mad woman for Ironman.  I can lose all the weight I want for my wedding.  However at the core I have a broken-down, disordered relationship with food which will only work against me in my goals.

And it sucks. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Over the past few months I have been working on my relationship with food, the final steps of which were to find a nutritionist to work with through Ironman and beyond.  I have stopped assigning feelings to food - i.e. comfort food - and I have stopped relating how I think of food in terms of emotional being - i.e. I love that, I hate this, I adore such and such - it just was all so unhealthy.

I feel confident that I am not "fixed" on this side yet I am confident that I have learned a lot about myself and food and now that I have made a declaration about who I am, it has totally redefined what I eat for me.

While I can still enjoy food I need to be responsible with it.  Like with any 'power', moderation and respect are necessary for successful yielding.   These are the struggles of a person with disordered eating habits. My disordered past has set me up for a lifetime of struggle with food, especially binge eating,  but it is something that I am finally making some headway in.  After all of these years and so many false starts, I am on the right path.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One thing that I have to be conscious of is getting all the nutrients that I need to be an athlete - protein, iron, calories, healthy fats, carbohydrates.  I am now tracking the foods I eat to see where I fall in my recommendations.

My goals are:

• Consume enough calories to sustain my workouts and living requirements (no hard and fast goal, but I try to stay above my BMR of about 1700 kcals per day). 
• Consume  ~90-100g of protein a day. 
• Consume ~ 100oz of water a day. 

 I tend to fall below standards in proteins and above standards in calories.  This is being corrected now. with some success already!  I am down 15 lbs since Christmas and am on my way to better understandings of nutrition as a whole process, not just food to be eaten. 

Ever since I got the Vitamix for Christmas, I have been into making lots of raw shakes and soups and have enjoyed cooking so much more.  I find a way to add veggies into every single thing I make thanks in whole to the Vitamix's amazing ability to obliterate anything you put in there.  So really I have some remarkable tools at my disposal now to assure that I am eating varied, rainbow colored diet full of  proteins, minerals, vitamins, and healthy fats and oils.  I freaking love this machine.

Sorry Mike. 

I have also been researching the best "diet" for being an endurance athlete.  Obviously a vegetarian always hears issues about protein and iron consumption and is deluged all the time by people asking - "but what do you eat?, and "how are you going to make it through training let alone a race of that size by only eating plants?"  Well it happens.  Many have, many more will.   So to be clear by 'diet' I am speaking in life-long terms; in clinical terms and not marketing terms.  Not Atkins,South Beach, nor Weight Watchers.  I mean what eating habits are best for performance and endurance.  So far the non industry paid-for or sponsored studies point to plant based diets as being superior to animal based diets.  Hmmm. Interesting. I am sure the Paleoites hate hearing this.

This also brings me to the reason for the heading of this post.  The only reason I never made the leap from vegetarianism to vegan-ism was because of two things:

1. I like cheese, and
2. I like cheese.

Oh, and also I realized in my many travels when I have been in situations where I had no viable options ahead of me I just did not eat.  This resulted in some bad situations and irregardless if you are in another country or another person's home, there comes a time when you have to pick your battles.

So leads to the 3rd reason I never went fully vegan:

     3. I will eat, graciously, whatever is being cooked for and served to me in someone's kitchen or while
         traveling through an area with limited options.  Especially if there is cheese involved.   

Yep.  I have resorted to eating an occasional animal protein including fish, sea food, and turkey. Also interesting to note is that I am still alive. So, I guess that it was not so bad after all.
   
I have come to accept that in order to be happy and healthy sometimes I need to bend my self-imposed rules and think about why I am doing something.  I am happy with this, and still think of myself as a vegetarian that allows herself flexibility when things are out of her control - the term is  flexitarian if you want to be technical.  The interesting thing is that once I took the imposition of hard rules off my shoulders, I found myself not really going to animal products unless absolutely necessary. I fell into a bucket of ribs in Panama City Beach once back in November, but never went back for seconds nor have I had them since. Whew that was close!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I realize that I live by an 90% / 10% ratio these days.  I eat vegetarian at least 90% of the time and eat animal products such as limited dairy, eggs, poultry and fish  about 10% of the time over the larger time frame. 


I am happy with this since it no longer means that I live in fear of being a hypocrite or that I have failed somehow.  I still believe in animal rights and still fight the good war, but sometimes you have to give up a singular battle in order to wage war another day.

