September in Review

It’s already October 4, so we better get cracking on some new goals! But first, let’s see how I fared in September.

Fitness:

• Follow half-marathon training plan. Check! I’ve had to make some adjustments because I’m now training for six weeks instead of ten, but I’ve been squeezing in all of my workouts and my body can really feel the improvements.

• Strength train once a week. Done! I did a strength workout and a yoga session every week except for the week I was sick. So I get a full check for this. I said so.

• Go to yoga once a week. Well, I already answered this in the last bullet point. I did it!

• Do one plank every day. Fail. Major, major fail. The only time I did planks was when it was already built into a strength workout. Oops. I know what I need to work on in October…

Health & Nutrition:

• Sleep more. Major win. I’ve been doing so much better at getting an adequate amount of sleep, and I’m really proud of myself for that. The computer has been shut off at 10:30p.m. every night of the week and I was usually asleep well before 11 or 11:30p.m. My body is getting into a steady schedule where I don’t even radically sleep in on the weekends, and I really like it. Aiming to keep it up!

• Eat more veggies. This was an easy check. I love veggies and I only put it on the list because I felt like I was seriously slacking on them in the last few days of August. I’m pretty sure I had a large portion of vegetables in at least one meal a day throughout September. Awesome.

Life:

• Get a full-time job. I don’t have too much to say here, because there are a lot of things in progress right now. I didn’t get the part-time job I really wanted, but that’s okay because I believe everything works out for a reason. No, I don’t officially have a full-time job now, but we’ll see where the road takes me. I’m working hard every day and that’s what matters.

• Start studying for my PT certification.  Umm, fail. I didn’t even crack open the book 😦 In my defense, things were crazy at work and I’ve been trying to set up a steady schedule between work, training, blogging, friend time, family time and Dustin time. I’m going to make it happen in October though, promise!

• Go on date night every other week. We didn’t go every other week, but that ended up being because of money issues. However, we did spend a lot of quality time together this month and are getting used to living with one another. But we do have a date night coming up this weekend! Oh, and that puzzle we bough for Dustin? He finished it in two days. I helped by placing 15 out of 750 pieces.

Overall, I’m pleased with my progress and think I did a good job. Yes, there’s room for improvement, but I think there always is. I’ll be back with another post on October’s goals!

What goals did you have for September? How did you do? 

Motivational Mantras

Sometimes exercising is just plain tough.

See, I’ll admit it. While I love the feeling of a fantastic workout, sometimes it’s really hard to get into it mentally. Often, the hardest part for me is actually getting to the gym. Once I’m changed into my gym clothes, I’m set to go, but there’s usually a lot of procrastination that occurs before the clothes-changing.

One thing I rely on to get me moving, and keep me moving, is a mantra. Actually, I use a ton of them. I repeat them over and over again to remind myself how great I’m going to feel after the workout is over.

Happy face post-workout? I think so!

Here are some of my favorite mantras from all over the place to get my butt into the gym, pool, on the bike or road. Maybe one will help you stay motivated, too. 🙂

• You’ll never regret a workout.
• Don’t exercise because you have to. Do it because you can.
• There are 168 hours in a week. I’m only asking for 7 of them.
• You’re just one workout away from a good mood.
• Just go. If you really hate it, you can stop after 15 minutes.
• If you train hard, you’ll be hard to beat.
• Nobody else is going to do it for you.
• If you work your body, it will work for you.
• You get back what you put in.
• Either do it or don’t. There is no try.

When I’m in the middle of my workout, here are some of my favorite go-to quotes:

• No pain, no gain!
• You’re stronger than you think you are.
• Work it harder, make it better, do it faster, makes us stronger (Kanye West lyrics to “Stronger”).
• That don’t kill me can only make me stronger (Also from “Stronger.” Yes, I sing it every time).
• This is not the hardest thing you’ve ever done.
• You can do anything for one minute.
• Pain is temporary.
• This is 10 percent luck, 20 percent skill, 15 percent concentrated power of will. Five percent pleasure, 50 percent pain and a hundred percent reason to remember the name (Rapped lyrics from Fort Minor’s “Remember the Name).
• Keep on keepin’ on.
• Just keep running, just keep running (Spin off of Dory from Finding Nemo).

And my all-time favorite quote that I turn to when running:

• When your legs are tired, run with your heart.

Here are some other great motivational quotes, in case they happen to strike your fancy. What are some of your favorite mantras?

Pushing through Mental Blockades

I survived the first week of training and rightfully earned my rest day! It’s been hard to schedule my workouts while settling back into school, but I managed to squeeze in enough time to finish the required amount according to my plan.

However, I have felt the mental blockades start to creep in. Remember, I haven’t run more than a 10K before and that was a few years ago, so the thought of running 13.1 miles at a time is a bit daunting. In fact, it’s so intimidating that I try not to look ahead on my schedule and instead only focus on whatever I need to complete that day.

Yesterday I was required to run/walk four miles, so I plugged in my summer playlist and set out determined to run as much of the distance as I could. I completed two miles before I had to stop and tie my shoe, which sparked the mental anxiety. Thoughts of doubt started to seep in, such as:

• Just finish this song, then you can stop.
• There’s no way you can finish that distance right now.
• My leg is too swollen (I’ve cleared it with my doctor, so deep down I know this isn’t true).
• There’s not enough blood flow in my left leg.
• You’re not ready for this.
• I feel like I’m carrying an extra 10 pounds on my left leg.
• I’m so tired.
• My body hurts.
• You’ve done great so far, you can just pick up the slack later.

This is going to be my biggest struggle throughout my training and race day. I caved every once in awhile and walked, but didn’t allow myself to walk for more than the duration of one song. Luckily, one song popped on at just the right time to really get the mojo flowing again.

Music makes you lose control.

“Push Push,” by Kat DeLuna and Akon got me back on track and motivated me to keep running. I know it’s not about working out or goals, but I took some of the lyrics to heart. Which ones? The chorus, of course!

Push, push, push baby don’t stop for a minute.

Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh!

I said push, push baby take it to the limit!

In the end, I ended up pushing through and running 5.6 miles! It took me longer than I would’ve liked, but I’m really proud of myself for finishing! I’m not unbelievably sore today either, so I’m amped up for tomorrow’s workout!

Completed in 1:01:05

What do you do to get through mental blockades? How do you keep the motivation flowing?