The 12 Days of Fitmas-Day 6

On the 6th Day of Fitmas…

STAY DISCIPLINED

As cliche as it may be, Nike's right.

As cliche as it may be, Nike’s right.

I think one of the hardest things to do when you start a fitness plan is sticking to it. You start to get tired, lazy, unmotivated. You have one bad day and then that one day turns into two. Then you’re like, well hell, I’ve already messed up I’m just going to stop trying.

It’s happened to me.

But, even though you might have an off day or two or three, it’s important to still believe that you can do it. Sure it takes discipline and that might be something you haven’t mastered yet, but with practice and some strategizing, it’s possible to make staying healthy become a part of you.

Some things that have helped me:

Outlining a Plan—I knew once I started training for my marathon I’d have a day to day plan of what I would have to do. This reeeally helps me because I just look at the calendar and oh, it says I have 4 miles today? Sounds good! I just do what it tells me no questions asked. It disallows for negotiating. The calendar says 4 miles. That’s it. Do it.

This can work even if you’re not training for a race. Let’s say you want to work out at least 3 times a week. Choose three days of the week that work best for your schedule and just do it. It’s Wednesday, your calendar says it’s gym day cardio—go! I find it best to also have something specific in mind. Again, it prohibits you from having to think too much about it.

Tell Someone—A lot of moms in my online group tell me that the biggest reason they’ve been able to stick with it this time is because of the daily check-ins we do. There’s something about knowing you’ve said you were going to do something that makes you do it.

So, tell your husband, tell your best friend, tell your co-worker, tell anyone that you’re planning on working out later. The chances of you going increase because if you don’t go, even if they don’t even ask, you know that you didn’t keep to your word.

You can also tell that person to call or text you to see if you actually went. Or, ask them to go with you!

Have (realistic) Goals—Working towards something helps make sure you stay on track. For me, it’s fitting into my pre-pregnancy clothes. You’ve seen glimpses of my closet; I have a lot of clothes. There is no way I’m going to let my wardrobe gather any more dust nor did I want to invest in any clothes not my pre-pregnancy size. To the gym I went. I’m pleased to say I’m exactly 10lbs away from pre pre-pregnancy weight (remember, I’ve had two kids in less than two years!). It’s taken a lot of work but I have this goal engraved in my head. I wanted to do it the right way, the healthy way, and I’m almost there!

Have Fun—When it becomes boring, monotonous, an inconvenience, sticking to a fitness plan isn’t going to happen. So, make sure to spice it up. Buy yourself some workout gear. Find a race to sign up for. Challenge a buddy. Do different things in your workouts so that you look forward to them. It could be as simple as using a new machine at the gym, mapping a new route for a run, making a new playlist—there are so many ways you can liven things up so that you’re always having fun.

This is going to sound weird but just the other day, to spice up a treadmill run, I used a treadmill on the opposite side of where I usually go. That was it. I had a different view and that helped spice things up for me that day.
At the end of the day, the most essential part of staying disciplined for me is allowing room for error. I know I’m going to have some rough patches; I’m a stay at home mom! But, knowing that tomorrow’s another day keeps me going. I might miss a workout or two here and there—that’s not going to ruin what I’ve started. The important thing is to actually start.

–What helps keep you disciplined with your fitness?

–Is this something you struggle with?

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Me

So it was a rare late morning/early afternoon and I had roughly about 20 minutes of alone time (both kids were napping) before my son would wake.

During these sporadic moments, I try and catch up on reading whether it’s with a book or a magazine. I typically avoid the television during my alone time but something told me to look at the channel guide—and then I saw it: 10 Things I Hate About You was on.

I can’t resist a Joseph Gordon-Levitt movie, especially a vintage one so I settled back on my couch and hoped my kids would let me watch a good chunk of it.

