Well, here we are a week into 2015 and what do you have to show for it?<\/p>\n
Me? Not much. But I did bake some muffins and pick up a new charger for my phone.<\/p>\n
After Ironman Arizona in November, I allowed myself to go into full on recovery mode.\u00a0 I set training aside, ate anything I wanted and slept more than I thought was humanly possible.\u00a0 I enjoyed the holidays to the fullest and made it very clear that I wasn\u2019t even going to think about forcing myself to work out until the new year.<\/p>\n
Well, the new year showed up, but my motivation didn\u2019t.\u00a0 Granted the temps have been dropping this week, today as I drove the kids to school the car registered a whopping 8 degrees.\u00a0 Factor in the wind chill, and you can rest assured I stayed inside today.\u00a0 I did manage to get over to the gym for a spell, so at least there\u2019s that.<\/p>\n
At any rate, I think it\u2019s safe to say that while I am allowing recovery mode to linger, I\u2019m pretty sure I\u2019ve got the physical health aspect of life worked out.\u00a0 In the past I have always required something to train for in order to give me a \u201cplan\u201d for motivation.\u00a0 But as I sat back and thought of everything I have put my body through in the past 6 years, it became clear that I am in the midst of a much needed break.\u00a0 Since Silas was about a year old (He\u2019s 7 now), I have run 9 marathons, a 50k, a 30k, Pere Marquette x2, and countless half marathons, 10 miles, 10ks and 5ks.\u00a0 Oh, and 20+ miles during 3 different overnight relays longer than 200 miles.\u00a0 I have also taken up cycling and learned how to swim.\u00a0 I did my very first Olympic distance triathlon only 2 and a half years ago, followed by a couple half Iron distance and most recently 140.6.<\/p>\n
No freaking wonder my body is begging for a break!<\/p>\n
So, this year, 2015, I have vowed to settle down and do what I love, because I love it.\u00a0 Recently when people ask me what\u2019s next, I have enjoyed being able to answer, \u201cNothing. I have nothing on the agenda.\u00a0 I just run when I want to.\u201d\u00a0 I have no plans to sign up for any major races this year.\u00a0 I\u2019m allowing the bank account to recover along with my body. \u00a0I know that when the right opportunity presents itself I will think, \u201cThat sounds fun.\u00a0 I would like to do that with my friends.\u201d\u00a0 And then I will sign up for it.\u00a0 Chances are it won\u2019t be long until that happens.\u00a0 But until the time comes, I\u2019ll be enjoying a Favre style \u201cretirement\u201d.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve never really been one for resolutions.\u00a0 I\u2019ve always been the type who thinks if you don\u2019t like something about yourself or your life, change it.\u00a0 Even if it\u2019s just a random Tuesday in August.\u00a0 Why wait?\u00a0 We all lose sight sometimes.\u00a0 We all get off track.\u00a0 So it\u2019s important to get back on the horse when we can.\u00a0 But this year is a little different.\u00a0 This year, I turn 40.\u00a0 (Gasp!)\u00a0 This is cause for a little more reflection, or perhaps introspection, than most years.<\/p>\n
So, while on my infrequent trips to the gym this week, where I\u2019ve had to share the equipment with not only the regulars, but also the \u201cresolutioners\u201d, I\u2019ve been contemplating how easy it is to fall into the rut of New Year\u2019s goals = fitness goals.\u00a0 But that doesn\u2019t necessarily have to be the case.\u00a0 Especially when you\u2019ve completed an Ironman and you\u2019re not really even sure where you want to go from there.<\/p>\n
So what do I want to come from my 40th<\/sup> year on this planet?\u00a0 Well, I want to focus on ALL aspects of my health, not just physical. So, I\u2019ve started things like reading through the Bible in a year and I\u2019m looking up new recipes that I want to try (my hope is one new meal a week, but don\u2019t hold me to that).\u00a0 Drink more water, eat more greens, blah, blah, blah. And don\u2019t we all have that continually growing list of projects we want to tackle that have no real deadline so we keep pushing them off?\u00a0 I work much better with deadlines, but I\u2019m hoping to attack one of those projects each month. (I think cleaning out the garage is going to wait until the temperature is above zero)\u00a0 I also really want to find a charity to volunteer for, or a group traveling to another country to do a mission\u2026something.\u00a0 But I want to be very thoughtful about this process.<\/p>\n Anyway, what it really all comes back to is that I want to be the best me I can be, so that I am living that example for my kids.<\/p>\n If there is anything that I am sure my kids have learned from me, it\u2019s that they know how to dream big.\u00a0 Set big goals and go after them.\u00a0 Hard work and determination will go a long way.\u00a0 And nothing is impossible.<\/p>\n I also know that they have learned to have big hearts, full of generosity.