Tag Archives: running goals

Running and life goals

17 Apr

I finally decided it was time to get back to my keyboard and to start writing again after having a couple of weeks of neglecting my blog. I hesitated and to be honest I have not been at all motivated to write the last few weeks with work commitments, general lethargy and actually not even sure what to write about.

I haven’t done much running in the last few weeks due to being sick and being busy but I managed to run on the trails this weekend which reminded me why I run and to get back into it pronto.

I need to kick my own butt!

I gave myself a good talking to this afternoon and decided enough is enough. Every blog post I have written recently has been saying I am too busy, too tired, haven’t run, haven’t eaten properly and enough is enough. The only person that can fix all of this is me, so now that Easter has gone there are definitely no more excuses and I need to kick my own butt!

finishing the race

Setting firm goals

I had the chance to catch up with my LCHF (banting) coach whilst on business in Sydney a couple of weeks ago, and he helped me create some firm goals that I have to accomplish this year, and I feel better now with things to work towards and I added a few of my own. I’m sharing them with you to help me feel accountable as well as to my coach!

Some sound silly but I need them, and some are more adventurous. So here they are:

  • Drink 2 litres plus of water a day
  • Concentrate on MAF (Maximum Heart Rate Training) training where possible this year to help give my body a rest and build up endurance. So low heart rate training all the way….it’s  tough but I’m going to give it a go when I can.
  • Enter a big race for next year – probably Great Ocean Road Marathon. Havent decided yet.
  • I’m also aiming to lose another 10% of my body weight which I know I can easily do if I stick to my banting – aim is by end of the year!
  • Practise banting (LCHF) basics
  • Practice mindfulness and relax when possible which is something I am really not that good at!
  • Remember what is important in life and spend time doing it or with the people that matter

So they are my ultimate goals for the next few months at least. Hoping I can achieve at least some of them, and also remain inspired to train towards all my running goals! I realised (and I think I mentioned this in a previous post) that I was going along with other people to help them realise their goals, but always seemed to fail – it was only when the penny dropped that they weren’t my goals that I suddenly decided enough was enough…. the only person that can achieve my goals is me!

Anyway – a short but sweet post this week. Have a great week – whatever you are doing and I’ll write more soon!

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What’s next after the Twilight Half Marathon?

29 Mar

Hope you had a lovely Easter!

The last week has been a bit of a write off. After running the Twilight Half Marathon I got sick, and today is the first day in a  week that I have felt remotely like exercising. I didn’t run – instead I worked on my wobbly belly and arms 🙂 as still not feeling 100%.

I think the race took it out of me and I shouldn’t have run not feeling 100% and having a migraine all day, so yet another lesson learned.

So now that Twilight is done I had a chance to think about what’s next. My husband would like very much that I have a rest from races but alas he is not that lucky – I have a few more planned for this year!

Running goalsGold Coast Half possibly Marathon

I honestly don’t know if I have another marathon in me, nor do I know if I want to run one. Five is enough and last year was meant to be my last one (famous last words!), but my lovely friend is really wanting to run her first so I have been thinking and I might do the training and then enter the half marathon – OR run the full and not worry about time – I never have with marathons anyway as I am no Paula Radcliffe!

So, not sure yet….

Dubbo Stampede Half Marathon 

We have friends in Dubbo and so it’s the perfect way to do a race and to see them at the same time, and it looks like great fun. I decided that I will definitely not do the marathon. I think it’s the first year and also it is a second lap of the half marathon and I am really not a lover of laps! The thought of running that over a marathon I think I would tear my hair out!

Do you need Goals?

I don’t know about you but if I don’t have a goal to work towards then I find it is really easy to let things slide.

When I was training for the Marathon I ran last year I was so focused and motivated, but this year I have found it much harder so I have started documenting everything again and planning sessions as if I am training for the race again – regardless of whether I do it and suddenly I am focussed again!

LCHF Goal

One of my goals for this year also is to try and run my races on a lower carb lifestyle. My husband and I are advocates of a LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) way of living but it has always been tricky for me being a runner. I have found some great likeminded people and a nutritionist who advocates LCHF for athletes (she called me an athlete! I’d never considered myself one before lol!) and I just started training on a lower carb diet – interested? watch this space…

Anyway have a great day and I’ll write more soon 🙂

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Let’s make 2016 an awesome year!

31 Dec

I am sat on New Year’s Eve with a smile on my face.

No it’s not because I have lots of things planned for the evening – (my night will be pretty boring actually) but it is because I am allowed to run again! I went to the physio yesterday and he says there is enough improvement that I can run and gradually build up ready for my half marathon in March and then my marathon later on this year.

I’m allowed to do two sessions this week of 2-3km and the following two weeks three to four sessions of 3-4km. I know it will be hard to stick to those distances and to not be tempted to go further if I feel good but I am going to try and stick to it as I know the ultimate prize is being able to run normally again.

