Run Jac Run 🏃🏻‍♀️

How to get over a bad run

Understand we all have bad runs, in fact you can bet you will have a couple during your training cycle. Not everything goes perfectly, obstacles get in the way, nutrition, sleep, muscle recovery, the course you choose, hydration plan.. so much goes into your runs and most of it is just automatic- you fall into a rhythm. So, when you are faced with the defeated feeling of having a bad run, here are some tips that might help to get over it:

1. Feel the pain/upset/ anger… embrace it but be ready to let it go at the end of this. It is OK to pout about it… but IT WAS ONE BAD RUN! that doesn’t mean you have lost all fitness and will now run bad the rest of the cycle!!

2. Cry if you need to. Yell if you need to. Do what ever you need to get the frustration out! As much as you should embrace it, you also need to let it go! (cue Elsa singing “let it go”)

3. Understand it is ALL mental! Mental blocks, what is going on? Do you need to work through something?

4. Figure out the trigger point of why it was a bad run… was it your nutrition? was it that you needed to rest your legs? are you pushing yourself too hard? was it too hot/cold and you didn’t dress properly? Are you getting enough sleep? Do you need a rest day?

5. Talk to your friends.. runner friends usually understand a bit more, but anyone would… just vent out your frustrations! They will come through with some great advice!

6. Remember your WHY! It is so important to have a reason WHY you run, WHY you are pushing yourself… this is the reason to get out of bed in the dark, early, cold mornings and push yourself to run the mileage you need to. Without a reason to do it, there’s very little motivation to make you do it. Motivation goes only so far, then comes determination.

7. Stay positive! It is so easy to go into a black hole of negativity, but it is important to remember you need to stay positive. Rant and rave all you want, but only for a short time.. then pick up your panties and GO! (not necessarily to run, you can take a rest… but mentally!)

8. Schedule a confidence boosting workout… something easy or FUN that you will enjoy. I tend to like to run with friends; guaranteed slower pace because we are talking and laughing the whole time. But have also found that this helps to improve our breathing tremendously. Imagine being able to talk and have full conversations at 9:45-10:15 min/mi and then when you run without talking/ or a friend and you are pulling off sub 9’s like it’s not problem! It’s because you CAN DO IT! You trained yourself … along with some speed work

9. Name your next run REDEMPTION RUN! goes along with the easy fun paced #8

10. Ultimately, you just need to understand that one bad run doesn’t make you a bad runner and it doesn’t mean you won’t hit your goals. One bad run doesn’t mean the world is going to end.

One Word Resolutions

There’s a new trend to choose one word for a resolution to focus on for the year instead of long lists of goals. It’s interesting and as much as I love my list of goals for the year, I must admit it is daunting! I know I won’t accomplish all of them, but I will give it my all to try to focus on them.

I do want to also choose one word to focus on, as a mantra… to push me forward. The word that stood out to me (there were quite a few) but I choose THRIVE.

I want to THRIVE in 2020. Thrive in family life, my romantic relationship, friendships, health, emotional well-being and of course… RUNNING!

here are a few words to choose from if you need some ideas:

If you have a word you want to hold on to for 2020, please share it in the comments!! You can check out this site and it also has directions to help you choose YOUR WORD!

Also, completely unrelated- except maybe sort of related… if you don’t want to set goals or intentions, or choose a word.. that’s OK too! Hell, its OK to not be excited for the new year and the goals you might have been excited about last year. Sometimes, we fall into a funk, honor the funk and then get out. Reach out for help. Someone is always there ready to listen. This is coming from my dear friend who expressed she wasn’t excited to start training for the half marathon we signed up for in March. She knows she can conquer the distance already, and it isn’t much of a challenge; she also isn’t interested in trying to increase pace much… we chatted and I lent an ear, but also had some words to share.

growth mindset
start training and if you just aren’t feeling the love, honor it and defer the race
It’s more important to have fun and enjoy than force yourself to do something you don’t want to do.

How to Help the Australian Bush Fires

I am sure many of you have heard about the Australian Bush Fires and how widely spread they are, how uncontrolled they are and how devastating this is impacting our future and Australia.

