Be Consistent

In order to get better, we must practice.  Practice forms habits and habits allow us to be consistent. 

You've made up your mind that you're ready to get healthy!  You've got a plan and now you must follow through with that plan.  There is nothing about what you do that needs to be elaborate, unachievable or difficult to overcome.  In order for your plan to work, all you need to do is to show up. 

If you want to run a half marathon, you must train for several weeks.  Day after day, you run.  You might follow a specific training schedule or simply just run on certain days.  You must align your goals with the work that you are willing to do.  Any unbalance and you may waiver.  Killing yourself with one run during week rather than having specific training days will not get you to your goal.  Consistency will.

If you want to be a better writer, you write daily.  If you want to have a better marriage, you express your love often.  If you want your children to form good habits, you show them even better habits....consistently. 

When you write out a plan, your odds for success increase dramatically.  You visually see what needs to be done and you can have the satisfaction of physically checking off what you have accomplished each day.  You'll develop a pattern.  A consistent pattern. 

Day after day, week after you week, you show up.  You do the work, you drop the old bad habits and develop new, healthier habits.  You begin to see a change.  Your results are motivating and you've changed who you are.

Consistency.  Be consistent.  Results are inevitable when you show up.

Yesterday I ran a 10K.  I placed first in my age group division.  I never would have dreamed five years ago I could accomplish that.  There is nothing special about me.  I don't have any advantage over any women in my age group.  I have just been consistent.  I never waiver.  My health is my priority.  Make it yours!

In Retrospect

There is nothing more powerful for me than accomplishing a goal.  Something about putting my desires to paper spurs this charge to action for me.  It's about shifting the power of my subconscious thoughts into my conscious mind.

With this tool, I was able to run the race of my life in December, I'm moving towards my goal of celebrating my 10-year anniversary in Hawaii and best of all, I'm getting closer each day to fulfilling my ultimate goal of staying home full-time to be that mom I've always be to be for my son.

My brother is a huge source of motivation and support for me.  We live thousands miles apart, but we talk daily and bounce ideas off of one another mostly through emails throughout the day.  His incredible fitness transformation was the catalyst for getting me started on my own fitness journey this past year.

I love digging up old emails to get a retrospective snapshot of my life.  I want to know that I'm always making strides and progress in the right direction.  I didn't realize my brother had been saving a lot of my thoughts to share with me.

Today he dug up this email I wrote the day I started my blog.  I remember him asking me to write down my goals.  This was not even one year ago, yet this concept seemed so foreign to me.  But I trusted him and I did it.  He convinced me start doing Insanity to begin working towards my new life.  I knew going through the physical process would lead me to the path that I am ultimately meant to travel.

How validating to read this less than one year later and realize that I'm truly fulfilling my life's purpose.  Write those goals down and make a plan to make it happen.  It works!

Turning Priorities into Goals

I've been doing a boot camp for the past month.  Not the type that you might suspect when you think of me.  No blood, sweat or...well, there have been many tears.  It's a boot camp for personal growth and development as a Independent Beachbody Coach. 

I can honestly say I've had more self improvement in the past eight months of my life than I have had in probably the past 15 years prior to that.  I have always had a desire to do great things, but I had no idea how to implement my dreams into realistic goals.  I thought setting a goal meant saying I wanted to do something.  I didn't really think in terms of daily, monthly or God forbid yearly goals outside the realm of fitness.  I lived day to day, frustrated, hoping things would change, but not having any kind of plan of action to make the change I desired.

One of our homework assignments this week was to write down five goals for ourselves and where we wanted to be in one year.  I got so excited at the thought of this assignment.  In the past, this meant throwing out dreams and wishes of what I thought I wanted and then waiting for them to magically happen.  I wanted more money, I wanted to travel, I wanted to be super fit.  When it didn't happen, I would get more and more frustrated and I loved to blame others for why it wasn't happening.

Now, I have the tools to properly set realistic goals, yet when I achieve them, I will pretty much knock the socks off a lot of people. I've learned that before I can set any kind of goal, I have to figure out what my priorities are in my life.  Oh my gosh.  This is really harder than you would think.  But the more I really thought about it, it became very clear to me.

My priorities in life:  family, health, security and inner peace

Now that I know what I desire in my life, it makes setting my goals a much simpler task.  It took me about 30 minutes, but I set five very realistic, yet wowing goals for the next year.  I've already shared my fitness goals.  As much as I would love to share the specifics of the others, I'm only sharing mine with a few select accountability partners.  As much as I believe in the power of projection, I actually do still feel some things are best kept private.

What are your priorities and how you will develop your goals based upon them?  Think about them.  Then write them down and share with someone you trust.  Now go get it!

22 Miles to Glory

Yesterday was an amazing day for me!  A day of validation for all of my hard work over the past six months! 

I began my Saturday as I do every week.  The alarm jolted me at 3:30 a.m.  Drank my coffee, twice.  Inhaled my peanut butter and waffle.  Packed my bag, loaded the cooler with water and Gatorade, layered up for the brisk morning run and headed out to the lake.

It was our last really long run before my marathon in three weeks.  Twenty-two miles!  No excuses, no fear, no quitting.  I am taking charge of my plan by qualifying for the Boston Marathon and the only way to reach my goal is to fight through the pain, do the work and get to the finish line.

I've had some pains show up recently in my toe (you don't realize how important toes are until you run) and in my left hamstring.  It's normal. I've been pounding the pavement for weeks!  If all I have to endure is a little pain to experience the glory of finishing, then I'll deal with the slight discomfort.

