2015 is flying by! Here's how I did on my February fitness goals and what goals I'm making for March.
February Goals
1. Run at least 84 miles to stay on track for my 1,000-mile yearly goal.
Yes! I ran 108.75 in February, which is a monthly mileage PR for me. I ran 185.71 miles this year.
2. Run the Spring Thaw 10-Miler as a training run at the end of February.
Yes! I ran the race this past Saturday. I'll have a race recap this week.
3. Continue training for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon and do not miss a workout.
Yes! I haven’t missed any workouts and have done all my runs outside. Given that Pittsburgh had a near-record-breaking cold February, I am definitely earning the Runner of Steel title with not just braving the elements, but still--perhaps crazily--enjoying winter running.
4. Create and follow a new strength training routine that fits into my training plan.
Yes! I created this three-times-a-week routine to replace January's four-times-a-week routine and followed it in February, missing only one workout (this past Saturday). The only thing I don't like about it is that because I can't do the routine on consecutive days, I have to do it on Saturdays after my runs, which is really tough for me. I recently adapted the routine to add hip strengthening exercises.
5. Continue to do yoga most days.
Not totally. This follows the 30-day yoga challenge I did in January. When I talk about daily yoga, I mean anything from spending five minutes doing sun salutations or gentle twists to following an actual yoga video. The idea with daily yoga is just to create space for yourself every day, not to try to do a 1.5-hour session every day. I even have a five-minute routine of gentle stretches I can do in bed right before falling asleep. While I credit yoga for rehabbing my only running injury so far, a hip injury, and for preventing other injuries, yoga is just as important to me mentally as it is physically. Every day I hear or read about others' stresses--friends, coworkers, people I meet in social situations, and on social media--who get so fired up about little things. Unless I hear about someone harming animals, the chances of me getting upset about things are small. I think yoga helps to let life's little stresses just roll off me. I give myself a "not totally" for this month because the first week and a half in February I did take a lot of time off from yoga. Since then I've done it most days.
6. Track points in Weight Watchers.
Yes! Tracking points definitely helps keep me on track. In fact, this month I started eating a little more than I usually do per the Racing Weight program (I'll be reviewing that book), and just by tracking points I still lost weight. If you don't know my background, I lost weight four years ago and have been maintaining it since then but gained weight last fall. I lost 2.1 pounds in February and 4.1 pounds for the year so far. I am just 4 pounds over my goal weight.
March Goals
My fitness goals for March are pretty much the same.
1. Run at least 84 miles to stay on track for my 1,000-mile yearly goal.
2. Run the Just a Short Run Half Marathon as a training run at the end of March.
3. Continue training for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon and do not miss a workout.
4. Create and follow a new strength training routine, or adapt my current one a little.
5. Continue to do yoga most days.
6. Track points in Weight Watchers. So, here's the thing. I'm not unhappy with my current weight, and I've been reading that you shouldn't try to lose weight when you're training for an an endurance event. However, I am just 2 pounds about my goal weight range (which is two pounds above or below your goal weight), and once in that range I won't have to pay for Weight Watchers. So, my goal for the month will just be to track, but I'm undecided if I should just lose the 2 pounds so I don't have to pay or start eating more and focusing on maintaining because I'll need more fuel as my mileage increases.
How are you doing on your goals? Labels: goals, weight loss