\u00a0 They are kind and they help people when they can. \u00a0They are very quick with hugs. \u00a0I see that reflection of myself in them, and it makes me happy.<\/p>\n Because of me, my children are learning to be good communicators and how to express their emotions in a healthy way.\u00a0 This hasn\u2019t always been the case, but I have learned and I am teaching them.\u00a0 They see me cry on a regular basis.\u00a0 Sometimes out of joy, sometimes pain, but they know this is healthy and acceptable.\u00a0 They also know I love to laugh!<\/p>\n But there are always things we can improve upon, and I am no exception.\u00a0 Where there are strengths, there are also weaknesses.\u00a0 So as we dive into 2015, I plan to exercise the muscles that have fallen somewhat dormant in the monotony of daily routine.<\/p>\n I want to teach my kids to dance upon that fine line between being responsible and being a martyr.<\/p>\n I want to teach them how to balance between doing something well, to the best of one\u2019s ability, without the unrealistic expectation of perfection 100% of the time.<\/p>\n I want to teach them to stretch their brains, as well as their bodies.<\/p>\n I want to teach them to seek the good in each day, especially the tough ones.<\/p>\n Here are a few of the things we are implementing at my house\u2026<\/p>\n Yesterday we started \u201c3 tasks a day\u201d.\u00a0 Having daily or weekly chores is difficult in a single parent household.\u00a0 Sometimes they are only with me a couple days during a week, so what if I let the dishes pile up?\u00a0 That doesn\u2019t work.\u00a0 And since my kids were young when we split households, I have tended to carry on as the martyr who does everything for everyone.\u00a0 Let\u2019s face it, sometimes it\u2019s easier to just get it done yourself than to enforce follow through given the attention span of a 7 year old boy.\u00a0 Oy!\u00a0 But with \u201c3 tasks a day\u201d, I can come up 3 different chores that need to be done around the house (like gathering up the garbage, vacuuming, wiping down the bathroom or the kitchen, dusting a room, what have you) and delegate those chores.\u00a0 Each of those things should only take each kid not more than 5 minutes or so.\u00a0 Those 5-15 minute tasks add up for one person but 5 minutes X 3 kids = less stress for me!\u00a0 Each day we rotate who picks first to keep it \u201cfair\u201d.\u00a0 They are so excited about this concept that this morning on the way to school they were asking what the 3 tasks would be today.\u00a0 Holy smokes!\u00a0 Who knew this would be such a hit?!<\/p>\n The part that will be hard for me in this is relaxing my standard.\u00a0 A 7 year old sweeping the floor or a 9 year\u2019s version of \u2018\u2019clean\u201d may not be perfect, but at least it\u2019s done.\u00a0 Sometimes \u201cgood enough\u201d is just that.\u00a0 Especially when that allows us more quality time together in the long run.\u00a0 There are some things that require a higher standard.\u00a0 Cleaning is not one of them.<\/p>\n Another thing I am going to be more accountable on is everyone reads for 15 minutes a day.\u00a0 I love to read, but sometimes this is gets lost in the shuffle.\u00a0 We watch TV or we rush around to activities.\u00a0 If I make a point to model this, then I\u2019m not asking my kids to do something I wouldn\u2019t do myself.\u00a0 And the boys in particular could use the practice.<\/p>\n Finally, thanks to a post by my friend Katrina, we have implemented the \u201cHappiness Jar\u201d.\u00a0 As I explained to the checkout guy at World Market the other day, my new apothecary jar is going to display strips of colored paper that we write on to commemorate the moments of happiness that occur each day.\u00a0 He was so excited about this that his enthusiasm spilled over to the customer behind me. \u00a0Joy is contagious. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n Ultimately, my resolution for 2015 is the opposite of the person who has taken up occupancy on my favorite treadmill at Gold\u2019s.\u00a0 I resolve to work out less!\u00a0 But I also resolve to take that newly found time, and use it very, very well.<\/p>\n So, whether your resolution for 2015 is fitness related or not, here\u2019s to health and happiness in the year ahead! \u00a0Cheers!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Well, here we are a week into 2015 and what do you have to show for it? Me? Not much. But I did bake some muffins and pick up a new charger for my phone. After Ironman Arizona in November, I allowed myself to go into full on recovery mode.\u00a0 I set training aside, ate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-aside","hentry","category-onbeingasingleparent","category-randomthoughts","post_format-post-format-aside"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4eO4v-b2","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=684"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":686,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684\/revisions\/686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}