Training: January

In case you missed it, January was COLD!

I didn't get in the kind of training I was hoping for this month due to a combination of the weather and getting sick during the month.

Not workout related, unless you call walking though the snow a workout.
It is pretty though.

In January I ran:
13 times
A total distance of 68 miles
For nearly 13 hours

I also did 4 core workouts, 8 rehab workouts, 2 strength workouts

Frozen lake

I'm looking forward to a more consistent February.

January goals - retrospective

Back at the beginning of the month, I set some goals for January. Now it's time to see how I did!

1. Organized: My goal was to clear out four boxes of 'stuff' in my living room.

Of the four boxes, I got got through about one and half. I travelled a bit at the beginning of the month and then got struck down with the plague. Not a success but I'll put on February's list of goals. It will get done!

2. Positive: I planned, every day for at least one week, to write down three things I am grateful for.

Done-ish! I didn't write down but I did use my workout time to reflect on things I'm grateful for. I'm happy with that progress.

3. Consistent: Write my February goals!

Done! I'll post these tomorrow.

4. Social: I wanted to write up a birthday/celebration list and schedule dates to send cards.

Done! List completed and some cards are already sent.

So, not perfect, but moving in the direction I want to and that's enough.


For anyone else who set goals, how are you going?

January goals

Each month I plan to have four goals, one for each of my 2014 themes. Depending on the goal, I may continue that goal for more than one month but each month will have one new goal per theme.

What's in store for January?

1. In the theme of being organized, in January I will throw away any unused, no longer needed (or more likely, they were never needed in the first place) items stored in four archive boxes I have in my living room. These boxes and their contents have not only moved house with me a number of times but also half way around the world. And in the 18 months I've lived in Chicago, I have sought out items in them maybe three times!

2. In the theme of being positive, every day for at least one week I will write down three things I am grateful for.

When I was planning my January goals, one of the things I was considering was working on reducing how judgmental of myself I can be. Then this came through my twitter feed.


Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

It made me laugh! And also helped me decide to work on gratitude first. Changing thoughts is not a one step, one month process!

3. In the theme of being consistent, in January I will write my February goals!

4. In the theme of being social, I will write up a birthday/celebration list and schedule dates to send cards. I really have to plan ahead with this because the US to Australia postal service = very inconsistent timing. Sometimes it takes just over a week, sometimes it takes three weeks! Ridiculous!! I will purchase cards and send them to my friends and family who have a birthday this month or early February.

So, there you have it. Please ignore the fact that there isn't a single running related goal here, despite that this blog is supposed to be about running.

And, yes, I did notice my excessive use of exclamation points. Maybe one of my February goals should be about reducing my exclamation point use?

Four themes for 2014

I have four themes for what I'd like to focus on in 2014.

1. Positive
Practice positivity in how I think, how I speak, how I communicate.

2. Social
Stay in touch with friends and family. Extend my networks.

3. Consistent
Areas where I would like to improve my consistency: Training, Nutrition, Self-care.
Make time each and every week to focus on what I want and plan how I will get there.

4. Organized
De-clutter. Organize. Plan ahead.

I plan to use these areas of focus to set myself monthly goals. January's goals are currently in progress...watch this space!