Three Things Thursday!

1. I’m running again! And loving it!

Since running the Niagara Falls Half Marathon in late October, I haven’t done much any running. This seems to be the way things go for me after training for a big run – I’m not exactly sure why – but for some reason, I always end up taking a few months off before running again.

To keep me motivated this winter, I joined the Winter 100 Challenge hosted by Kristen at The Running Mom. The challenge is to run (or walk) 100 miles between December 1st and February 28th. I also signed up for The Resolution Run, a 5k Run hosted by The Running Room on New Year’s Eve.

Unfortunately I’ve been sick since returning to work in late December and have not logged many miles to date. So I was super excited to for The Resolution Run as a way to get me back on track and start the new year running!

I ran the Resolution Run with my sister Cathy and my friend Jo. None of us had done any prep for the run so we didn’t have a time goal, basically, we just wanted to finish in one piece! I’m glad we didn’t have a goal time, cause the route was ridiculously crowed and we ended up walking most of the first kilometer. We ended up finishing in 39:29.

Here’s a picture of us after the run.

As far as the 100 Winter Challenge goes, I’ve only run 3 times:

Which works out to…

11% done! Not bad for only 3 runs! Looking forward to tomorrow’s 5Ker!

2. I’ve joined Fitness Cheerleader’s 31 Days to a Healthier You. We are 3 days in and I have completed all of the challenges so far – I’ve set my goals for 2013, devised a plan, and today I moved for 30 minutes – actually I did a 55 minute RPM class at the gym – which I totally struggled through, but it was great to get back on the bike again! Hopefully by next week I will be breathing better and able to push myself more 🙂 . I love RPM!

3. I went to the spa yesterday for a little ME time! It was Ah-mazing! I had a facial and a pedicure! It was so nice to be pampered! Hopefully it won’t be another year before I get to go back! What’s also amazing is that I have a massage booked for tomorrow! What a great way to end my holiday!

Do you have 3 things to share this week?

What are you doing to help keep you on track this year?

How often do you go to the spa?

My Action Plan

Yesterday I wrote about my goals for 2013, now I need to take it one step further and devise a plan of action. So, here we go:

1. Spend less, save more – For this to happen, we need to create a family budget. Since my husband is self employed, our family income is constantly fluctuating, which makes budgeting for our family a little more difficult. I will be doing some research over the next few weeks on creating a budget with a fluctuating income and will have our budget hashed out by the end of January.

Right off the bat, I can think of a few small changes we can make to save more money.
– Meal plan and grocery shop only once a week.
– Get rid of our home phone (which we actually did today).
– Borrow books from the library rather than buy them.
– Shop at Costco for items we use/eat frequently.
– Eat out less.

2. Run a 1:58 half marathon – I plan on running two half marathons this year, one in the spring (May) and one in the fall (October). I have training programs that I’ve used in the past, and will be starting my official 12 week training program for my spring race in February.

3. Try one new clean eating recipe a week – I have a ton of Clean Eating magazines and cookbooks with recipes I want to try already flagged. Each Saturday I will choose what I will be making for the week so I can pick up everything I need on my Sunday grocery shop.

I’ve already selected my January recipes:
– This week: Hash Brown, Sausage and Egg Muffins – Clean Eating, Nov/Dec 2012, p. 40
– Week of Jan 6 – Spaghetti Squash with Chicken, Pears and Parmesan – Clean Eating, Nov/Dec 2012, p. 75
– Week of Jan 13 – Kung Pao Chicken – Clean Eating Classic Comfort Foods, p. 96
– Week of Jan 20 – Dark Fudgy Brownies – Clean Eating, Jan/Feb 2013, p. 56
– Week of Jan 27 – Leek, Potato and Cheddar Soup – Clean Eating Classic Comfort Foods, p. 26.

4. Become a certified RPM instructor – I am planning to attend the March 30/31 training weekend and will submit my Certification Assessment video before the end of June.

5. Do 10 chin-ups – I am very fortunate to teach two fitness classes this semester, and next semester too, and found this 3x/week 8 week training program so I’m all set to go!

6. Build Strength – I am committing to 3 strength workouts per week. I’m not yet sure whether I’m going to follow a specific program or do a variety of workouts, but will get that sorted before I head back to work on Monday.

7. Go to bed earlier – For me to be in bed by 9:30, I need to get the kids to bed by 7:30, make my lunch and give myself a bit of time to relax and unwind.

8. Blog more – My goal is to blog 5 days a week.

9. Run 3x a week – My plan is to run at work Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I will run on my prep or my lunch and if the weather is too bad and I can’t run outside, I will stop at the gym on my way home for a treadmill run. To be successful I need to run before picking up the kids because there is very little chance of getting a run in after that.

10. Drink more water – I will carry a water bottle with me everywhere I go.

11. Read 52 books – Read one book a week (on average).

12. Take at least 2 family trips – Our trips will most likely occur during the summer, so we have a bit of time to choose where we will go and what we will do.

13. Date night once a month – In preparation for monthly date night, we need to choose a date, secure a babysitter and choose an activity.

For more information on how to Plan For Success, check out Fitness Cheerleader’s 31 Days to a Healthier You.

Well, it’s 9:40, I’m off to bed!

Have you written out your goals for 2013?
Have you devised an action plan?

I’d love to hear what it is you want to accomplish in 2013, let me know in the comments section below!

13 in 2013

I’m not really one for New Year’s resolutions but definitely have a list of things I’d like to accomplish in 2013. So, here are 13 things I would like to do this year (in no particular order)…

1. Spend less, save more – I don’t really consider myself to be a big spender, but I’d like to be more aware of where our money is going and pay off more of our debt.

2. Run a 1:58 half marathon – This past October I ran my first sub 2 hour half and this year I would love to shave 2 minutes off my PB.

3. Try one new clean eating recipe a week – Since returning to work at the end of November I have struggled to prepare clean meals. I love eating clean and hope that with a little planning and the commitment to try a new recipe each week, I will get back and stay on track!

4. Become a certified RPM instructor – I’m planning on going to instructor training in March, so hopefully I will be a certified instructor by June!

5. Do 10 chin-ups – Currently I can do…ZERO!

6. Build Strength – The majority of my workouts are cardio based (BodyAttack, RPM, running) and I really want to make strength training a bigger part of my workout routine. I’m looking forward to trying out some new workout styles and mixing things up this year!

7. Go to bed earlier – I’d love to make a habit of being in bed by 9:30 every night, with the idea of being asleep by 10. I definitely function better on a good night sleep and I really feel that there is a strong connection between sleep and overall health.

8. Blog more – I really enjoy blogging and want to grow my blog. I’m not exactly sure how to do this, but with more consistency and fresh ideas, I hope to make it happen!

9. Run 3x a week – I definitely need to run more consistently if I am going to reach goal #2 , especially in the off season. Realistically, with all of the other cardio I do, three 5k’ers would be awesome!

10. Drink more water – I’m aiming for at least 2 litres a day.

11. Read 52 books – I love to read, but unfortunately only make time for it before falling asleep each night. My goal is to read a book a week, which might be a bit much, but if I actually do go to bed earlier, I can squeeze in a bit of extra reading time 🙂

12. Take at least 2 family trips – Ideas include mini-vacation, camping, cottaging, or maybe even a beach vacation….

13. Date night once a month – My husband and I rarely find/make time to go out on a date and I vow to change that this year! We will go out on at least 12 dates – nothing fancy, just dinner and/ or a movie, something like that – a chance to catch up and focus our attention solely on each other, rather than dividing it between us and the kids.

What are your goals for 2013?