Here are some quick facts:

480 MILLION animals have lost their lives
ancient forests have been lost due to these fires
Temperatures are rising to 100 degrees Fahrenheit with strong wind advisory (leading to a more catastrophic fire spread)
23 people have been killed in the bush fires
As of Monday afternoon, six people remain missing.
Over seven million hectares of land have burned in the fires. According to The New York Times, that area is six times the size of the 2019 Amazon fires.
At least 1700 homes have been destroyed across the country in the fires.

I have never been in this bad of a fire, but Southern California often goes up in flames, and when everything is engulfed it is hard to function. We had weeks of extremely poor air quality, friends houses burned down, people lost a lot… so if you are interested in donating, there is a virtual run taking plan on January 18th and 19th, where you donate $50 to Australia Red Cross: Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund (100% of proceeds goes to them) and you can sign up for a 5k or half marathon. You get a shirt or pair of socks as a thank you, but honestly they need our help. And if you can incorporate fitness into it, even better!

I will be signing up for the half marathon, doing it at my pace- going slow… but this is my way of helping them. I hope you can do something too! Check out Run Relief!

If you would rather just donate directly to them here is a link: https://www.redcross.org.au/campaigns/disaster-relief-and-recovery-donate

New Years Week Training (Week 7- 10K)

T-minus ONE WEEK till the race-iversary happens. Am I nervous? HELL YA, but I have put in a lot of work to get my pace faster and improve on endurance. And, honestly I am pretty confident I can do this, at least I am hoping that the race endorphins will help me and get me moving faster and keep me going.

MONDAY- Plan: 6 miles on bike and abs and legs work out
Actual: 7.5 miles total but 6 miles hard and 1.5 miles cool down plus arms and legs

Does anyone else feel like these last 2 weeks are a little weird ?? Like idk haha

TUESDAY- Plan: 3.5 miles Tempo (8:52 pace)
Actual: 1 mile warm up, 3.5 miles tempo (attempted race pace), 5 minute cool down I had to stop at mile 1.5 (after warm up) to take a breather. I am definitely not used to running at these speeds and my legs were HEAVY today. But! Complaining and excuses aside, I am very happy with my run. I kept repeating to myself “I get to run!” In all honesty I didn’t expect to run today because I assumed we were doing some fun family stuff… but I was happily surprised when Jesse said “wanna go for a run?!” And I jumped at the chance!

I finally got a running selfie to be proud of! Will be doing more 2020! Lol

From #2-5 (3.5 miles) my pace was a little erratic but pretty close to the pace I wanted!

WEDNESDAY- Plan: 5 miles Easy
Actual: Legs felt dead and super heavy and tight. I used my massage stick and massage gun for a good 25 minutes in the morning, but also just felt tired so decided against a run and went for a walk! Sometimes you just need to adjust your training to make sure you aren’t overworking yourself, also I should have already started tapering for the race. I can’t believe how warm it is for January! Especially since just last week it was rain storming like crazy and super cold in the 40s!!! San Diego weather is back!
mileage: 4.5 miles

Sunny and in the 60’s on New Year’s Day!

THURSDAY- Plan: 4 x (1600m RP + 400m Rest)
Actual: treadmill speed play!
800m warm up at 3.5
1600m at 7.1
400m at 3.5
1600m at 7.1
400m at 3.5
1600m at 7.1
400m at 3.5
1600m at 7.1
400m at 4.7 (cool down)
Some stretching, but it was already past 6:30am and I was frantic to get out and get ready for work.

Apparently my phone is now just taking fuzzy pictures

FRIDAY- Yoga Class- signed up for class pass for January and will be attending a 75 minute gentle yoga class, so it will be an active rest day!
Actual: I did attend the yoga class, and now I know why it says gentle… it was for older people. So, it was not challenging at all, but it was a good stretch that my muscles enjoyed. It was also VERY relaxing. Absolutely no sweat was broken so it was more of a meditative class than anything… except my hips do feel a lot better!

