Goals for June

May was a really relaxed month from a health & fitness perspective and it was really nice! I appreciate a break after a big training cycle, but will admit that I’m starting to get the itch to get back to it. A few weeks of aimless running is nice, but I run more and enjoy the running more in a weird way when I’m on a training plan. I’m also enjoying my little break from calorie tracking with My Fitness Pal (and haven’t gained weight yet). I’ll keep you guys posted about what I decide to do with that over the next month, but I’m not sure I’ll do anything beyond coasting on my current “eat good things” plan.

Let’s look back at those May goals:

– Turn off electronics by 10 pm: I’m incapable of sleeping in or napping unless under dire circumstances, so if I’m going to get more sleep it’s got to mean going to bed earlier. This was a great big FAIL this month. I cannot resist the habit of cruising Facebook right before bed. This goes back on the list. I’m TIRED and need to get to bed earlier. Do I brave leaving the phone out of the room completely?

– Drink 64 oz/water a day: Done! I’m back on the water bandwagon and have stepped away from the diet soda. It definitely feels a lot better this way.

– Run at least one Garmin free race: I ran both the Papillion Half Marathon and the Boys Town 5 mile run without the Garmin and it was great. I have a 10K this weekend and haven’t decided if I’ll be going Garmin-less there too. It’s nice to cruise along to run for fun, but with a training plan starting in July I may need to get back in gear just a smidge.

A perk of a hilly course was the ability to see the photographer before I got there so I could be sure a) I was smiling and b) I was running. 🙂

– Read Racing Weight and Hanson’s Half Marathon book: Done and done! I’ll have updates on what I’ve learned from both of those books (which I definitely recommend getting at your local library) later this month. I’ll be incorporating concepts from both of those books into my food and running plans for the Des Moines half marathon.

– Keep strength training in the rotation: I did great with this! I’ve done some kind of body weight exercises almost every day thanks to a couple of little fitness challenges I played with this month. It reminded me how easy it is to fit little things in. Really, there is no excuse for not doing push ups every day – it takes less than a minute! That one in particular I’m going to try to keep in rotation because I don’t want to lose the arm strength I’ve gained. And while I’m down there I might as well do some planks and those little clamshell things right? I also worked out at least weekly with my kettle bell and may actually brave the weight floor at the gym again this month.

What’s on deck for June? I have a trip out of town with Oliver next week (wish us luck traveling just the two of us!) and one race on the calendar for the month, a 10K on June 7th. Other than that, I’m looking at a busy work month so my goals are simple:

– No snacks after dinner. Like I mentioned when I talked about getting away from calorie counting for a while, I still struggle with night time snacking. This month, I’ve set a goal to not snack after dinner. Once I’m done with dinner/dessert, I’m done. So far, I’ve told Darrell about this goal (so he doesn’t remind me it is “snack time” at 9 pm) and done pretty well by distracting myself with tea or decaf coffee. I’m really rarely hungry at night, but it’s a well established habit. I think “Oh, it’s 9 o’clock – snack time” and suddenly I’m hungry even though I wasn’t before. I don’t think letting myself go hungry is a good idea, so if I’m truly hungry, I can have veggies. It’s amazing how suddenly I decide I’m not that hungry after all when my after-dark-snack is going to be broccoli.

– No iPhone/iPad after 10 pm: Like I said, trying this one again. I don’t know that I can bring myself to leave the phone outside the room, but I can at least leave it in the bathroom where I could still hear it ring in an emergency but can’t reach it.

– Get back in the running groove: I’ve been mostly running the races I’ve registered for and maybe 1-2 other little runs a week since the Lincoln Half Marathon. It’s time to pick it up a bit so that I’m acclimated to the weather before I start training for Des Moines in July and so that my legs remember what running feels like. My plan is 10-15 miles a week with at least a 5 mile run once a week this month.

Do you have any big plans for June? Do share! I’m happy to help cheer you on!

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