October Rewind and November Goals

Well October is quickly in the rearview mirror!

While a very busy month in the RWA household, there wasn’t much running thanks to the fall that left me with this knee photo (16) — who knew the foot would turn out to be the bigger issue?!

There was just enough running/shuffling to get me through the BAA Half to complete the BAA Distance Medley  BAA medals2

October was largely about rest and recovery – an exercise in patience that I didn’t prove to be very good at! But my foot is improving and I’m running again, so it was well worth the mileage shrinkage.

November Goals:

Just run! — My biggest goal for this month is to complete all of my training runs. I have five weeks until my December half – and how many training runs I complete and how well my foot tolerates those runs will determine whether or not I’ll take a DNS.

More Small Changes — I joined with Marcia for her One Small Change challenge in October. The goal is to add one small change each week – or you can repeat a week if you need to which is what I’m going to do this week as I didn’t get very far with my plan of daily rolling of my very tight quads and hamstrings.

How was your October? Any big goals for November?

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Small Changes are Coming

 

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How many times have you declared a change/new habit you’d like to see in your life – you start out with a lofty promise/declaration and lots of motivation but over time for a whole host of reasons, some of those new habits just don’t stick? Sound familiar?

Last week Marcia from Marcia’s Healthy Slice announced a great challenge for the final three months of the year — to make one small change each week. The trick is to stick with whatever change you’ve made while adding a new change the following week. Love this idea! While I feel like I’ve been pretty good at tackling some of my bigger goals this year – I still find there are some nagging things that I just can’t seem to get a handle on…like the paper clutter that has taken over various parts of my house despite my best intentions!

For week 1, I decided to return to doing daily planks – that way I ensure that no matter what other exercise I may or may not do, I’ll get some core work every day. And I’m happy to say, that with the exception of Saturday when I took my big tumble, I got my planks done. For week 2, I’m going after some of that aforementioned paper clutter by trying to keep my coffee table clear and organized.

Marcia will be hosting a link-up every Tuesday…and there will even be prizes if you need a little extra push 🙂

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Turning Motivation into Habits

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Right now everyone’s all fired up to make a change, to bust out some new goals, declare their resolutions. The gyms are busier than ever, and all types of assorted diet products are flying off the shelves.

But what happens in a couple of weeks…after the dust settles…after the New Year’s confetti is gone?

Here are a few tips to help turn all that New Year’s motivation into good habits all year long.

Pace yourself — It is very easy to get too hyped up – even “over-motivated”? – go out too hard, and then fizzle, or get injured. Start small…baby steps can add up to big payoffs down the road.

Be consistent — Everything I’ve ever read says that it takes between 21 and 28 days to build a good habit, and from personal experience I believe that to be true. A little something each day during the first 3 – 4 weeks will help ensure the new habit sticks.

Be kind to yourself — Everyone experiences set backs. When you fall down (either literally or figuratively), the key is to not beat yourself up over it, but be willing to pick yourself up and begin again.

Find a partner or group — There’s a lot to be said for being accountable to someone else and having someone to draw motivation from on those days when you’re not feeling it.

Surround yourself with success — Part two of finding a partner is to beware of spending time around others who don’t support your efforts – they will drain you! As much as possible, spend time with others who model the behavior/habits you’re striving for.

Keep visual reminders — Whether it’s a word, phrase or photo, posting visual reminders where you’re sure to see them will help keep your goals at the forefront. Energy flows where attention goes so make your goals hard to ignore and you’re more likely to follow through.

What new habits are you trying to build?
What tricks work for you?

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