SATURDAY- Plan: 6 miles easy with 15 min Strong Finish!
Actual: done! But the whole thing felt very sluggish, I was not mentally prepared for this run. I didn’t want to get out of bed, I didn’t want to test out my whole eating beforehand and what not. I couldn’t find my dang water bottle! Not the best start, but I went out there and did it. I felt it was much easier to go slow today and didn’t want to pick up the speed. Which is sort of worrying because I feel like I’ve “lost all my speed” but I know I haven’t. I did do a strong finish for about .25 miles lol. Honestly, my legs felt so heavy. Excuse ahead: I wore new combat boots yesterday that seemed to weigh 2 pounds each and my legs struggled just walking yesterday so I think it took a toll on me today. In fact, I know it did!!

Tried on New compression socks from Amazon today too! Not sure if they helped, but they kept my legs warm when I needed them too lol

Saturday afternoon: taking advantage of a classpass deal going on with ONE FREE month of classes! I signed up to do some rock climbing! 😝 it was actually bouldering (as we did not have harnesses)! We kept to the basic beginner walls but had a blast! The 2 hour window was more than we could handle but we were there for about 80 minutes. This was a really fun addition to cross training and it focused on OUR WHOLE BODY! Arms and back are feeling sore! But the best kind of sore! 🥳❤️

This section was hard and I jumped off shortly after this was taken

SUNDAY- Plan: 3 miles easy
Actual: Easy paced 4 miles – maybe it’s the taper crazies but I wanted to keep going and pushing the pace, luckily I was running with a friend who hasn’t run in a while and so I paced with her. We kept a very modest 10:12 average, and in all honesty I was pushing her faster than she wanted but she was thankful in the end. (Or so she says!) I felt like I could keep going and run faster and longer but I know I need to save this energy. Bottle it up! Keep it for Saturday! I also had a very difficult time capturing pictures, sun in my eyes, sunscreen getting my eyes… not pretty… take a look 😂

Again hahaha like I’m so confused and also dripping sweat for it being an easy run I got hot!

Cute pic of Brooke, I tried to get us both in the shot, but this was the best I got

This one looks like I’m running away from her lol. but I was trying to pick up the pace, she was slowing way down and after she verbally said she was OK I said ok then pick up those feet we gotta increase speed a little!

Planned Weekly Mileage: 22.5 miles

Actual Weekly Mileage: 20.83 miles (not counting the walk or biking 😊)

Christmas Week Training

How do you make sure to get your training in while still putting in maximum effort with family, friends and holidays? Seriously, though… because I have no idea how to.

Monday- Rest

Tuesday- Plan: Orange Theory/ 2miles Easy + 5x 1:30 HR(hill repeats) + 2 Easy
hill repeats: 8:00min/mi
Actual: 5.5 miles stroller run- incredibly difficult today Originally I had planned to go to try a free class at Orange Theory with a friend from out of town, but unfortunately we couldn’t make it work. It was Christmas Eve, after all! So, instead of letting the day get away from us, I took little man out and bundled him in the stroller for a blustery run. It was HARD! The wind was howling, everything felt heavy… but I know that these runs, even done slowly- are better than anything! Better than cross training at times, imagine this: you are pushing against not only wind but also pushing a ~30 pound stroller with a 40 pound kid in it! This helps to improve my strength and aerobics! And I have really seen improvement in my paces from these runs 1x a week. It is so hard though, and I am left so exhausted, but I know it is making me a better runner for it too.

WEDNESDAY- Plan: 5-6 miles (9:15-9:40 min/mi pace)
Actual: Christmas and family time took over, and that’s OK!

THURSDAY- Plan: 3 miles Race Pace try for no walks in-between
Actual: 3 miles faster than race pace! But I did have to stop for a little bit as it was a fast pace I couldn’t hold!!! Today wasn’t the best day to be trying to hold paces, I needed to run with my heart and get stress out. Unfortunately when we woke up this morning, we found our living room flooded from all the torrential rains.

