Goals for the week - time to make a fresh start!!!

I want to post this before and after photo of again to remind myself how far I have come. If you are struggling today with loosing weight, understand that the decisions you make today could very well change your life forever. Take a chance and start living the life you deserve! Make it happen!!! "Act now. For now is all you have" - Og Mandino


“Supposing you have tried and failed again and again. You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call "Failure" is not the falling down, but the staying down.” Mary Pickford

149 days left in 2009. Lets Make today count!!

Ok, Today is a new day, lets see what goals I can reach! This is my mission for today. I will not look ahead and think about all there is to do, I will instead set my focus on the small tasks that are in front of me, crossing off one by one after they are done. I WILL reach every goal I have set for myself today. Period, no exceptions. Here are the facts...I need to get back on track. I have been doing really well but have NOT been punching out those killer workouts that I have been doing for the past 2 years or so. Why, well to be honest, I was tired. My focus was changing to working on my new house and garden. I think it is important to take breaks but there is a time where you have to take a step back and renew your focus and goals. I still have been running and following my half marathon program but stopped lifting weights and working on my yoga/core strength. I really have to kick it up a notch if I am going to meet my goals by the end of this year. I have a few deadlines coming up and I have concerns about how I am doing to accomplish what I have set out to do.

Here are some of my concerns....

My first deadline or goal date is September 4th, the day we leave for our vacation to Singapore and Japan. I am not as worried about Japan as I am Singapore. I desperately need to stay on track while there, especially Singapore as the food there is beyond belief! I mean if you like spicy and exotic food, then Singapore in my opinion, is like non other! We love it there and are looking forward to going back but the heat and humidity will be a struggle for me running. I will be able to run during the day while my husband is at work, and I need to make it a point to log my results from there and watch my portions as much as possible. This will be a challenge. If I stay active during the day in addition to following my workout program I should be ok in terms of not gaining anything while there. Things I can do to help...

1. Drink water and stay hydrated
2. Choose veggies and fruits as much as possible
3. Watch my starches...ie white rice!!!
4. Complete scheduled runs in addition to ST at the gyms in the hotels.
5. Look at renting bikes for some rides along the ocean
6. Wear running shoes when walking around

My second deadline is October 18th, my half marathon in Denver. I signed up for this for several reasons and my goals for the race are constantly changing. I started out wanting to run as fast as possible and now I just want to run strong and finish in a reasonable time, maybe around 2:30 or so. I need to make this week count more than any other. My plan is getting ready to kick into high gear and the days of 3 mile runs are going to be a distant memory. I need to break the trend of running 3,4 and 5 mile runs and start increasing my distance. The problem is that my knee seems to have problems the longer I run. If I cruise at a good pace for around 3 or 4 miles, I am fine. but the minute I start going longer or faster my knee starts to hurt. I am using Runner's world Smart coach program and following it each week, with the exception of a few runs that I have had to make up due to my knee. I like the program but there are times it seems slow in terms of building up my mileage, but I am going to follow the program and hope for the best!

Now that I have expressed my feelings, I have a decision to make this morning. I am sitting here on this beautiful Monday wondering what my week will look like. What will I accomplish, will my knee be ok or will I have more pain? This day is a chance for me to make a fresh start and return to the format that has worked so well for me in the past. I am here, alive, healthy, happy and blessed to take another breath this morning so I will start my week off with this thought....I am so thankful to have been given another chance this week to do all that I can to take charge of my life and reach my goals.

Here are my goals for this week -

1. Use my foam roller 3 times
2. Ice 2 times a day
3. Yoga for at least 30 mins
4. Drink 1 gallon
5. ST Upper body 3 times
6. Complete 11 miles of running, and 9 miles of walking - 20 miles total
7. Bike 20 miles for the week
8. Complete 200 pushups
9. Log foods each day and maintain at least a 500 caloric deficit
10. Burn 3,500 calories for the week

Workout schedule for the week -

Monday - ST Upper body, Run 3 miles
Tuesday - Walk 3 miles, Bike 10 miles
Wednesday - ST Upper body, Run 5 miles
Thursday - Walk 3 miles, Bike 10 miles
Friday - ST Upper body, Run 3 miles
Saturday - Walk 3 miles
Sunday - Day off