I spent last weekend basking in the glorious triumph of having my butt kicked by two hills and a suspension bridge in my first 5k race. The original plan was to take two days off and then start running again. My sinuses had different ideas.
So, today was my first run in a week. Wow, a whole week has gone by without me running at all and I don't think it was just because of my sinuses. I realized this week that I met my initial goal of running a 5k without ever setting any new goals.
What kind of goal should I set? Do I focus on distance? Speed? Weight loss? Running consistently and pain free? What kind of a time limit should I set for meeting my goal?
With all these questions running through my head, I did the only sensible thing - perused Facebook. Since starting my journey started last fall, I have found and joined some pretty fabulous Facebook pages about running, but it was a fitness page that gave me the answers I was searching for.
The Facebook page Get Fit With Blake issued a plank challenge for the month of May that I took on along with my running. I printed the calendar and have it hanging on the fridge. Every day, I hold the plank for the specified amount of time and then cross off that day on the calendar.
I thought, if this works for core strengthening exercises, why wouldn't it work for running? Not wanting to wait for June to start a running plan, I issued myself a 30-Day Running Challenge.
But again, what is the goal other than running?
Long term: I want to lose about 60 pounds and drop two dress sizes, plus run a 10k by this time next year. Now, losing weight is very difficult and the only time I was successful, I had to workout six times a week for 45-60 mins. a day.
Applying this formula to running, I set some short term goals. For the next 30 days, I will run six times a week. Some of the runs are short, some are long, and once a week I focus on speed. Finally, I will schedule my next 5k race before the 30 day challenge ends.
This morning, I ran two and a half miles of the hardest part of last weeks 5k. I was not going to let those hills get the best of me!
Day one down 29 more to go!
Lisa
No comments:
Post a Comment