A beautiful 5 mile run up in Maine this morning completed my 500-mile goal for this year!
I love New Year’s Resolutions and often find them game-changing in terms of habit formation and getting myself to stick with something enough to fall in love with it. This year was no exception. I loved the number of times this goal got me out for a run when I otherwise wouldn’t have.
I’ve never run so much in December in my entire life. Usually without a race looming it’s tempting to let the holidays and the cold weather get the best of me and not get out the door or onto the treadmill, but I ran 46 miles in December so I could finish my goal.
Last December I ran 3.4. In 2016 I ran 3.6. In 2015 I ran a whopping 16.15. Now, those are runs that are logged into Garmin, so it’s possible I hit the treadmill for some additional miles… but I’m sure it didn’t get anywhere close to 46.
That’s a lot of runs boosting my spirit and giving me more energy at a time when I need it most, the busy holiday season when I want to be genuinely jolly and not a giant stress ball. The extra running made a noticeable difference in helping me embrace travel and entertaining and planning and all the joy that should come with it but sometimes becomes overshadowed by stress.
I like that the goal had me tracking mileage, too, it’s fun to see the numbers and reflect on the year and to have them to look back on later. (I often look back at the year of my half marathon PR to see how many miles of running it took to get those results!)
My New Year’s Resolution for 2019:
More of the same BUT – I’ve decided I love the way this goal works for me to get me to do what I love consistently… so I’m going to add onto it.
500 miles of running
AND
500 miles of biking
AND
50 yoga practices
BONUS GOAL: try 50 different baked goods recipes in my quest for delicious, fast, healthy breakfast and snack options. I’m fine letting this one go if the stress and the mess outweighs the fun.
Note that I said yoga practices – that doesn’t have to be yoga classes. 15 minutes on the mat at home solo doing sun salutations and hanging out in downward facing dog counts. (5 minutes doesn’t. There, it’s in writing.) My reasoning for this is that I’d like to practice more at home since yoga has been so helpful at keeping my plantar fascia issues at bay and it’s such a great complement to my running.
500 miles of biking sounds like a lot, but biking is so much faster than running that a 50 minute studio class is often 10-12 miles, so that’s averaging about one ride a week for the year. Doesn’t that sound awesome?
To meet these goals, on average it’s about 10 miles of running a week, 50 minutes of biking a week, and one 20 minute yoga session at home or a studio class per week. During half marathon training, I’ll hit 25 miles a week and build a buffer. During the summer when I’m up in Maine I sometimes do 15-20 mile rides and get ahead there.
There’s flexibility, there’s wiggle room, but there’s no losing focus or I’ll get so behind I won’t be able to make it up.
It’s a big goal, but all three components complement each other and will make me stronger, happier, and more balanced.
Whatever you have in store for 2019, I hope it makes your heart sing and is a tool that helps you make time to do the things you love!