So with that I am leaving you with a recipe from my dear friend Aparna E. Bankston.  I made this for dinner last night and it was amazing just as I had imagined it, tasty and very warming on a cool evening.   You can easily sub in chicken for the tofu if you are not a soy lover or vegetarian, or if you wish do as I did and sub in another non-meat substitute (Gardein is my favorite so far) in lieu of the 'fu.

http://notaleaf.com/2010/08/04/generals-tofu/

•1 block of extra firm tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes
•2 1/2 cloves garlic, minced
•1 1/2 teaspoons ginger, some minced, some grated
•1/4 cup soy sauce
•1/4 cup water
•1/4 cup orange juice
•1 1/2 tablespoons corn starch
•1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper (we LOVE spice, so we added more. This amount is totally up to you, though!)
•2 tablespoons vegetable oil

We served this with rice, so start by cooking some rice.

In a large, deep skillet coat the bottom with vegetable oil, about 2 tablespoons.  When it’s nice and hot, add the tofu and cook until brown on all sides.

While that’s happening in a 2-cup measuring cup (you know, like those Pyrex doohickies), measure out the soy sauce, water and orange juice. Add the corn starch, minced garlic, cayenne pepper and add some minced ginger and then grate some in there too, Stir it all together and finish cooking the tofu. (C) not a leaf, 2011

NOTE:  I subbed Gardein's Vegan Mandarin Crispy Chick'n (without the mandarin sauce) for tofu in this since I really am not a huge fan of firm tofu and I stir-fried it all in coconut oil.  Either way this was DELISH.  I would consider adding some agave nectar or ever some raw coconut nectar to this for a sweeter take.  I also added mushrooms and broccoli to the dish to add more veggies and colors, and served my portion over 1/2 Cup of brown rice.   My version contained

448 kcals,

45g of carbs,

12g of fat,

38g of protein,

4g of fiber and

5g of sugar.

 The original yields ~

418 kcals,

37 carbs,

14 fat,

37 protein,

6fiber, and

6 sugars

I am not here to conquer the world.

I am here to conquer myself.

I have been getting a lot of comments and emails lately pertaining to my '08 racing schedule and school all pretty much asking the same thing... "are you crazy?"

Well my friends, the answer to that is a simple no.

You have to understand. I am seriously not out to do things just for the sake of doing them. I am out here to make a better life for myself and for others. I work hard so I can play hard and enjoy life. We only have one, and I have wasted enough of mine already.

A little recap on RunnerGirl - I started running because I had lost a lot of weight and wanted to do something amazing... to push my body now that I knew I could do it. So I started training for a marathon. Go big or go home - that is my motto! Maybe I should have stopped there, but I was hooked. So I kept running.

Sort of like Forrest Gump, just without the positive attitude.

The running partner I was with, coincidentally my boyfriend at the time, started to make me feel like I wasn't a good enough runner. Or maybe I let the dissolution of our relationship put those negative thoughts in my head. Either way I was reminded that I was not good enough out there in the field. I felt stuck. I had to run in order to spend any amount of time with this man... however I hated every minute out there because I felt smaller and not worthy. I felt fake. I was ashamed.

"If it makes you happy... then why are you so sad?"

I had sacrificed my happiness to be someone that this man would want to love. At the end of the day it would not matter. There was no love. Just habit, and a shell of a person left there all alone trying to figure out how it got to the point where she did not even recognize herself.

But I kept running. And dreaming. And I never stopped dreaming.

Because of that time in my life I used to have a real negative feelings towards running. I hated lacing up the shoes, but I still did it. I hated getting up early for those long slow distances, but I still did it. I hated everything about running, but I still did it.

I was convinced that I was NOT a runner because I couldn't break 10 minute miles. I was convinced that I was a joke to the fellow runners out there because I struggled and had to walk.

I loved a good punishment, so I never gave up. And in the end I was able to tear down those walls that I had built up and see the beauty in every step that I take.

"It is your run, embrace every step."

For those of you that have been with me since the start of this blog - you know that I have grown quite bit. I have grown into the woman I am today. Strong, Healthy. Happy.

So if I seem impassioned about the sports that I partake in... it is because I have been on the other side. The side where you dread life and every turn. That you dread waking up and facing another day of lies and let downs. I hated that person. I am glad that she is gone.

"I took off my pity-party dress and I don't dance like that no more."