FRIDAY- Plan: REST

SATURDAY- Plan: 7 miles at 9:20 pace Actual: sadly had to skip because Jesse went out fishing and Hendrix didn’t want to cooperate in the stroller. But we did do a little walk to the harbor and got in about a mile and then I got to run a mile back to the car. Jesse stayed with H while I got the car to pick them up. So that was a nice welcomed quick run. I was hoping to have Hendrix go on a nice walk along the bike trail but he had other ideas… fishy ideas 😂

SUNDAY- Plan: 4-5 miles easy Actual: 7.73 miles at 9:36 min/mi average. Felt really nice to be out there and the pace was super mellow, didn’t feel like I was pushing it AT ALL! Which is so surprising because not too long ago I couldn’t hold that pace for long. So this makes me super happy! And I know I could push it more but I had to keep telling myself to slow down and just enjoy because this wasn’t a race, simply a slow long run.

Total Weekly Milage: 16.24! (Not including the mile or so I ran back to the car since I don’t know the actual milage)

My Running Relationship

I may have only started running 14 months ago, but I was involved in sports my whole life. Imagine, little 3 year old me doing gymnastics and swim. Imagine a 7 year old with the dreams to go to the Olympics in gymnastics and spending upwards of 24 hours in gym every week. After I lost interest in gymnastics, I turned to soccer and softball. I played soccer for over ten years traveling and competing. I was also on competitive softball team for a couple years.(I go from one extreme to the other, but can you tell I am competitive in all that I do??) I wasn’t the best on the team, but I held my own. So, you see… I have always done sports. I have always been physical- it has always been my outlet. But as I grew older, I turned my back on physical activity, and just recently I found it again. It is my savior. It is how I stay sane, it’s my “me time.”

My relationship to running- or really anything I do that I have a passion for, is ALL IN. I dive in head first and don’t think about consequences till it is too late. I devour as much knowledge as I can, I question it all, I research, I read, I write it out. It is just WHO I AM.

And sometimes, my obsession with my passions cause waves in my relationship. When I have a goal race coming up, I turn all attention to training- and during those peak weeks, things can get a little strained. I require more sleep, healthier foods, more time out running, and get snippy at times. Jesse, luckily, braves the ups and downs, but also makes it clear how irrational I can be at times.
This is a cycle that still happens, and I really try to focus on why it is happening and understand how to not let it get that way. But, I am still working on it. The main thing is that, he and Hendrix understand how important me running and working out is. Because they have also seen the side of me when I don’t get to run- I am worse. I am sad, depressed, mad, and I lash out too much. I sound lovely, don’t I?

More often than not, I do my workouts in the early mornings before anyone wakes up. But there are times when a friend will ask if I want to workout after work, and I always jump at the chance. But, that does mean more time away from Hendrix and Jesse… so I try to not schedule those too often. Sometimes, I get to include Hendrix in on the activity. Jesse always takes a back seat, he is not a runner- we do other things together, like kayaking, surfing and paddle boarding.

But anyway, let me tell you how I got into running. I had already lost about 20ish pounds from diet and weights/some cardio, I was happy- I felt great! BUT! I was missing the challenge aspect. Things were coming easy, and what better way to push yourself than with something you have always sucked at?! I could never run more than a mile, but what was #1 on my bucket list? A marathon. How would I ever run a marathon if I couldn’t run more than one mile. So, I went to my little apartment complex’s gym and hopped on the treadmill, and I tried to run. I mentally gave up within 5 minutes- probably running at a 10:30 pace. I was WINDED! EXHAUSTED! but not defeated. I knew if I kept working at it, I could get a mile down. I hopped back on that night and forced myself to finish my mile. My ego was a little bruised but I was happy, I had a starting point. I kept going. I found an app called Aaptiv and it jump started me into running and strength training. I fell in LOVE. I have since cancelled Aaptiv, because the one trainer I loved left, and I wasn’t benefiting much from the app anymore. But, I am so thankful to have tried it and gotten into running. Without that app, I wouldn’t have done as much as I have in the last 14 months.
In the last 14 months I have: run a 10k in under 1 hour, run a 5k in under 30 minutes, run a half marathon in just over 2 hours, run an obstacle course 2k and a 5 mile (coming up) and even gotten my son interested in running! When I look back at this past year- sure there were arguments with EVERYONE about my training schedule, people thinking I was doing too much and burning the candle at both ends, or just questioning why I would even want to run for fun… but what really sticks out is how PROUD I am of myself.

