October Goals RECAP and November Goals.

Am I the only person who feels like the month of October was all of 17.2 seconds long?? Holy cow- that month flew by.

October Goals:

Double Unders.

I didn't spend as much time on my double unders as I planned, mostly because I realized I need to get a speed rope. My current jump rope is too long and not built for speed (it has than in common with myself!!)! I did spend some decent time working on my double unders and even managed a few! I have yet to string any together, but I count accomplishing one on it's own a success!! I won't confirm or deny the validity of the above graphic.......but take a hint from the sister, mmmmkay?? 

Grocery Shop instead of Snack Shop.

Some goals get so-so results, but I smashed this one out of the park!! I had an extremely busy month and often when I left my house in the morning I was packing for 

Start my day with truth. 

It's amazing the difference that a perspective makes! This month I was intentional with the first few minutes of my morning. Typically, the very first thing I do when I wake up is hit up instagram. This past month I worked very hard to seek truth first. Some days habit took over, but most of the time I was able to remember. 

November Goals:

1. Run 50 miles. 

Not at the same time. I haven't set a running related goal in weeks because I intentionally like to keep running something that is a privilege, not a chore. Sometimes, however I benefit from a little bit of structure or a goal, and right now I feel like this is a perfect time to set a running goal.  I'd like to bring my mileage up a little bit and also make sure my lungs are good and ready for the winter running that is just around the corner! 

2. Put all my food on a plate.

Licks, tastes, bites, nibbles, pinches...........they add up fast. When I'm cooking or prepping food in the kitchen I tend to work with my hands AND my mouth. Especially in light of the extra time I'll be spending in the kitchen in preparation for the holidays, I don't want to let my mouth get carried away. If I'm eating it, it goes on a plate and gets eaten with an utensil! 

October Goals!

Read about my September goals!

My September Goal was to NOT set any goals. I took a step back, took some time to refresh and renew my energy and it was just what the Doctor ordered  Curly Pink Runner needed.  

I spent the month of September thinking "is it October yet?" because I was so excited to set new goals. I really do love setting mini goals to help keep me be accountable to my big goals in life.

OCTOBER GOALS;

1. Double Unders.
 I consider touching a jump rope as an element of torture to begin with, let alone for double under practice. Nevertheless, I'm not about to be whipped by anything in life..............unless it's a wicked little jump rope. Ouchie. I'll be practicing my double unders every day for the month of October. No, I can't even do one, so I can only go up from here.

(if T-Rex can do 'em, I can do 'em.)

2. Grocery shop, not snack shop. 
Although I eat very clean and watch my macros, I'm the queen of snack shopping. I need to prep better, but I also could save a LOT on unnecessarily spent dinero by planning ahead and avoiding those last-minute stops at the store. My goal for the month of October is to prep ALL my meals and snacks in advance so that I don't do any last-minute runs through the grocery aisles for fast snacks- even the clean ones. 

3. Start my day with truth. 
Attitude is intentional. You don't just happen upon a good attitude- you choose it. I find my ability & inspiration to choose joy from truth. I find truth in God's Word. I want the first thing I do everyday to be seeking His truth. Maybe it's a few quick verses on my Bible App on my phone before I get out of bed- it doesn't have to be long or elaborate but I want to start my day off with His truth.

Who else is setting goals for October?? 
Share your goals with me! 

August Goals RECAP and September Goals.

August Goals;

1. 21 Day Detox Challenge

Done, with the exception of the fact that I brought back coffee on Day 15. I could live without it, I just didn't want to. Fail?? Hmmm..........you decide.

2. Get 6 hours of sleep a night. 

I was fairly successful in this goal. My work schedule did dictate some pretty tight turn arounds, where 6 hours wasn't an option, so I focused on the one thing within my control that typically prevents me from getting enough sleep- wasting time on the internet. I struggled quite a bit with insomnia this month, so my attempts to sleep more were somewhat thwarted. 

3. Read a book.

Negative. I started 3 books; 1 fiction, 1 motivational/lifestyle wellness and 1 educational and I finished a grand total of none of them. However, since that's more books than I've even touched, let alone opened this year, I'm accepting it as a baby step and looking forward to finishing all three of them!

4. Get a new 1 mile PR.

I ran fewer miles in July than the previous 12 months, so I thought I'd challenge myself to run more by shooting for a new 1 mile PR, and ended up running even fewer miles than before. 

