Goals for 2008

I've tried many times before to blog, and I have never been able to keep up with it.  I hope to do it differently this time!  I have many goals set for 2008 and I think having a blog will help me keep up with them and hold me accountable for the changes I want to make.

I am a wife, a mom, a friend, a sister, a daughter, an educator, and a runner.  It's hard trying to balance all the different parts and maintain my sanity.  Running has helped me alot with that.  I can definitely tell when I need to go running!

Last week, I set lots of fitness goals for myself.  They were easy to set and the first ones that I worked on.  

1.  I want to run a marathon this year.  I was training to run the Houston Marathon, which is next weekend, but by training slacked off in November and by December I knew I wouldn't be ready.  Instead, I'm going to shoot for the Rock N Roll marathon in San Antonio in November.  That will be a much better training time for me, starting in July or August.  

2.  I want to lose 15-20 pounds.  If I ever plan to qualify for the Boston marathon, I'm going to need to be extremely fit and a lot lighter.  I'm 130 now, which is an okay weight, but I could be a better runner at 110-115.  To lose weight, I'm going to need to clean up my diet and quit drinking Dr. Pepper.  I wish I had a magic pill to take to make me not like soda.  It's probably the unhealthiest habit I have, but I can't bring myself to quit drinking it yet.  But I know I'd lose 10 pounds if I quit drinking it.

3.  I want to improve my speed as a runner.  This means more serious workouts and training.  I'm planning to start over on the 14th and train for a half marathon in April.  I will follow Hal Higdon's Intermediate training plan, which involves speed workouts.  I haven't set a time goal yet - I'm waiting until after the half I'm running on the 13th to see how I do.  

4.  I need to add strength training to my workouts.  My goal is to get this started on the 14th, after next weekend's race.  My gym is starting a 12 week boot camp that week and if that works with my schedule, I'll probably do that.  Otherwise, I like the workouts included with the Abs Diet, so I may just work those into my schedule.

I also have some goals that don't relate to fitness.  My house is a wreck and needs to be purged and cleaned and redecorated!  I would like to do more family things on the weekends, like going to the movies, the zoo, and the museums in Houston.  I need to start making time to get this stuff done.  I don't like leaving things incomplete, though, and I know that the house projects are large and require a weekends worth of time to get them done.  I guess I just need to create a schedule and stick to it!!!

This is alot for today.  See you next time!