I wake up happier knowing what my body is capable of, and even prouder of the fact that I have so much more to prove. Will I ever be the fastest runner? heck no. Will I ever place in a race? 100% no. But, you bet I will have a smile on my face after that run is done!

I have found that in order to stay motivated, I have to have goals. I have to have a plan. I am, after all a type A personality. I thrive on lists and goals.

Current Goals:
– Sub 54min 10K
-Sub 2 hour half marathon
– running the streets of San Diego! I normally stick to north county (about 45 minutes from down town, but 2020 I need to branch out more and run the streets I will be running during the marathon!)
– Cross training- biking, yoga, Pilates (gotta stay flexible and strong for all the miles I need to run)

I have a dear friend creating a training schedule for me, I want to incorporate some Pilates and yoga into my cross training so I have more sources of strength. And, me being a “coupon clipper” I have found some great deals in my area that are offering new students GREAT discounts. So, I have some good plans for the beginning of 2020 and staying on track! I am nervous to see the running plan, but I have faith in myself and my coach/friend!

Week 5- 10K training

The week before Christmas… sometimes this time of year it is hard to get training in; especially with sickness being passed around but also FAMILY time! Currently learning to juggle these things without having too much on my plate. I am a little upset with myself for not completing the long runs these last few WEEKS! How am I supposed to maintain pace if I haven’t ran more than 1200m at that pace!? Ugh, I am going to suffer greatly.

MONDAY- Plan: 10 miles on the bike w/ arms and core
Actual: 8 miles on the bike w/ arms and core work (34:51 min total for the 8 mile ride with hills and resistance of 5!) I really look forward to Monday’s and biking, it is a welcomed change and I try my hardest to not slack on it and go hard so it can translate to gains in running! This ride translates to 4.21 min/mi!)

Planet Fitness has some of the WORST lighting ever lol.

TUESDAY– Plan: 3 miles TR (7.0 treadmill pace/ 8:51)
Actual: 4 miles total…. 3 miles Tempo Runs (aiming for 8:51 pace) I decided to take this one outside, I wanted to run with the sun rise, I missed it so much- and I did just that. Since the sun comes up a bit later than when I like to run, I “slept in” and headed out the door closer to 6am. It was COLD! (for me and San Diego, let’s face it other people are in the dead of winter in single digits or dealing with feet of snow. It was probably 45-50 degrees haha) I wore my thicker leggings, lime green thin wind breaker (that keeps heat a lot) and gloves. And, today… I kicked butt! I was worried I wouldn’t be able to keep up that pace, but I proved myself wrong and even did negative splits and when I was finished I felt like if I needed to, I could have kept going. Which is a good feeling when you know that a 10k is 6 miles and not 3 lol.

Triumphant selfie! so stoked I was able to keep up with the paces and excel!

LOOK AT THOSE BEAUTIFUL SPLITS! GORGEOUS! AND NEGATIVE SPLITS FTW!!!

WEDNESDAY- Plan: 5-6 miles Easy
Actual: SKIPPED! Because I felt absolutely wrecked from my super long (15+ hour) work day yesterday.

THURSDAY- Plan: 3 x 1200m RP + 400 R (~4 miles w/ warm up and cool down)
Actual: Sprint sesh done and done! (3.5 miles) Felt aaaamaaaazing and strong!
Then this afternoon I had so much energy, I finished my work early and decided to cup out and go on a run. I didn’t want to just head to the gym, so instead I went to this little trail loop (that is only like 1.5mile loop) and ran around there. I changed in the car and headed off, I was supposed to be aiming for an easy pace, which for my pace is supposed to be like 10:10. I am not sure HOW to slow down now, I jetted off at kept it in the low 9’s… which is really really great especially for trail running!! I also normally get super exhausted within a quarter mile of running on trails, it must have something to do with the uneven ground and how it takes so much more concentration to not fall down! Plus lots of little hills and stuff. But, anyway, I’ve done this trail loop a few times over the year and today was the first time I actually KILLED it. I have never felt this strong on a trail run… EVER! I got to enjoy the sunset, I got to enjoy golden hour and ran around for 30 minutes to get my energy out. It was perrrrfect! Sometimes just being outside surrounded by nature and running is the best medicine.
Total miles: 6.72 MILES