Happy New Year 1

Looking back over the year

Looking back on the last year it has been quite challenging.  I pretty much started from scratch back in January 2015 after not running properly for a while, and trained for and ran the Gold Coast Marathon  (thanks to my elite runner friend Roger getting me through and my friend Nadia for being there supporting me the night before!) as well as being their Advocate and worked with RunStopShop also. It was so much fun and I remember being so nervous getting up on the stage to chat at the Legends Lunch – what a fun time it was, and then running the race after all my blister issues – what a drama that was!!

I then ran the River Run 100k relay with my friend Shaun and his friends, and then the Bridge to Brisbane dressed as a French maid, and then over to the UK to see family and managed to run my second Park Run and the Birmingham Half Marathon whilst there which was great fun.

I also started writing as a guest blogger for Azumio™ who are an international health app market leader which was really exciting.

So all in all it has been a great year of getting back into running longer distances, having fun running with friends and feeling better when it comes to exercise again.

Screen Shot 2015-07-06 at 3.07.23 pm

Posing after the Gold Coast Marathon with Benita Willis – she was so encouraging 🙂

2016 – goals and challenges

I said in my last blog post that I had a lot of goals to achieve in 2016 and I have added another one to the list – an 8 week challenge run by my lovely friend Nadia at NADU Fitness. I figured – start on the right footing with food and exercise and kick start the year.

What are your goals for 2016?

I am a very goal driven person so always need to have goals set otherwise I become demotivated. I’m so excited about this year as so many of my friends have set themselves challenges and it’s going to be great to support them and see them achieve them!

2016 running goals

Write them down!

If you are a goal person like me and are struggling with what you’d like to achieve why not write them down – simply write down what you want to try and do – whether it is to run for the first time, to run a ParkRun or running race or to improve or run your first Marathon.

Pin them up!

I find writing things down and pinning them up somewhere I constantly see them helps me focus on the objective!

Reward yourself

Rewarding yourself too is a great way to keep on track – I am intending on buying a new Garmin in 2016 – probably the Garmin 235 and so I want to complete my 8 week challenge and that will be my reward to myself at the end. Rewards don’t have to be as extravagant but it could be a new gym top, or something you’ve wanted to do – or simply a chocolate bar (in moderation of course ;-D).

Anyway – have a great start to your 2016. I’ve got lots of new ideas for my blog to share with you so watch this space.

Happy running 🙂

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Ideas for what to do post marathon

14 Jul

The last week or so has been a roller coaster. I was interviewed at the Garmin Legends Lunch at the Gold Coast Airport Marathon and then ran the Marathon and then it all came to a standstill.

After I crossed the finish line there was an initial high of sharing my news that I had finished and was very happy with my time and having done it, I ordered my photos and relived my weekend with friends and my husband but then I woke up on the weekend thinking:

“ok what happens now?.”

I suddenly realised I hadn’t thought this far along. I had been concentrating so much on training for the marathon and preparing myself for the lunch but I hadn’t prepared myself for when it was all over and I felt a bit down. Suddenly there was no need to stick to a schedule or run 5 times a week and even get my foot strapped.

I would imagine there are probably a lot of people that are feeling like this now. There is the elation of having finished, and no more nightmare 30-36k runs but at the same time that purpose has gone and it is time to find something new.

I’m all good now and did a great session at the Kangaroo Point stairs with lovely friends on Sunday and was pumped again but it was a strange feeling.

Setting goals 

I am a very goal driven person so I have decided it’s time to set some goals again to stay motivated. I want to lose a little bit of weight, work on building some muscle as well as go back to basics and run some shorter races – so 5ks, 10ks and a half or two in the next 12 months as well as mastering the Kangaroo Point Stairs that I ran at the weekend. It will seem strange running less distance  but I know it is not necessarily easier as potentially I will be running faster.

Below are some thoughts I have explored in the last few days about how to stay motivated after the marathon/big event you have been training is over – so if you have been or are feeling the same way as me they might help:

Ideas for what to do post Marathon

what's your post marathon challenge?

A bigger challenge?

I have a number of friends who started running marathons and then had a real taste for them and went one step further and got into ultra marathons. If you finish your marathon and still want more then maybe this is an option to think about or perhaps triathlons and the ultimate Ironman! It’s not for me – the marathons I ran were hard and the thought of running any further than that makes me feel quite faint!

Different terrain

I have on a  number of occasions enjoyed trail running and used to run up Mount Cootha both on the road and on the trails. My friends that used to do that have unfortunately left Brisbane so I no longer do it but maybe after running a marathon you might want to try something new and venture into trail running – quite different to road running but lots of fun.

Different place

Fancy another marathon but not the same one. There are literally hundreds all around the country/world. I have done 5 marathons in 5 different countries and it makes the goal and excitement even more as you are working towards a goal and a holiday!  If you are a beginner marathon runner I would seriously consider giving yourself a fair while off training for another one though. Don’t rush straight back into another one in a months time unless you know your body very well. I did it after my first marathon and crashed and burned spectacularly!

Different distance?

Now that the marathon is finished if you aren’t keen to do another one then think about trying a different distance. Running shorter distances is great for getting quicker in your overall running times, maybe that is something to consider.

Enjoy just running for a while?

If you are a content person that doesn’t need goals then why not just enjoy running for a while without the pressure of a race coming up? Me personally I can’t do that as it would be very easy to not run!

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