September Goals;

1. No goals.
Breather maybe??
Confession; I'm a little bit goal obsessed. I'm an extremely organized, structured person and I literally crave goal-setting. But lately- I'm been more interested with the goal-setting than the goal-following through and we all know where that leads us. (nowhere.) I've set & met some great goals so far this year. As invigorating and refreshing as goal setting can be, it can also turn into a monster that controls my time and energy, and I don't want to waste my life on my to-do list.
It's hard for me to find that slice of balance-- motivated yet not compulsive. 

Sometimes I let goals change from a road map to a road block -- I put important things, or people in my life 'on hold' in order to focus on my goals. A little extreme, perhaps.

When it all boils down to it, I have one goal; love God, love others and love life.
 I set smaller goals in order to make sure I'm making progress towards my ultimate goal, but really, my small goals are just stepping stones towards my ultimate goal, not the end all.
Sometimes I get stuck with my zoom lens on and get hung up on my little goals instead of staying alert to the big picture, and how my little goals make or break the big picture.

This is a big month for me and my family; my parents & younger siblings are moving from the house where they've lived for 23 years. Just a tiny bit of work involved. I left quite a bit of stuff stored there when I moved out, so I have a huge sort/save/throw project ahead of me this month. I want to have extra time to help them move & transition into the new house.
I'm transitioning into different hours at work, juggling a new job and adjusting to a new schedule.
So for September, I'm zooming back out from the little things to get a tiny bit of perspective and free my time and energy to be plugged into my family.

Goal; be awesome. 

July Goals RECAP and August Goals.

July Goals;

1. Eat Clean.

FAIL. This one is a post all in itself, and I'm not quite ready to go there yet.......but I didn't come close to achieving this goal.

2. Speed Work 1x per week.

CHECK! Despite the multitude of workouts I skipped in July, my speedwork at the track was the one workout I accomplished faithfully each week. I still abhor and despise speedwork, but I realize the importance that it plays in my running and so I will continue to make it a priority.

3. Perform 5 handstand pushups. 

CHECK! I surprised myself at how quickly I accomplished this goal. I still feel wobbly performing these, but I've built up to 7 in a row. Winning! 

4. Celebrate life from a non health/fitness perspective.

WORKING ON IT! I definitely had to face life from a non health/fitness perspective this past month, but I can't say that I necessarily celebrated it.

August Goals; 
 

1. 21 Day Detox Challenge.
One of my favorite bloggers is co-hosting a 21 day detox challenge, which comes at absolutely perfect timing for me. July was a less than stellar month for me and I'm sad to say there was a lot of abuse that I put my body through. My body needs a reset & reboot, and I'm looking forward to this challenge! For 21 days we will be cutting out all caffeine, dairy, gluten, red meat and all processed foods. I will also NOT be counting calories, monitoring my macros or keeping my food journal for the month of August. I've kept a faithful food journal for 2 years and it has been one of the key tools in my weight loss journey, but lately it's become one of the key components to some really damaging habits.

2. Get 6 hours of sleep per night.
'Night' being a word I am using quite loosely, since my regular night shift hours mean that often time I'm going to bed at sunrise. While still well under the recommended amount of 'healthy' sleep, a 6 hour block of sleep will be a vast improvement for me. I don't sleep enough, and adequate rest is a key component of physical, emotional and mental health.


3. Read a book.
Like a real one- with two covers and a copyright. I love reading, but it's something I never do anymore. The only things I read regularly are blogs and my RUNNERS WORLD magazines. Sometime you just need a real book- with real pages and real content. Any suggestions for a must-read?

4. Get a new 1-mile PR.
I don't like to set running goals, because they make running feel like work, but when I don't set goals, my progress is sketchy at best. My current 1 mile PR is 7:45.

Tell me about your goals!

June Goals RECAP and July Goals

This morning I was opening a file for the attorney at work and I dated it April 2013. Backspace; June 2013. Backspace, JULY 2013. How in the world did that happen?!

Goals, goals, goals. I love them. Goals are a two edged sword--  elation when you achieve one, stinging disappointment when you fall short. I'm always quick to share when I've set a goal, the journey to meet it, and when I achieve it. When I don't quite make the grade, it's never my favorite thing to share; "hey look guys, I failed!" But I'm not perfect, I don't always achieve what I set out to do, and I want to be honest. There's no victory in denying the truth, and I will only improve on the goals I missed by analyzing and refocusing. 

My June goals were nothing lofty or amazing, but I'm struggling with how I managed them. Let's recap.

JUNE GOALS:

1. Make a meal plan for suppers each week. FAIL. My month was nothing short of crazy, but I'd say I planned ahead for a meal maybe ONE day per week. I did a better job of not just eating the first thing that came to mind- choosing foods that were nutrient/macro oriented, but I'd still like to see improvement in planning ahead.