FRIDAY- Plan: REST
Actual: REST but I fit in a little walk during lunch to keep it an active rest. (~1 mile)

SATURDAY- Plan: 8 miles LR w/ 10 min SF (strong finish)
Actual: 8 miles w/ sorta strong finish I decided to not pay attention to my pace and just run on feel. I wanted to just enjoy the sun and music and run. I didn’t want to worry about pace or exhaust myself. Just get the miles in. I’ve had to skip my long runs the last couple weeks due to being sick so I took it real easy. #smilesformiles

Along the coast locals like to decorate the trees for Christmas 🎄

SUNDAY- Plan: 4-5 miles Easy
Actual: 6 super easy/slow/ recovery miles with Christine! Christine is building up her miles, coming back from an injury so we plodded out slowly on the trail near our place and I let her set the pace.

10:41 average pace… slow and steady but great company!

Total Weekly Planned Mileage: 24-26 miles

Total mileage: 24.71 woo hoo! Just a little sore and legs feeling heavy from meeting all my mileage but overall really good!

Week 4 Training 10K

I have been battling a cough, not just a congested cough, but something that is taking my breath away. I am not able to breathe deeply, I am wheezing slightly and just feeling ill all around. Every time it rains it seems to get worse. So, I took last weekend off to try to heal and rest.

Monday– Plan: 3 miles at tempo pace was contemplated.
Actual: 1 mile on the ARC trainer (killer), 8 miles on the bike and STRENGTH(arms, back and legs!)

Tuesday– Plan: (if I feel well) 3 mile at tempo pace. 0.5 miles warm up, 1 mile TR (6.8 on treadmill), 3 minute walk, 1 mile TR, 3 minute walk, 1 mile TR and cool down 0.5 mile.
Actual: SKIPPED- I was having trouble breathing last night and my legs and back are sore, I decided to skip this- even though I know I really need to do some tempo runs! Right now, it is very important I take care of my health and this chest pain/ breathing.

WEDNESDAY- Plan: 5 miles easy pace
Actual: SKIPPED!

Thursday– Plan: 3x 1200m RP + 400m R- RP= 8:41 min/mi
Actual: 3x 1200m RP + 400m R- RP= 8:36 min/mi and 5 miles on the bike! Obviously feeling much better, sometimes it pays off to skip some workouts to make sure your health doesn’t plummet!

Sweaty selfies after treadmill and bike!

Friday- REST

Saturday– Santa Claus 5k RACE+ extra mileage to make it 8 miles total for the long run day
Actual: 5k race and a PR at 28:16! We did not get the extra mileage in, I was HUNGRY and tired and cramping up, so we decided to not continue on and push too much more.

Sunday– REST
Actual: 4 miles with Hendrix in the stroller on an insanely windy day!

Total mileage- UNSURE lol
But, I feel a lot better and my cough has gone away (for the most part)!

San Diego Santa Run 5k

Last week I had the hankering to find a race before the end of the year. I ended up finding a Santa 5k… and yes, everyone dressed up as Santa! We were participating in trying to break the World record for the most Santa’s running a race at once! I invited my friend Courtney, who turns out to be a damn speed demon! She has been running slow with me this whole time and not letting me know I’ve kept her back! 😳 but it was so great, we went out strong and fast and were clocking 8:30s! I did not prepare well to go out that fast! I didn’t eat anything, I drank COFFEE! I was thirsty, I had to pee! I didn’t warm up, my muscles were tight… I could go on and on! Ugh… not a smart decision. But I learned a lot this race.

Oh, ya! I did PR! I was 44 seconds faster than my last 5k, coming in at 28:18! So that’s cool… but I know now a couple things… don’t drink coffee- it dehydrates me and makes me have to pee A LOT. Eat something beforehand… small and power packed, warm up your body and do dynamic stretches! Also, fricken roll out your muscles and stretch/yoga! Good gracious!

