Goals

Goal Recap: August 2017

Posted by shelbylee89 on

Another really busy month in the books as you can see because it’s taken me longer to sit down and write this recap! While it felt like we were gone every weekend of the month (newsflash: it was only 2 weekends), having two separate trips to Chicago can take a lot out of you. Mix that sugar with the flour that is my marathon training, and the eggs that are the lifting and you’ve got a pretty little cupcake that is my exhaustion. Gosh, let me tell ya, these two-a-days of weight training and running are really starting to mix my days up! It’s like I feel like the weeks go by so slow but the next thing I know every day it’s time to go back to the gym to get a run in.

But alas, here we are. Hitting goals and kicking ass. I’m continuously learning new things about myself, my abilities and my strength, physically and mentally. As the days, weeks and months continue to fly by, I’m excited about the progress I’ve made and continue to strive for.

REFLECTION

So yeah, August was a really strong month! A month of celebration and push. I feel like month after month I kind of become a broken record when I say that it was an amazing month, it was better than the last, it was busy, it was blah blah blah blah blah. But it’s true. Every month is better than the last. Every month I do become stronger. Every month I do push myself harder.

I’ve seen a good bit of fluctuation in my body image throughout August. It’s been interesting to see how I can lose body fat little by little as I pack on the muscle and tone out but my weight number remains really the same. Especially as I see pictures filter in from our Chicago Tough Mudder at the end of the month compared to our most recent mud run that was just a week later. I’m always intrigued by how differently “that time of the month” can really affect how a woman’s body can change for just a couple of days – but more on this in a later blog I’ll be writing – woo!!

So as I reflect on the month of August, I’m excited to continue to progress through September and see where I go through the remainder of the year – again, another broken record. But can you blame me? Progression is so powerful. It keeps that fire inside you lit and growing like burning man. The best part of the month, I think was the fact that my runs are growing stronger, I’m having less fatigue during my runs and I’m getting faster!

LONG TERM GOALS

  1. WRITE MORE BLOGS | In August I didn’t find a whole lot of time to write, it seems like the month literally flew by! But I did write a blog that really pushed me that, if I’m being honest, I’m not super stoked to share but will anyway.

    I am on track writing at least one blog a month that isn’t a recap blog so that’s pretty cool too! Maybe one day, I’ll get on a track to do two a month here or there!
  2. Do more races in 2017 (in 2016 I did 4 total)
    • Completed:
      • Questival Nashville (3/17/17)
      • Evansville River Run 2017 (5/6/17)
      • Popsicle Run | Kyle, Texas (7/4/17)
      • Tough Mudder Chicago (8/26/17)
      • Rugged Maniac (9/2/17)
    • Signed up!
      • Tough Mudder Nashville (9/16/17)
      • Evansville Half Marathon (10/14/17)
      • Monumental Marathon (11/4/17)
    • Considering / Pending
      • Race for the Cure (9/24/17)
      • Santa Run (12/2/17)
  3. No excuses (unless you’re dying) | In August I did miss a long run (20 miles UGH!) due to some pretty mean stomach cramps. It was one of those times I chose to miss a run rather than put my body through more pain that I wasn’t sure I could handle. I made up for half of those miles later in the month but never did get the other 10 😦
  4. Find inspiration anywhere | August inspiration was found in my twin brother, Shane. He lives in Chicago which can be up to a 6.5 hour drive away from me. He’s been sending out a lot of videos and pictures about his meal prep, he cut pop out of his diet and has been on a great path in improving his health and how he wants his body to look. His hard work and determination to hit certain goals by the time we ran the Tough Mudder Chicago together was really inspiring from afar but nothing can describe the sense of pride I had in him, when the day came and I got to see him in person. He is happy and really healthy. He’s hitting his goals and not giving up. I could tell throughout the entire race that for someone who has suffered with asthma his entire life, he’s getting back to his old running self – which is amazing to see! So thank you T, for not just striving to be the best you, but pushing me to be the best me.
  5. Try to beat previous month milage every month | And I find myself repeating myself from previous month’s blogs: If I thought last was a good month, this month was the heaven of all months so far.

