The moment I’ve been looking forward to is here!  I’ve made it through my 5th half marathon, and now there’s less pressure to run long or run frequently.  Now, I really run for me.  I was running for myself before, too, but running for a race is different than running for fitness and pleasure.  Now I can run a bare minimum without feeling guilty, or skip a spin class I don’t have time for without worrying that I’ll be unprepared at mile 11.

Winter is a great time to get outside and run, especially since we’re likely to be cooped up indoors whenever we’re not running.  But I’ll be honest, a 3 mile run is a lot more appealing when it’s 20 degrees out than a 10 mile run.

I’m excited to relax back into using running as a way to de-stress and stay healthy.  After a long winter without major running goals, I’ll be ready and excited to do more goal-oriented training again in the spring!

That said, here are my winter fitness goals:

Run at least 9 miles a week

Spin class at least 3 times a month

20 minutes of ab workouts a week

I think these are do-able, enjoyable, and the minimum I need to keep my stress levels down and enjoy the busy holiday season and all the planning it requires!

I am a little worried that I won’t be able to fit it all in, because that’s 2-3 runs a week, 1 spin almost every week, and abs before or after one of the other activities.  There have been a lot of days I haven’t run recently when I truly appreciate the added time in my day.  If I allot 30 minutes to run and 30 to change in an out of running clothes, stretch, and shower, removing that workout adds an hour to my day.

Things I can do in an hour:

Meal plan for the next four days OR old four loads of laundry and put them away OR grocery shop OR eat a leisurely breakfast while writing a blog post OR clean up from breakfast and de-clutter the family room.

Think about how nice all those things are to have done… and how disruptive it feels if losing that hour means the laundry really isn’t folded, breakfast isn’t cleaned up, the fridge is almost empty, and heaven forbid I’m behind on my blogging.

When I only have a certain number of child-less hours per week, spending a high percentage of that time running is really hard!

We’ll see if I revise my fitness goals to be more flexible going forward, but my gut instinct is that working out about every other day would be the best choice for my mental and physical health if I can make it work.

I’m going to have to start next week though… because…

 

At least I’m not training for a big race!  I suppose I could put him in the jogging stroller… or turn on the t.v. and run on the treadmill.  We’ll figure it out!