Wednesday, February 1, 2012

February Goals

I feel like all I'm doing now is making goals…and making goals…and not really accomplishing many of them. I guess the good thing is that I keep making them and starting over and not quitting. It can definitely be frustrating when you set a goal and don't do what you have to do to achieve it. It's not like I'm setting a goal, doing all I can do to accomplish the goal and it just doesn't happen! I'm just not doing what I have to do to accomplish the goal.

But in true fighter form…I keep pushing on. I'm not a quitter and I want to accomplish the goals I set out. So I just will keep going after them. Of course, sometimes you have to change things up a little bit, maybe take a new direction or seek extra help. So first things first, I bought a notebook to write my goals in and write my food down to be more conscience of what I'm eating. But if my goals are in writing, I can make a decision to look at them every day/evening and then I have no excuses!


February Goals

  • Take my multivitamin and iron pills daily! I can tell that my nutrients are lacking. My nails are brittle and my hair is a mess. From low iron, my arm tends to get numbness and I'm constantly tired. Yeah, definitely need to move on this one for sure!

  • From Run Jodi Run's monthly challenge, I'm not eating any candy/sweets or chips this month. The only exception is that I may have a piece of cake for my birthday, so I'm giving myself an exemption day. It's allowed. I checked! Haha!

  • Find a strength training program to do (and do it). Since I'm not in personal training anymore right now, I need to make sure I do some strength training!

  • Start swimming again. I swam in HS for only one year but I've always been a fish. I love to swim. My dad and I used to go every Monday to the gym and swim laps but when they bought the restaurants, that went out the window because they were too busy. I let the swimming stop because at the gym I used to go to, there were always creepy men that just sat in a chair at the side of the pool and watched you swim. I didn't like it and felt really uncomfortable when I was by myself. Plus I hate sharing lanes with anyone other than my dad. I'll have to suck it up if I want to go. I'm going to check out the local fitness center because they have a pool and the price to go there is pretty reasonable.

  • Complete my mini indoor triathlon…another reason I would like to start swimming again. And seriously, there is almost nothing more relaxing than swimming laps in the pool…although I'm a slow swimmer.

  • Be more conscience of my eating…hence, my new notebook. I find that when I know I have to write things down, I tend to not eat as much crap simply because I don't want to write it down! Weird mental thing!

  • Lose 5 pounds. I want to try to set a goal to just lose 5 pounds every month until I'm back down to my goal weight. I stepped on the scale this morning, which I haven't done in a month and WHOA! The number was scary! Yes, I did lose 90 lbs before but if I'm not careful, I'll gain it all back and THAT will not happen. So I wrote my start weight in my notebook…5 lbs to lose this month.

  • Drink a minimum of 8 glasses of water per day. My water intake has SERIOUSLY been lacking! I never used to have a problem with water but since the marathon, I might only get 4 glasses in a day! Not acceptable for sure. I bought a 34 oz water bottle to have on my desk at work and I will try to refill that at least once while there.

  • PR my 5k on February 11th for my birthday. Well, this may be rough as…well, see my calf injury explanation below. But because I'm determined to PR a 5k, I'm still going to try for it.

These are my February goals. Looks like a pretty hefty list of goals but it's completely attainable!

As far as injuries go, this marathon training has been slightly rougher than my first one last summer. I haven't had major injuries thankfully, but I think it's because as soon as I feel something is "off", I panic and try to take care of it immediately. I don't want injuries to sideline my marathon goals this year.

A little over a week ago on a Saturday, I did a 7 mile long run on hills (not baby hills, mind you. Big, ginormous, monstrous, huge hills! Lol. Well, ok, maybe not Mount Everest or anything but to a "non-hill" runner, it seems like it sometimes! Anyway, enough of my drama. That Saturday, I didn't stretch at all after my run. I'm a bad stretcher. Bad. I rarely do stretch. But I usually try to stretch a little more while marathon training because, well, you should! So I didn't stretch that Saturday and later than day, I noticed my calf was hurting. I've never had calf problems before so it caught my attention. The rest of the next week, I tried stretching it more and foam rolling it out. I did do all my runs that week. There is minimal pain while running.

Then I had another long run on Saturday for 10 miles. I was able to run it. I could feel some pain in my calf but not major and I didn't stop the run. But as soon as my run ended, I could definitely feel the pain! I stretched it when I got home but after napping resting on the couch that day, I could barely walk on it! And it hurt for the whole weekend! Granted it's better when I moving as it doesn't stiffen up like it does when I'm resting, but it still hurts. And at times, I was limping. Not good.

Well, because I'm not always the sharpest tool in the shed and because my dad was catering a chili run for the local run group at Running For Kicks, I had to run Monday instead of my normal Tuesday. First…a stolen group photo.



It was a great turnout and a lot of fun! Unfortunately, I was running with some speed demons that had jets on their shoes and after 2.5 miles, bailed on the 4 mile planned run. I only had to do 3 miles for training anyway and I was a half mile away so it worked out perfectly. I could tell during the run that my calf was pretty sore and felt I was pushing the run a little too much. And sure enough, when I stopped running, I immediately felt that calf pain!

Of course I know any out of the ordinary pain is not good. So I consulted with my friends at this run, my running groups on facebook and a few other running friends on their opinions. So I decided a couple of rest days were in order, which means skipping a couple of runs during the week. I do not like skipping any runs during training. Makes me panic a little inside. But I know that it is better to skip a few runs than to injure yourself and not be able to run the marathon at all! Also, due to a recommendation by a fellow running friend Jenny from I Blame the Shoes, I made an appointment with a running chiropractor to help with the situation. Sometimes I think I overreact when it comes to any pain while training. But I think it's better to be safe than sorry.

10 comments:

  1. I hope the rest days help your calf! Have you tried rolling it out? Probably ;)

    I would have such a hard time giving up sweets and chips! Good luck! And happy (very) early Birthday :)

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    1. Yes I have tried it. I'm sure it helps but isn't solving the problem. I'll see what the Dr. says on Fri. Wish I could have gone tonight! I'm anxious! lol

      And thanks for the happy bday! Better early than never, huh?? :)

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  2. You know what's really weird but sometimes works for me......hot baths. everyone says ice but I find sometimes you have to crank up the heat :) then I try to roll or stretch again.

    it sounds like you've got a lot of goals lined up for yourself

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    1. Yes I tried a warm bath (I have a tub with jets)
      And tried foam rolling.
      Went to chiropractor today so we will see if that helps. Small Muscle strain.

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  3. Great goals Amanda!! You can do it. I love reading your blog and am always so happy when you add a new entry!

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    1. Thanks Mallory! Glad you enjoy reading it!

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  4. I'm thinking about investing in some compression sleeves to wear on my calves during our hill workouts. I'm hoping that helps because my calves are kind of sore too!!

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    1. I'll be interested to see what you have to say about the compression socks Kelly!

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  5. Admirable goals! I hope the cross training will help your calf & any other tweak-y areas as you ramp up marathon training. Strength training worked wonders for me, esp if you put in some focus toward your weaker spots (e.g. for me weak IT Bands).

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  6. I love your goals Amanda! I too am lacking in the strength training department - I did a Taebo tape over the weekend - 45 minutes long, and realized I have a long way to go.

    Hope your visit with the chiropractor went well - it is always better to be safe than sorry! :D

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