ooooooh goodness, yikes, I just realized it been like 4 weeks since I've last posted. Whoops. Well, its actually probably a good thing because obviously nothing super exciting has been worth noting, and I saved you all from pointless, boring reading. Well, good news, I'm back, bad news, I'm still boring, but I figured, its the New Year, and I should probably do some sort of obligatory-goals type post. You can read my list from last year here. You'll notice I had a very nice organized list going on. It was great, I accomplished some, and others fell by the wayside (I never did finish any books....), but this year is a little different.
I have yet to sit down and really think about any goals for this year. I will have some of my standard things (save more money, read more, yada yada yada), but I still need to pin down some more specific things I was to accomplish. So when I do, you'll be the first to know :).
One goal I am certain of, is a half marathon PR. My current time is 1:37:59. I know that with some hard work and solid, consistent training I can get that down. I don't have a specific time in mind, but low 1:30's is what I'm shooting for. Now, you would think finding a race to meet this goal would be easy, but proved harder that I thought. I toyed with the idea of racing the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon in Duluth, MN, but for some reason was never super excited about it. I didn't want to feel like I was forcing myself to race it just because so many other people were, and thinking about it was stressing me out. So I decided to trash that idea and start over. So a few Sundays' ago, I searched online and found the MPLS Half Marathon. For some reason, the minute I thought about racing, I got excited - THAT'S the feeling I should get. I signed up right away, without a second thought. I also took a look at last years results, and going off that, if I can get my goal I have a very good chance of placing top 10 (possible top 5), and most likely an age-group place. Now if that doesn't get me excited I don't know what will! I feel like now I finally have something to train for, that I have a purpose when I run, and it's put some motivation back in my Mizunos. Oh, on an unrelated note, if anyone wants to get me a pair of the new Wave Rider's, my birthday is coming up ( I wear a size 8).
So with that, I'm also going to start posting my training each week, kind of like I did last year. This helps me more than it will help you. Its a good reference for me to look back on, and it keeps me accountable. So if you like that sort of thing be on the lookout!
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Ok, so over the summer I got the book Clean Gut by Dr. Alejandro Junger. I first heard about it from my mom, who, as far as I can tell, has had a TON of success because of it. I bought it back when I was injured, feeling pretty crummy, and figured it couldn't heard to read it, educate myself, and put it into practice. Well I read it, and I lasted a whopping 3 days. I was eating entirely too little, I was cranky and hungry - probably not what the book intended. I caved when we went to a birthday party for a friends daughter, and just couldn't take it, and I'm pretty sure I ate like 5 cupcakes. I set the book aside and thought it just wasn't for me and I would just keep going as I was, uncomfortable sure, but at least it was familiar. Fast forward to today, and I'm going to give it another go, but in a different way. Last time, I didn't plan, I made nothing in advance, and didn't set myself up for success. Sure meal planning takes a little time, but hello, if I have time to binge-watch Saved By the Bell on Netflix then I have time to make some meals (seriously, I just discovered it on play-instantly and I cant. stop. watching!). So I'm going to re-read parts of the book that I forgot, make a plan, and get everything together this weekend. I'm excited to know that I will be better prepared, and hopefully it will lead to feeling better, sleeping better, and having more energy, because for reals, I haven't felt this uncomfortable in a LONG time.
So once I have a little more info I'll let you know what I'm up to, but I just wanted to share. I understand this isn't for everyone, and I know I am setting myself up for some criticism, but understand that I'm not doing this as a "quick fix". I'm not necessarily looking to lose weight, but I just want to feel better, inside and out. So any support would be great, and if you've read the book, or anything like it let me know. I'm open to discussion and helpful advice :)
So that's all for now, sorry this got long and rambling, but I guess that's not new coming from me :)