2. Run my first Relay. MAJOR CHECK! I definitely loved this goal and was absolutely thrilled to accomplish the relay with my team. 

3. Blog 3x a  week. ISH. I did blog more consistently last month, but I didn't meet my 3x a week goal. There were days when I could have blogged, but had nothing to say, thus didn't. I'm not a blog-just-to-blog person, but that's an issue for an entirely different post. 

4. Perform 5 consecutive handstand push ups. FAIL. I set this goal and promptly forgot it. I honestly didn't even remember that I'd set 4 goals for the month of June. Oops. I'm probably most disappointed with myself for this one, because I didn't even try. 

As you can see, it wasn't a stellar month for me. While I frustrated, I'm not beating myself up about it. Goals are for personal growth, and if I can't handle failure, I won't handle success either. As a look back over the month of June, my planning and preparation were really non-existent, and I believe that is the major culprit for why I didn't stay focused and meet some of these goals. 

I'm sad to share that I fell short of my goals, but I'm also glad for the opportunity to learn humility and honesty.

I'm excited for a new month, new goals and the new opportunities that lie ahead! It's going to be a killer busy month and I've set some pretty killer goals to go along with it!! 

JULY GOALS: 

1. Eat Clean.

That only has 115 billion different meanings, so here's the skittles of what it means for me; no processed sugars, no wheat or gluten, limited dairy, no artificial sweeteners and NO treats/cheats. I made heaps of poor choices in my nutrition over the month of June and I saw many negative changes in my energy, skin, workout performance etc......I usually eat 80/20, but June was more like 30/70. I'm looking forward to refocusing and eating smart in July!! 

2. Speed Work 1x per week.

Speed training is my worst enemy, yet I know it's crucial for improving as a runner. I always intend to have a speed session each week, but it rarely ever happens. During the month of July I'll be incorporating at least one speed work training day per week. Yay track time!

3. Perform 5 Handstand Push-ups.

Yes, I'm bringing this one back for July. #getafterit

4. Celebrate life from a non health/fitness aspect. 

There's a lot more to my life then the food I eat, the miles I run, the weights I lift and how hard I train. Our bodies, our health- while central in our lives - they are just an itty bitty part of the big picture. I don't want to have tunnel vision. So often I measure my days by the performance I have physically, and that's just lame. Let's celebrate LIFE- and the big picture.

Why do you set goals?

What do you do when you DON'T meet a goal you've set?

Setting goals for July?? Link up in the comments!! 

May Goals Recap and June Goals!

May Goals:

1. Turn of electronics at 10pm. Um, well......kinda check?? This one is a toss up. While there were several occasions where I consciously shut off electronics at 10pm, there were also several days I found myself still working/studying/blogging etc....at a late or sometimes 'early' hour. I'd like to continue to focus on curtailing my electronics use at night, but I'm happy with the progress I made.

2. Let Freakin' Go. When I set my May goals, I laughed at this one and told myself 'good luck'. I'm actually very, very happy with the improvement I saw this past month. There were several specific situations that I really was able to just chill out about instead of trying to control and manipulate. This will always be an area of struggle for me, but I'm grateful to reflect and know that I was able to do my part and place the rest in God's so very capable hands and just trust Him to be faithful. I'd also have to admit that I had some of my most embarrassing moments EVER last month, but that's a total coincidence, right??


3. RUN FREE. This was the hardest goal for the month of May!! With the exception of my race on May 11th, I ran a total of  43 miles without timing them. It was so interesting to see how differently I pushed myself when I knew I would have no numbers to mull over at the end of the run. I LOVE to run, and this month of running free was a great reminder of that. It's not about the numbers. It's not about the negative splits. It's about running because of what it means to me. Love it! (A HUGE thanks to Cori for sponsoring the challenge- great idea!) 

4. Cut out distractions during meal. Check! Breakfast with the only meal that I really struggled with. I typically eat breakfast during my morning drive to work- not an easy habit to break! I did do a good job of eating supper without opening up my laptop or ISSA textbook. Since I eat a lot of my meals alone, it just makes sense for me to multi-task, but I know ultimately it's so much healthier for me and it enables me to listen to my body much better in regards to the food I'm eating.

June Goals. 

1. Make a meal plan for suppers each week. (captain of the 6pm-and-standing-at-the-refrigerator- door-thinking-to-myself- "eat all the food" team right here!) 

2. Run my first Relay. (and look cute doing it.)

3. Blog 3x a  week. (ya'lls are gonna get so sick of my humor sarcasm.)

4. Perform 5 consecutive handstand push ups (I can currently do 1.)

Are you setting goals for the month of June? Link up in the comments!!