Evidently, I’m not embarrassed to admit this is one of favorite movies. It’s silly, it’s fun, it’s a good no need for deep thinking movie, and it inspired today’s post : )

Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Me

  1. Spanish was my first language growing up but I was an English major in college and am now an English teacher. Being bilingual rocks!
    images
  2. My brother and I were born in the same year, he in January and me in December. Clearly, I was an oops baby.
  3. My favorite book is Where The Red Fern Grows and I cry every time I read it and I’ve read it too many times to count.
  4. There were 600+ people at my wedding
    . wedding
  5. I once danced Michael Jackson’s Thriller in front of hundreds of people.The dance class at my high school sometimes asks teachers to perform at assemblies and for Homecoming this was the dance of choice. I couldn’t pass up this amazing opportunity. Seriously, the perks of being a teacher.
  6. My husband and I love basketball so much we chose our wedding day, October 23, in honor of Michael Jordan and also because it was before the NBA basketball season started.

    michael

    Also, I love that I met Bill Simmons who started as a basketball/sports blogger and is now a commentator for ESPN.

    bill

  7. I hate water. As in the ocean, lakes, swimming pool… I don’t like that I can’t see what my feet are touching and thinking about all the people that have been in the pool I’m considering getting into grosses me out. I would never want a house with a pool either because it’s too much maintenance and I’m lazy for those types of things.
  8. I had (have?) a serious soda addiction. I would drink about a 6 pack a day and in college it was that plus a few Big Gulps.Coca Cola. Don’t even think about offering me a Pepsi.
    coke
  9. I like Meatloaf. Not the food.
    meatloaf
  10. I’ve written before that I’m an oxymoron in so many ways. I’m old school and am very reluctant when it comes to new technology. I’m always the last one to buy whatever was “in” and then never learn to use it to its full capacity nor care. But, technology fascinates me.

–What is one interesting thing about you or that you’ve done?

–Do you share any of my idiosyncrasies?

Week Four Marathon Training Recap

Brrrr!!! We had a cold front here in Arizona this week (still happening as I write) and I know that while I may be freezing my buns here, it’s waaaaay colder in other parts of the United States (and world).

Nevertheless, the miles keep piling. Sunday was a cross train day so I hopped on a bike at the gym—hadn’t done that in a while—and went at it for 6 miles. I also continued my Runner’s World Streak by running an easy mile on the treadmill. I missed the bike and definitely plan on incorporating it more in my training.

Monday was hill day. This week called for an extra mile so I did a slow and steady climb instead of a high intensity one like last week. This was smart as I was definitely whooped by the end.

Tuesday I wanted to take it easy as I was starting to feel the effects of the mileage increase but then this happened

milePR

My blood was seriously pumping because of the 7 sighting, I threw in an abs video on YouTube at home later for good measure : )

Wednesday was speed day at the track. For some reason, I’m always looking forward to this day of the week. I think it’s something about being around other runners that motivates me. I don’t know what it is but I can def feel myself getting faster 

3miletrackPR

Thursday was a tempo run back on the treadmill. Boy, oh boy, did I feel my leg on this run. I’ve mentioned in a previous blog but if you missed it, I visited a doctor about shin splints. After discussing it with him, the pain is really more on my left leg which led my doctor to think it’s more of a stress fracture than shin related. I’ve got an MRI scheduled for my left leg on Wednesday and I’m hoping, hoping, hoping it’s not bad news. I could definitely feel the pain at the start of my 5 mile run that day though which makes me really nervous.

Friday was a rest day—except for one streak mile and quick visit to the Hot Chocolate 15k Expo. Yep! My next race I am running for chocolate. You’ll absolutely get a re-cap of it on Monday.

Today, Saturday, is typically my long run day but I’ve got my Hot Chocolate 15K race tomorrow morning. So, one streak mile it was.

16 total running miles, 6 biking miles. Overall, a very good week with some fun surprises and a few red signs. Next week will be a big week with my race tomorrow and that appointment Wednesday. I’ll be keeping you posted.

Before I go, here’s a fun family photo for you from this week : )

My daughter showing me her fridge artwork <3

My daughter showing me her fridge artwork ❤

How was your workout week? Are you affected by weather conditions in your area?

Have you ran a Hot Chocolate race? How was it?!?