I’m doing it again! I’m running another ‘fitness’ experiment this month, much like the yoga experiment I did in the late summer/fall. The yoga experiment was super cool, because:

  • I learned so much about what works given my life/schedule; and
  • the full commitment to 30 days allowed me to begin to understand the benefit of maintaining a practice consistently over time.

But I gotta tell ya – it only got better from there. Definitely read about the YogaE before and after, if you are inclined, but know that I am still doing yoga about every day (definitely 6 days a week, but often 7); you’ll learn that for me, this hasn’t meant getting to a yoga studio every day (which is simultaneously impossible and cost prohibitive)…

…I have a bit of history with yoga that allows me to practice on my own.  BUT – NO ONE was born knowing how to do yoga (or anything else for that matter) – so if you are inclined to do something similar, figure out a way!!  Download an opp, watch some YouTube videos… and maybe while you are learning, hit a beginner class here and there in order to increase your confidence and reduce the chance you’ll hurt yourself!

Anyhoo – this current challenge will be the running challenge.  I mentioned at the end of the yoga challenge that I was very aware of still NEEDing the calm that comes post- heavy duty, more cardiovascular exercise.

While I’ve run on and off for many years, I’ve hesitated with a daily running schedule for a few reasons:

  • some say it (daily) isn’t good for you
  • my schedule is somewhat a PITA (pain in the ‘neck’) that makes certain days a real challenge
    • and I value my sleep
    • and making nutritious meals and having a semi-livable home are also important to me
      • so how to fit it ALL In??

WHY am I doing this? I’m doing this experiment is to:

  • teach myself how it can be done within the limits of my schedule
  • understand the true benefit of the regular cardio practice
  • record and reflect on how I feel throughout, so I might know when and how to challenge myself in the future, and when I should back off
  • BE A BETTER WIFE, CO-WORKER, PEER, FRIEND, BUSINESS OWNER, PROFESSIONAL
  • and, of course, see if/how this allows me to maintain my weight/fitness [who knows if I’ll want to eat way more at the wrong times and ultimately gain weight, which is what I think happened the year I rode the PanMass Challenge (training to ride bicycle 180 miles, from Wellesley, MA to the tip of the Cape)]

So, I began today – Saturday, April 4, 2015 (ran at the gym); the end of the experiment comes May 4th. I am EXTREMEly cognizant of the human behavior I have seen play out again and again where we are solely working to achieve the goal (saving for mortgage, losing weight for a big event, running a marathon), and all the significant gains made along the way quickly go to the wayside when we drop the practice(s) that allowed us to achieve the goal. (We go back to: losing track of where our money went; eating whatever we want; massive exercise reduction.)

For me, this is about figuring out how to make running a more regular part of my life – in the current state of my life. This is also about – fully and totally, for once and for all -deciding if I WANT running to be a regular part of my life! I am pretty sure this is NOT about running daily for the rest of my life.

This is about eliminating excuses and implementing grace – as appropriate.

Creating a Running Plan

So today, I went through the entire calendar for the next 30-ish days and mapped my plan. I really want to run at the end of the day, or as a ‘break’ mid-afternoon (when my body and brain need it most), but this just isn’t realistic given my current life. As you’ll see below, some days are more difficult that others:

  • easy days to schedule: weekdays I work from home, and weekends that are not committed
  • posing greater challenge over the next month:
    • Tues, Wed, Fri – where I currently get up at 5:30 to catch a 7am train, and I get home at 6:45 or 7:45, depending on the day
      • planned solution: there is a short loop I can do in the neighborhood – probably a little over a mile (don’t have time for a longer run, or for driving to and from gym)
      • I will time the loop Monday morning and add to my AM routine with sufficient buffer
        • (this is similar to how I’ve made yoga work by doing at least 10 minutes a day)
        • (also note that on these days, I am also walking ~2 miles in Boston, with heavy backpack, etc)
        • (so the seemingly short run should not be downplayed)
        • (sometimes we decide not to do something at all if we cannot do it according to some perceived notion of how it should be done, and/or how much time/distance/endurance committed)
    • Travel day to LA – flight departs before 6am; meeting Dad for lunch; conference begins later that afternoon
      • planned solution: after lunch with Dad, run in hotel gym; better solution (if time): try to hit Santa Monica and run the boardwalk
        • [though having grown up in So CA, I have this notion that only beautiful, extremely fit (and tan) people do this!]
    • Conference days – in general, can be long and draining
      • planned solution: hotel gym, way before programming starts, so there is time for showering and breakfast
        • I would love to be able to ‘take advantage’ of the So CA surroundings (considering how COLD and snowy this winter has been), but I know in “LA” and in Irvine, this will mean hard cold cement side-walks and traffic lights, at which pedestrians are expected to stop. I will ask the hotels for running maps, but I’m not optimistic
    • Sunday/travel day back home… will be at my sister’s house; the biggest deterrent will be that I’ll want to catch up with her every last minute I have!
      • Joe finishing race livingbluprintsI will figure out a short loop in her neighborhood, using MapMyRun app
      • I will consider having my 10-year-old nephew come with me, as he’s been a good little runner since he ran a 5K with me in 2012!

Everything above – whether ‘easy’ days, or challenging, require extra preparation.

  • running clothes need to be ready (i.e., clean and easy to access)
  • fuel/nutrition/hydration needs to be thought out –
    • I will not have wine at lunch with Dad… wine WILL come later, I just have to be thoughtful about this…
    • pack snacks – I need to avoid the extreme irritability I face when I haven’t eaten the right foods at the right time
      • for conference travel (don’t be at mercy of vending machines or expensive limited lobby options)
      • pack snacks for early morning loop runs at home
      • snacks = hard-boiled eggs, almonds, low-point/calorie ‘bars,’ bananas, apples, good quality dark chocolate (limited, so I don’t go crazy), cheese sticks

running ‘system’ I am using:

I love me a good system to help me with anything I set out to do!  I am currently using the Couch to 5K app, loaded on my phone (you get prompts to run vs. walk, cool-down, etc., depending on where you are in the program). Yes, a little extreme for me, but I hadn’t run for several months, so it was nice to ease back with this… I’m actually several weeks into this program now (so running a 2-3 miles ‘non-stop’ – heh). As soon as I finish this series, I will move onto the 5K-10K program.  Of course the short loops for the very long workdays will just be me running at my own pace to informational podcasts/MP3s, or music, depending on my mood.

Many of the above ‘bits and pieces’ I have honed over the past several years, so adding running is more about tweaks than overhauling my life. Getting it all in place is not to be taken lightly – there isn’t a lot of room for ‘error’ if I really want to make this happen.

If you decide to do anything similar to this – any kind of ’30 day challenge’ – whatever… test some things 1st.  Really look at your calendar and what has to happen for your day to be ‘ready’ for this new activity, system, or plan. If you determine you have to adjust small parts of your routine, then work on those small adjustments 1st, and then move to the next bigger step.

Share your voice

Have you ever deliberately started a new fitness routine or practice? What got your to start? How did you implement? What obstacles did you have to overcome so that it would/could really happen? Share your experience in the comments below!

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Linda Stacy, Productivity Speaker, Writer, and Coach, inspires her clients to achieve increased fulfillment, engagement, and success by way of energy management and the *brass tacks* of healthy, efficient productivity and time management.

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