Creating Good Habits
As I was driving to work the other day, I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts, “Laugh or Go Crazy”. Steve and Michele were talking about how easy it is to start bad habits but it seems harder to fall into good habits.
After finishing the WDW Princess Glass Slipper Challenge my goal was to start incorporate weight training back into my workouts. This means that I also want to do strength training for my legs.
I have been good about keeping up with my runs and doing them outside despite the frequent snow storms. I look forward to them. But lately I have added an early wake up to my day and I walk on the treadmill for 30-40 minutes. I want to get my steps in before the day starts and I head to work and sit for most of the day.
Another habit I am starting is to head down to the “tunnel” at work and walk every so often during the day to get moving or to walk to a bathroom farther away from my desk.
While these are good habits I also needed to cut out some bad habits like enjoying a refreshing beer after work. Even if it is just one. If I don’t have room in my calorie budget I can’t have it. So I didn’t buy any treats or drinks to keep in the house.
I am also making myself accountable by joining the latest Mickey Milers Diet bet. Heck if I can lose a few pounds, gain some control and good habits plus win some money why not?!
When I am at work with my packed lunch I am very good. It’s when I get home that all hell breaks loose. So I bought lots of veggies at the store this week and cut them up ahead of time. I also purchased foods for our meals so we didn’t have the old “What do you want for dinner?”?… “I don’t know”…. “What do we have?”…. “Not much” conversation which end up as a cereal for dinner night.
Each night I will be sure to have something thawing out or have some thought put into a meal ahead of time. I didn’t think I ate bad but once I start tallying up what I eat the calorie total tells the true story. It’s not what I eat but how much I was eating. So I am dialing it back again and making myself more accountable for what I am eating. I’m keeping tabs on things and using my conscious brain to make my decisions. This was something Jeff Galloway also explained to me last summer. 
Drinking more water and getting in 10,000 steps per day are also little milestones I set for myself during the day and track with my fitbit. Sadly with all the running I do you’d think I wouldn’t need to diet but I do. I need to be aware of what goes in and what gets burned off. You don’t burn off as much as you think with your regular 3-4 mile run. It doesn’t give me free reign to have whatever I want any day of the week. Even when I am doing my long runs!
Fitz Kohler was on episode 256 of the Mickey Miles Podcast and hearing what she said solidified my recent thinking. She said that runners can’t just run. Strength training is important to keeping a runner healthy and all around strong. The episode was AMAZING to me! One of my favorites. Go check it out. I met Fitz at the Princess Half Marathon weekend on Saturday afternoon at the Mickey Milers meetup. We sat and chatted for a long time, even after everyone had left! She is a great person and a great resource for training information. I will be using her knowledge to help me get stronger so I can lose more fat and gain more muscle and run stronger and faster this year. Fitz has workout routines that you can do 3 times a week for 8-10 minutes that will make a difference in your running within 6 weeks! I started weight training again last weekend and have been sticking to it. It felt good to be sore again. I miss that feeling.
So my goal this year is to have a faster half marathon finish time again. I’ve been running the Disney half marathons for fun and haven’t pushed myself lately to go faster so it’s time to start working towards that goal. The sun is going to stay out longer which means I can get out and run after work again and race season is starting in the Northeast soon so I have to get out there and start getting some long runs under my best and register for the half marathons!
What are your goals for the year? Do you have any habits you need to break or to start?
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