We had a great run yesterday.  I went through phases of being energized, fatigued, recharged, down, and then euphoric when I finished.  It's hard to believe that five years ago, I had this dream to complete my first marathon.  I made a plan, I did the training for what I thought was an insurmountable goal and because I followed the course for success, I did it.  Now here I am today, getting ready to run my fourth marathon.

Before I didn't believe qualifying was doable for me.  Only fast people qualify.  I saw myself as average.  I was afraid to even label myself a runner.  But when I started to do the work, I started to believe that I was fast.  I believed I could reach any goal I set my mind to. When I allowed myself the permission to dream big, I saw myself for who I really was. I am a runner.  I am fast.  I am a Boston Marathon Qualifier.  I am and I will.

I didn't have much time for rest after my run.  Instead of an ice bath, which my muscles were screaming for, I propped myself on two ice cold water bottles for the ride home.  Ah...heaven.  You do what you gotta do!

I spent the afternoon attending Beachbody training and learned that the path I'm following in my life is so clear to me now.  I finally found the perfect avenue to motivate others, keep myself at my most optimal  health and pursue my ultimate goal of staying home full time as a mom.  I know I'll get there.  That I know for sure!

Oh...remember Billy?  We met up yesterday and took this photo together.  One year ago, Billy was sitting on the couch stuffing his face with pizza.  He was unhealthy and unhappy.  Today, thanks to P90X and incredible self-improvement, Billy is a half marathon finisher!  How awesome is that?

Turning Dreams Into Goals

I’m a firm believer in setting goals. I’ve done some research lately on how much more effective you become in achieving your goals if you physically write them down. Until you write them down, your goals are just a dream.

So let me take this opportunity to write down a very personal goal to me. It has been a dream of mine for as long as I've been running, although I felt it has always been somewhat unachievable. That is why today I am putting my my dream to paper and am setting my mind up to achieve this goal.



Qualifying to run the Boston Marathon is one of those bucket list items that most distance runners have.  Not just anyone can sign up to run Boston. That is the prestige and history behind the event. You must qualify by running under a certain time in another marathon. Your qualifying time is based on sex and age. The best part is that the older you get, the slower your qualifying time. Yet, another perk of getting older!

I turned 35 this past year, so I was granted an additional five minutes. Thank you marathons gods and goddesses! In other words, I have to run it in 3:45 or less. Or to all you running junkies, that’s an average 8:34 pace spread out over 26.2 miles. Writing it down is the easy part, implementing it is the challenge!

In the past, I guess you could say I had the goal to finish my marathons. Qualifying was not on the top on my list of goals. Even though I had that magical qualifying time looming in my head, I NEVER wrote it down and though I was successful in finishing all three times, I didn’t come close to qualifying.

I’ve given this some long, hard thought and I have envisioned every possible scenario of crossing the finish line in December.  Each vision has me finishing, arms in the air, with the magical time in bright lights blinking above my head. 

This is my year! If I’m good at one thing, it is working really hard on a physical level. I know my limits and love to go beyond them. I love to see what I can achieve when I set my mind to something.  The gratification of checking another item off ‘my list” is a moment I always cherish.

I just took a brief look at my closet and the very obvious fact remains that I run. And I’ve run a lot.

This is just the shoes I currently wear and those with sentimental value I simply cannot let go. 
It doesn't factor in the numerous pairs that have made their way to Goodwill.

I was going through some old running things and came across this checklist that I probably got at some race expo along the way. I didn't even know I had it.

 

But I would say I'm pretty good at following the rules.

Why would I invest so much time and money into something that I love so much and not ever give myself the opportunity to do the one thing that most runners dream to do?  I'm going to make my dream a reality.

What are your goals? Do you write them down?

CANNONBALL!

They say that one woman's failure is another woman's success.  Okay, maybe the quote is more about trash and treasures, but you get the point.

We all have different benchmarks for success when it comes to our personal goals.  I tend to be very goal-driven when it comes to my personal fitness.  Before I accomplish a goal, I'm already planning my next achievement.  It's the way I work and what works for me. 

Success is very objective.  My son Keelan completed his first round of Insanity right along with me.  He also completed his last round of Insanity.  To him, being able to say he did it is his definition of success.  That chapter of his life is closed.  The same can be said about running a marathon.  It's one of those bucket list things for many people.  For some it's "did that, won't ever do it again", and for others it's the beginning of a new passion.

My son Jackson has a huge fear of water in his face.  He freaks out walking in the rain and having his hair washed.  He loves to swim, as long as his face gets no where near the water, but made huge strides last week on our vacation.  Jumping off the boat dock into three inches of water shouting "CANNONBALL" was progress for him.

How do you define success in your personal fitness goals?  Are you driven by goals and day to day progress or do you feel successful if you skip dessert?  Are you competitive or complacent?  A self-motivator or do you need motivation?  What is your motivation?  What is your benchmark for success?

These are all really important things to consider when you're ready to make a change in your life.  Not everyone is cut out to do P90X or Insanity or run a 5K.  Once you understand what drives you and what success means, it's easier to embark on a new journey to a healthier lifestyle. 

Perhaps you're ready to cross that threshold of complacency and set a goal for success. Maybe you just need someone to hold you accountable.  Whatever it is that causes you to shout "CANNONBALL", the time is now to take the plunge!