Stuck in a Valley

Last night the hubster and I went and got Chinese food, and we got our fortune cookies. My fortune simply stated "always a valley before a hill." Right now, I feel like I'm stuck in a valley. My training has been inconsistent at best, and I have been feeling stressed out with everything I have taken on this year. There is light at the end of the tunnel and in two weeks one project will be over. Then in about 8 weeks,the second project will be mostly done. Then it will be spring break and my skating season will be over and I will start running more consistently. 

I am currently in search of a good training plan to get me back into training for another marathon and then a half marathon roughly four months later. Hopefully, I'll climb my way out the valley soon.

Yesterday

Yesterday was the day most people break their resolutions for the new year.  They start forgetting about their goals.  But it takes 21 days to create a habit. 

I have changed my goals for the year.  A friend from college has decided to run the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon this fall. This inspired me to try marathons again. I've been working on a new training plan that will build my mileage up very slowly. 

I'm still trying to drink more water during the day, but there are days (like today) that encourage drinking pop. (If you're reading this on the east coast it would be soda, or down south it's coke.) 

Anyway, I'm going to go get on Pinterest to find a 21 day blog challenge. If you know of any, post it in the comments.

I'm a klutz...

Over the holidays, the hubster and I traveled back to our parents' to visit.  We drove out Sunday before Christmas and came back the following Monday.  Well the Sunday night before we drove back to Indy, I tripped and fell up the stairs at my In-law's house.  I really slammed my left foot into the stairs during my marvelous fall. When it decided to continue to hurt last week, I made a doctors appointment to get a full physical and have my foot checked out.  The doctor ordered an X-ray, which came back Friday morning all clear. Nothing broken; no major trauma to the soft tissue.

It started feeling better yesterday, and I actually went out for a slow run today.  Hopefully this warm weather will stick around for a while so I can get outside and run.  

I have been attempting to drink more water, and got myself a cool bottle to use.  I marked every eight ounces on the outside of the bottle to push myself to drink more.  It's been working alright so far, but I'm looking for ideas to keep it up.

Cold day #2

So school has been cancelled again today. It's flipping freezing here (the temperature is -1* F. So no running for me. 

Well, there's no running for me until next Wesnesday. Over Christmas break, I tripped going up the stairs at my In-law's house. My foot is still hurting, so I'm trying to stay off of it. It's really tough since I have a lot of walking to do at school and coaching ice skating. I'm just hoping that it's a minor injury (I don't want to be in a boot). 

SMART Goals

A very long time ago, I learned about SMART Goals in taekwondo class. It helped me break down my larger goals into smaller goals and helped make them attainable.  So here are my Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-oriented, and Trackable goals.

1. Break a 2:10 half marathon.

This goal is simple and specific to getting moved into earlier corrals for next year at the Princess Half. I can definitely be measured and tracked by a race performance and my training. 

2. Drink more water.

This is going to be the one I struggle with. I strongly dislike the taste of plain water.  I need my water to be flavored or ice cold.  Luckily, I'm a Nuunbassador so I can get Nuun products to enhance my water without adding any extra sugar.  

3. Get back into figure skating.

Once I get into a place where I don't have a car payment, I intend to put some money aside for skating lessons, paying down the student loans, and possibly a house payment. I really miss skating for myself. I love coaching, but there is nothing like the feeling of learning something new and challenging oneself. 

4. Eating healthier.

So most days I rush around and grab a protein bar for breakfast and something stupid for lunch. I really want to develop better eating habits so I lose weight and  perform better in all aspects of my life.

That means buying the right foods and doing meal preparation earlier.

Those are my four small, SMART Goals for the year.  

New year, New goals

So this post should have come out yesterday, but I got distracted by cleaning. 

It's a new year, and I have new goals

1. Write the blog daily. 

I am hoping to write as blog post daily. I have some fun ideas to add to just the running part, so you get a glimpse into my daily life. 

2. Stay hydrated and drink more water. 

Being a #nuunbassador for the year means I am going to need to drink more water. Luckily, Nuun is a sugar free option to make my water taste better. 

3. Keep running (at least 600 miles this year).

I ran 490.8 miles in 2014.  I am hoping to hit 600 miles this year with fifty miles every month. Since I will be training for at least 2 half marathons this year (and a third in early 2016) this should be easy enough to hit. 

4. Work on nutrition. 

I am going to be working on my eating habits in it's to perform better in running and skating. 

5. Pay off my car and student loans so I can start taking skating lessons again. 

It's been two long years since I had a skating lesson, and I would like to be able to do that again. I'm not sure what way I'm going to go with my skating, but I'm leaning heavily towards just doing ice dancing.