I have since embraced running. It is a lifestyle. I am not a marathoner even though I have run them. I am not a half-marathoner even though I have run them too. I am a runner, but more importantly I am Jennifer. No titles necessary. For me, the joy is not in the title but the trip along the way to the finish line.

"I have the courage to start, and the strength to finish. "

Likewise, I have embraced triathlon. I enjoy challenging myself, true. However, again, I am not partaking in all the races that I do for the sake of medals, t-shirts, or even to say that I am a triathlete. I do these thing because of the happiness it brings to me. It is just another step in the journey. Another simple little step leading me down the path of life.

I guarantee you this. I am not chasing after Iron, nor gold, silver or bronze. I will not ever be an ironman. I don't want that. I am happy with sprints and oly's and one day I would like to do a Half IM, but no more. Now do not get me wrong, I respect each and every iron man out there (well except for the ones that steal other people's bike computers). But I personally am not that iron-seeking person. I am content with being carbon based.

I am human and that is beautiful. (I will try not to forget this)

I have this life to live and that is a blessing. (I will try not to waste it on frivolous things)

I am finally in a place where I no longer worry or feel bad or have self
doubt about who I am on the inside and that is reassuring. (I will try not to abuse it.)

I have gone from sloth to athlete and that is amazing. (I will try not to revert back to old ways)

But most of all I have learned that I can say no... and that is empowering. (I will try to remember to do so when needed. )

So to answer your questions... no I am not crazy. Well if you ask Mike then the answer is probably yes. ;) I will succeed in this just like everyone else does. One day at a time.

Thank you all for being on this journey with me. ;) I can only guarantee you that it will keep on getting better. Oh, and soon I will have some actual running things to post up here.

})i({ Jennifer

Enlightenment on the run

I did it. 4 miles as planned. All my week-day runs are complete! All that is left to do is a 6-miler this weekend.



I really appreciate all of your comments and suggestions for my walking issue. Heck I realy appreciate your comments period. The support I have gotten here is unparalleled. Or however you spell it. Seriously.



I have an answer for you Ken - I did a lot of thinking about what you asked, WHY exactly is it that I have been taking walking breaks? Mental or physical? Well... it appears to be a little of both.

Somehow I managed to move to the middle of M.C. Escher land... where everything is up-hill. Including the down-hills.



Today I ran 1.67 mile UPHILL before I finally had to walk due to the pure hatred brewing inide of me. Well that and my right leg (shin) was really starting to be tender. I walked for just under 0.15 miles, then ran to about mile 2.3 or so. It is then when I hit the next 2 miles of hills. Oh yes - net UP hill.



I think that this is the reason why I have been walking the past two days during the runs... they are all on hills! Now why this is pretty good for hidden speedwork - it really does take a lot of energy. I mean. a lot. of. energy. *sigh* oh me so drained now. Plus running too many hill is not good for the knees or legs. And I am startin' to feel it taking a toll on me. My right leg (shin) is still tender. Hmmm.



Pat - it has barely broke 80* here the past two nights, so um yeah - Ken blew up my spot. It is PERFECT running weather. Not the 102* like you are seeing. I thought that I could hide in the weather - even given that it is nice here. Not so much!





So I think my problem has been a combination of everything, really. Tired legs (from walking the 4 milers at lunch), [way] too many hills, pushing a little too hard out of the gate, all resulting in physical as well as mental tiredness.

So I am going to incorporate all of your suggestions.

• I am going to walk only on non-running days.
• I am going to get in my shorter runs (under 4 miles) in the AM (that is a start!), and
• I am going to find a nice quasi-flat area to run at when I do evening/afternoon runs.

I may start running on the trail I walk during lunch as it is so flat... just wide open to sun, little wind, and pretty hot. LOL... well I guess that I really have no perfect solution. At this stage in the game I am still on trial-and-error. Like I said before I want to make all of these mistakes NOW, not come race time!

I am feeling pretty good after my run, but my loathing for the hills has returned for tonight. I am only 50 some days out from the race, but I now that I am on track. I feel good knowing that I am following my plan. I have faith in this plan. I sort of like this plan. NO DEVIATING FROM THE PLAN!



Next week is a repeat of this week - 4, 2, and 4 miles (7 at the weekend). My goal is to run the 6 miles this Sunday straight through - so I will be keeping it LOW and SLOW (thank you Big Cheese!) Time aint nuttin' but a number. ;)



As Ken said - I gotta slow my roll a bit. I have all year to gain speed... right now, I need that endurance pace. So if it is gonna be 12 minute miles or more - so be it! I am young (relatively I guess). I am in this for the long haul. And I think that these are two things that make for a decent journey!



