March 15, 2010

It's the Little Things

After researching half marathon recovery I worked a recovery week into my training schedule so last week was full of a lot of Pilates, Yoga, and other stretching and strengthening exercises. Unfortunately they were also accompanied by too many cheat meals. Basically the "recovery" week reminded me that having a semi-short term goal is EXTREMELY important for me.

So, I registered for the AFLAC Iron Iron Girl Clearwater 15k, which will be held on April 10th! I was worried that I would have to scratch this race and do a shorter local one, since I still don't have a frigging job, but several people that I know are also running it and we are going to split the travel and lodging costs. The race course starts near Pier 60 on Clearwater Beach and runs over a causeway and back. The Clearwater area has some beautiful beaches, so this race should have some amazing views.

*Off topic: I cannot wait to see the Life series on Discovery!!!**

I only have 7 pounds left to reach my goal of losing 30 pounds by my 30th birthday and I want them gone so I have to follow my plan. For me, it's the little things that make me get out the door for a run. For instance, I plan my training runs for in an Excel spreadsheet and it drives me nuts when I can't go in and highlight the little cell to indicate that I've completed that days workout.

Another thing that's incredibly motivating for me is keeping track of my training runs on my bathroom mirror where I can't avoid it. This picture was taken back in January, while I was still training for the Princess Half:


Maybe I'm a bit of a nutjob, but I really didn't want to see the same number more than 2 days in a row, so I always made it out the door for a run, even if I ended up cutting it short. Since it worked so well for me, I decided to do the same thing for the 15k. Here's to Day 1 of training for the new race.



What tricks do you use to get yourself off of the couch on rough days?

7 comments:

Jen Feeny said...

LOVE the bathroom reminder of your awesomeness! That's a great idea!

I didn't know about that 15k! Dang it! I will be out of town! I just did a 15k this weekend, it's a random distance... but I liked it. Strategize to run the first 5k reserved and then race the remaining 10k. (Or at least that's what I'd do if I were racing it)

I've found that I always need something to look forward to/train for or else I get lazy, eat like crap and lose my motivation. Good for you on finding another race!

Kathy said...

What a neat idea with the bathroom reminder! My teenagers would think I was nuts if I did that - who cares what they think!! Glad you're doing the Iron Girl 15k. Vicki, Colleen and I will be there. I hope we'll get a chance to see you again. I loved that post - very motivating!!

CardioBunny said...

Morgan, it makes me feel like less of a slacker to know that you fall back into old habits too.

Kathy we'll definitely have to meet up. Maybe for dinner or at the expo. Thanks for stopping by!

Karianna said...

I think your bathroom-mirror idea is fabulous! You'll totally rock that 15k, no problem!

(And yeah, I've been eating girl scout cookies after the half-marathon instead of taking advantage of all those calories I burned while doing it!)

CardioBunny said...

Karianna I wish I had more Girl Scout cookies, but I purposely ordered one box *Sigh*

Eunice @ food4fit said...

Love your bathroom messages! They are very "operation beautiful"-ish. Saw you over on the Turtles blog and I wanted to say hello :)

CardioBunny said...

Hi rainbwsnkittns, thanks for stopping by!