    I ended July with 107 miles! While, in August, I did miss a large run (20 miles), ended up making up almost all the miles and ending with 111 miles when all’s said and done.
  6. Lift more – focus on strength, definition and form | In August, we started a new workout that encompasses a lot of reps, say 3 to 6 sets of 30, 25 or 20. It’s been very very hard BUT it’s pushed me nonetheless. Although pull-ups aren’t on the short term goals list for the time being, I still have an eye on the prize and am still building on doing perfect pull ups. As my strength builds, so does my confidence and while it’s been hard to see my body transition from skinny to strong, it’s a change I needed to make to find my true comfort in my skin.
  7. Love yourself | With all my body fluctuations in August it was hard to “love myself” but I kept reminding myself that we all have these moments. When we look in the mirror and get so frustrated that everything we’ve been doing – eating right, eating enough, working out, sweating, moving, everything – isn’t working. It feels like we’re doing everything “right” but not seeing the progress. I had to remind myself that no change happens over night. Change occurs with repetition of positive movement. I just have to be patient. And I found that when I reminded myself of this, I was a little less hard on myself. But I remained stern so I wouldn’t settle for where I am now but instead keep this momentum going so I can achieve what I’m working for. And for that, I love myself even more for because it was another reminder that I am strong and sound enough to empower myself to not give up.
  8. Stretch More | I’ve been slacking on a more consistent stretch routine but I’ve noticed that the stretching I do, do is helping keep my runs more comfortable and I’m less sore later.
  9. Less Snacking | RE: The last couple month’s response still holds true and probably will for the months to come. I’ll update you if I need to but here’s a little reminder on my mentality here: Running more, makes me hungry more. Fueling up is key to a strong run. So I’m “snacking” a little more than I originally wanted but it’s a necessary snack, not a bored snack. There is a difference and I can take that in more now than ever.
  10. Less Sitting more moving | In August I hit over my 10K step goal 22 of the 31 days. For the entire month I had 409,218K steps which averaged me at about 13.2K steps per day. It was a nice little increase coming in from July and like I said, August was a more active month but it got me back on track to where I feel like I was previous to July but stronger than that too. Looking at the days that I didn’t hit my 10K, I am proud in that they were on Sunday’s that we were traveling or on a Monday which are my total rest days.

AUGUST GOALS

  1. Write a new research blog despite being gone all of August | While I didn’t write a research blog, I did write a blog I will be sharing soon…even though it’s being published in September haha
  2. Don’t miss a single scheduled run | In August I missed one run. So while I didn’t want to miss any, I’ll take it knowing that life get’s in the way!
  3. Be less ‘ON’ and find some time for ‘me’ – use wedding planning as an escape | We did get more for the wedding planned and I did find more ‘me’ time. I felt a little more relaxed in August despite ending the month with a cold!
  4. Do something NEW (and it doesn’t have to be health related) | To be honest, I had to think really hard on this one because I couldn’t just come up with something *new* that I did. But I realized, the new that I accomplished, was opening myself up to a new level. I’m pushing myself harder, I’m allowing myself to get emotional about it and I’m forcing myself to be scared and conquer it. That’s new to me. Those are things that I’ve not really done before. Things I’ve ran from doing. I pushed myself harder mentally to get past the thought that I cannot do something. I proved myself wrong. I continuously PR’d on all my runs as the month went on. At the start of my training I would set my pace a 9:13/mile and increase to under 9:00/mile the very last mile. Now I’m finding that on speed days, I’m increasing my speed every half mile to a quarter mile every mile and on what should be paced runs, I am increasing my speed the last two miles. New is good. I like new (sometimes)!

SEPTEMBER GOALS – the month of *new*

  1. Hit a NEW PR: 32 minutes in a 4-mile run
  2. Find something NEW to be a part of – open to interpretation
  3. Do something NEW (and it doesn’t have to be health related)

CONCLUSION

It’s really great to look back every month and see that I continue to make progress, continue to grow stronger and continue to see a better me. In my July recap, I stated that I had one regret: that I wished I had focused more on my recovery time and I think that I combatted that in August. I listened to my body more than ever and let myself recover appropriately. While I did have a good amount of foot pain in August, through a good chunk of rest and my Doterra EO recipe, I was able to work through the pain, even on the worst days; some days made the simplest task of walking extremely painful. Already in September, my runs are in full swing, we’ve conquered a 3-mile mud run AND I’ve hit PR’s consistently in my midweek runs.

Now I’m just praying that I hit my long runs, the longest runs of the year so far as I’ve now passed the 2 month mark to my marathon. Let the final countdown begin!

The Runner’s Prayer

Dear God,
Please untie the knots that are in my mind, my heart and my life. Remove the HAVE NOTS and the CAN NOTS and the DO NOTS that I have in my mind. Erase the WILL NOTS, the MAY NOTS, and the MIGHT NOTS that find a home in my heart. Release me from the COULD NOTS, WOULD NOTS, and SHOULD NOTS that obstruct my life. And most of all, I ask that you remove from my mind my heart and my life all the AM NOTS that I have allowed to hold me back, especially the thought that I am not good enough. Amen.

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