Plus as a goal check - I still really enjoyed my run tonight!



I hope that everyone is having a great week! Tomorrow is a cardio rest day. *wipes brow* Thank you.... oh lovely plan.



~ })i({ RunnerGirl ~

Always running, but never the same.

Today was weigh in. I am seeing progress and am taking action! It feels good to be in control again.

Ken is right, I am learning some very valuable lessons. And honestly, I want to learn these lessons NOW versus the day of the race. I am trying out everything from hydration strategies to nutrition to clothing. I am being very serious about this. And enjoying every step of the way! Uuuummm... no pun intended!

My frustration at work is fueling my desire for control everywhere else. I am sticking to my guns. In 7 days my goal is to be down 4lbs, to have made all of my runs scheduled for this week, as well as to have done my strength training every weekday.

I am on track for all of these things. I did miss Sunday's 5-miler due to being up north for F-day, and Saturday I had to deal with my water heater exploding, so I am pardoning myself. I am only looking forward.

We live life forwards, and learn from it backwards.

Happy running everyone!

})i({ RunnerGirl

My first WW milestone!

I joined WW on 4/10. Now.. as of 4/23 I am down 6lbs - which means taht I have earned my first milestone star - the 5lbs lost star. *geeked*

My mini goals are to be down by 15lbs by Memorial Day, down 10% of my start weight by July 4th, and down 30 lbs by my birthday, August 11th.

I feel good and strong, and motivated! SO far so good.

Well, off to run.. oh yes you heard me... RUN.. before hitting the gym for legs and shoulders.

Wish me luck!

~RunnerGirl

1277.06

1277.06

That is my total of miles ran in both training and races as of 4/3/07. My lifetime miles. *sigh* Wow.

When you break things down into what you have really accomplished - it is amazing. I have ran, since I started running in December of 2002, over 1200 miles.

Let us break that down. Just a wee bit. (Please bare with me!)

That is the equivalent of nearly 49 marathons, nearly 98 half-marathons, nearly 128 10-mile races, nearly 156 5-milers, or nearly 411 5-K runs.

And you wonder why my legs look like they do? LMAO. Well... genetics... but also a healthy dose of running.

My goal for 2007 is to hit the 1500 mark. That means that I need to run 223 miles to break it. OK, dear friends, exactly what does that mean? Well if I was to start to join the streakers club - I would have to run an average of 6.2 miles a week, which is 25 miles a month. Wee! Doable!

It helps that I am in training - a long and I do mean looooong training for a few halfs this year - I have 3 (Chicago Distance, Detroit NB, Chicago Half) that I am doing for sure, and a potential 4th in Boston (BAA Half).

So this brings me to the topic of goals. Ahhh... those silly little fluffy things we proclaim in the heat of the moment, only wishing later that we could take it back. Or for some, they are set so low that we have no motivation to aim for them at all... it is a given that we will reach them. No matter what the goals are - we all need to remember one thing - at least we took aim and tried. Reach them or not - you attempted something. And that is pretty great.

"The tragedy of life doesn't lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in
having no goal to reach. It isn't a calamity to die with dreams unfilled, but it
is a calamity not to dream. It is not disgrace to reach the stars, but it is a
disgrace to have no stars to reach for."
- Benjamin E. Mays

Running - 50% Physical, 25% Mental, 25%... clothing?

I know that the old addage is that running is 90% physical, 10% mental. But through my four years of running I realized that running is just as much about your mental state as it is about your physical conditioning.

Now do not get me wrong here, you need to put your energy into your training - however if your heart of mind is not into the run, it just will not go as smoothly as you hoped for. I have had just as many bad runs as good runs. And to me bad could simply be a mental state.

Part of reaching your goals is defining them, planning for them, and being ready for the changes neccesary in order to reach them.

Definition of Goals
You need to be specific in your goals as being too ambiguous will lead to disapointment in the end. By being specific you say not that you want to start running this year, but rather that you want to start running 10 miles a week. By being more specific you are more apt to reach them, and it becomes more probable that you will stick with it.

Planning for Goals
Now after reviewing your goals, you need a plan. For us runners and walkers this usually comes in form of a training or running schedule. Just like anything, if you schedule time for it it inherantly becomes a priority. You cannot just go about yur day and hope that you will have time for the task. in fact, the more you do it and the longer the runs, the more time it takes to get in the distances you have planned for. Running 1 mile takes less time than 5. So in addition to scheduling when you run, you should also have to schedule how long it should take from prep time to shower time.

I have started rituals to help with this. I am a very regimented runner. For races I always arrive about an hour prior to start time to get a feel for the weather, a feel for the crowd/field, and a feel for how I feel that day. I may have planned a PR run, but upon arriving realize that I will be happy with a finish.

All of this takes planning, not just in running itself, but in planning for all the ancillary aspects - mental, mood, weather, etc.

Another part of planning is something a lot of us take for granted. These are the tools of the trade - clothes, shoes, and gear. I would never decide to run 10 miles without some sort of water bottle, GU packs, music, etc. In addition I would not run a summer race in my winter garb.

That is why I say that 25% of running is our clothes. I used to joke with a running partner about how I felt like a runner when I bought new equipment. We would laugh, but now that I have met more and more people, my thoughts were actually the norm.

If you match, or are wearing your favorite running apparel, you tend to be mentally more "on". I find that if I am running in my "real" running clothes I actually take myself more serious and am more apt to compelte the task. That all goes back to planning.

After 4 years of running I have found my perfect running outfit for any type of weather.

SUMMER
sports bra tank
running lycra shorts (spandex, hate chafing!)
coolmax top or tank
coolmax socks (anti-blister)
water bottle (ice cold)

FALL/SPRING
Same as above, only the shorts move on to lycra running capris, and heavier socks. My tank now becomes a long sleeved coolmax top. possibly gloves and a hat if really cold.

WINTER
Same as above, only my capris turn into running tights, and I run with a coolmax turtleneck shirt, a t-chirt over that, and either a runnign jacket, or a sweatshirt over that. My golves and hat beefs up a bit, and I also switch my socks to short-woven wool (Dunham brand). Being that my shoes are super mechy the wind passes right through them making for chilly feet. The addition of the wool running socks has completely removed this issue.

I also always dress in layers, giving me about a 20* difference should the weather change, as well as I dress for weather roughly 15-20* warmer to assure that I will not overheat while I am out there.

Dressing is a very crucial issue for runners. No matter what you are comfortable in, COTTON IS SIN. Remember that and all fo your soft spots will be very VERY grateful!

Being ready for the changes neccessary for the Goal
Part of reaching any goal goes beyond the definition and planning phases - you actually ahve to be ready for the changes you may need to make in your life.

If you want to run a marathon - you are going to have a lot of trade offs to account for all the time you will be running. Take an average 4-month marathon training schedule. 4 months of speed work, long slow distances, tempo runs, and just overall crosstraining efforts. Plan on reducing the number of nights you go out to the bar, as well as focusing more on your eating habits., Food = fuel. You will feel it in your run if you disregard this fact.

Even in shorter distances, such as the half marathon, 10k or 5k, you are still training. Even if your goal is just to finish - this is a habit you are trying to fall into, and with any habit you need to allow yourself time to adapt. To change. To develop and grow. You must be prepared for the time, money, energy, and desire that this is going to take.


After I broke running down into these three areas, I realized that running IS 50% physical, 25% mental, and 25% clothing!

Once I realized this, my journey got a little easier to continue on with.

Keep on running!
RunnerGirl Jenn
Today's mileage - 3.11 miles, Weather - COLD, conditions - SNOWY!

The year of 1500.

Look at that face above. That is the face of RunnerGirl. It is me, and I am happy to say that this is the year of my 1500!

This is the year that...

I break a lifetime mileage of 1500 miles.
I run 300 miles in this year alone.
I reach my goal of a sub 2 40 half.
I become serious about training.
I shed those pounds.
I find happiness in living life.
I keep on reaching for the stars.
I smile more than I frown.
I shed less tears of sorrow and more tears of joy.
I am not afraid to stop and smell the flowers... even if during a race.
I will train someone to run their first 5k and then some.
I will reflect back on every race prior and take a lesson with me to the next.
I stop qualifying myself by the numbers I see.
I start quantifying my runs by the numbers that matter.
I stop obsessing over the numbers in either case.
I get back to basics and listen to my body. It is afterall, the best pience of equipment I have.

Here is to your year.
Keep on running,
RG