I was plagued with cramping calves, we were running a slight hill and it really got to my legs. It almost turned to Charlie horses. I had to pull over to the side and stretch, I was trying not to take too long but once we got back to it my legs went AGAIN! And I defeatedly had to ask to walk for a minute or two. I couldn’t keep it up. We walked for about 45 seconds, I caught my breath, my legs started to loosen up and we went back out slower. We finally hit the last turn around and it was downhill (literally) from there. My legs were way less stressed going down and I was able to pick up speed. As we rounded the corner I had some gas in the tank leftover and so did Courtney… she noticed I picked up the pace and said “are we doing this?” And I said “OH YEAH!” And we sprinted the last 100 meters. Courtney is FAST! She can SPRINT.

NEW Official time: 28:18 PR ALERT!!

Garmin time: 27 something (it probably automatically stopped when I stopped to stretch)

After our race we disrobed quickly from the Santa costume… it was HOT! these costumes are not running friendly, no breathing fabric at all. Then we walked back to the car to put our goody bags away- we scored some free swag and snacks and such. Grabbed our ID’s and wallets and began walking back to get a free drink! Much deserved!

Pre race! And so proud of this pace even with cramping legs and stopping to walk for a bit!!!!

Meeting the grinch- nicest grinch we’ve ever met!

2020 Resolutions/Goals

I love making lists. (I’m sure you’ve noticed!) I like being able to check things off, scribble them out, put a line through it… all of it. So, you better believe I also have a written down list of goals. But I also want to share them with you. These are my goals for next year. Will they all get done? Nope! But, that’s ok! Because I know I will look back on this throughout the year and see what it is I can work on. Some of these goals were my last years goals that I want to keep working on and some I never actually even did (cooking healthy did not happen haha). The one difference between last years’ goals and this years is that I don’t want to lose weight, but maintain weight; which I have found is a little more difficult because it isn’t just being in a calorie deficit, it is about feeding your body the right things and staying active. As you increase your activity, you get more hungry! So, it’s always adjusting your intake to match the output of calories too. Between 2017 and 2018 I lost around 36 pounds! Compared to others, it isn’t much, but I know I look like a completely different person and feel like a new person! By January 2019 I was at my “goal” weight- but I felt too thin! And by goal I meant I was happy with how I looked and felt, but it wasn’t necessarily the goal I thought I wanted. When I first started losing weight it was all about hitting that perfect number, 110 pounds. I have not hit it, I don’t want to hit that.. in fact, when I was at my slimmest in January, I thought.. hmm I could stand to put on a pound or two of muscle. So, it really isn’t about the number on the scale.

Here are my goals for next year:

Continue reading one book a month- I have mentioned this before, but I am part of the Book of the Month Club where I get to choose a new book each month and read to my hearts content, whether it is historical fiction, thriller or romantic sappy comedy book. I absolutely enjoy reading and will continue to put this on my list. After Hendrix was born I wasn’t reading, and I was so sad.. but I picked up a book and realized I missed it!
Journal! I love writing things out on paper, (hence my liking to write lists)- sometimes it feels repetitive with blogging and writing, but I know I need to get back into this. I even have journal apps on my phone to jot down my feelings as they come!
Run/walk/scoot/bike 2020 miles, ~168 miles a month. Current mileage is around 130 miles a month. – this is for the Run the Edge challenge that I took part in this year. It is a great motivator to keep moving! Each 100 miles is another milestone completed. I really like this and it is a lot of fun. Plus, there’s a lot of support online with this group. Some people even finished their 2019 miles in JULY! Like, wow… at first I was jealous- but then I realized we all have different availability. I can’t manage 12 miles every day like others. Some of them are retired and they walk all day. Some of them might be busier than me! But, it is great to have the motivation.
Sub 54 minute 10K – this will take some work! My PR right now is 56 minutes. So cutting off 3 minutes is not impossible, but it will mean I have to work on it! And I am excited to crack down and get it!
Sub 2 hour half marathon- current PR is 2:09. That means shaving off 9 minutes! This is not impossible, because I know I was injured during my race and had terrible cramps- so if I get my hydration down and strength, I can totally conquer this!
do more speed work outs and strength training!– this will help with getting faster and not getting injured!
Be more positive!– I liked to be positive, but at times I can go down a hole of negativity, and I want to work more on looking on the bright side of things. Also, staying present and enjoying the moment.
Ride bike more, to get more comfortable on the road
Cook more! (healthy foods lol not just baking chocolate cookies)
Bring lunch to work – stop spending so much on lunch
Eat a more balanced “diet”– I want to incorporate more fruits and veggies into my days. I don’t like saying diet, but I hope you understand what I mean, I just want to eat more greens. I don’t believe in the diet culture- like Keto, Atkins, Paleo… I think that restricting al those carbs will back fire once you stop the diet and eat “normal”
Meditate daily – I used to do this with Hendrix each night, and it helped us so much to sleep better and deeper, I would really like to get back to this! It was so calming and relaxing. I miss it!!
Stretch more! Stretching is so important to being a good runner, and I need to put aside more time to stretch properly after my runs! Also, don’t do static stretching before running, soooo bad for you! Dynamic stretching is where it is at, it will help! promise!
Spend less time on my phone– I have a bad habit of scrolling through Instagram and Facebook all day, and then go home and scroll more! In total (and this is so embarrassing) I probably spend close to 5 hours on my phone! And then, I am in front of a computer ALL day working. Ugh, I need to cut this down to like 2-3 hours I think.
Don’t dress so “comfortably” dress with more style! I have the clothes for it, but sometimes I get in these slumps and just dress for comfort and it is not work appropriate. It is like sitting on the couch appropriate. So, I would like to work on my style more. Since losing weight I did have to overhaul my wardrobe. I’ve tried to wear some of my “bigger” clothes and tuck them in differently but they really don’t flatter me at all, so I have had to get pieces of clothing and stock up on things. It has cost a lot of money, but it is something that needs to be done so I don’t look so frumpy!
Do more selfless things – volunteer somewhere, donate more, do something that gives me no benefits.
Pamper myself more– Funny I should put this right after I say do more selfless things, but everyone deserves a pamper session every once in a while. Whether it is a bath tub and wine, facial, face mask, pedicure/ manicure, massage, hair cut… I need to do this a little more without combining it with needless shopping.
Continue working on being happy. For so long my goal was to be happy- and now I am, it is about maintaining the happy- putting myself first in some cases and not burning the candle at both ends.
Save money – I want to put together a financial plan,one that will allow me to pamper myself a little and spend fun money, but also save money! This is tricky, but doable!
take an art class– I love art, always have. If I could take an art class and brush up on my skills, that would be so awesome!
Keep working on my blog 🙂
Practice more mindful eating – Sometimes I find myself snacking on food when I am not even hungry, so I want to make sure I am doing things mindfully.
Set aside time to hang out with friends– Enjoy good food, a fun run, good conversation.
More date nights– It’s important to set aside more time for me and Jesse to be a couple and not just parents to an (awesome) kid. 2019 we did get to go on a few dates, but making it more of a requirement would be good for both of us. Instead of just 1 every 4 months!
Stay on top of health– Ugh! I am the worst at this, I don’t go to the doctor unless I am dying, and even then I will try to figure out how to get better without them. But, when it comes to my son, I am at the doc at the drop of a hat. So, I want to make this a priority for me! Doctor and dentist visits in the near future.
Continue to love myself ! In the last 2 years I have finally figured out how to love ME! I put so much effort into this journey of loving me that I never want to give it up. I spent so many years hating myself; my body, the way I thought, how the world was- I played the victim and allowed my past traumas dictate my future. But after a lot of inward thinking and work- and a lot of therapy sessions, I found out how to turn things around. Honestly, I loved therapy and didn’t want to give it up. But, my therapist came to me and said “Jacquie, you are no longer coming to me with questions on how to fix things but sharing with me how you are fixing your own problems. I think at this point, you don’t need therapy.” It was a happy moment, but sad at the same time. She allowed me to stay for a few months until I was ready to say goodbye. And boy, we both cried. This loving yourself thing is a never ending journey, and I look forward to my relationship with me. Actually, I have a promise ring for myself. It is a beautiful (albeit very cheap) rose gold ring. It reminds me to put myself first, love myself unconditionally and remember just how damn strong and amazing I am. I love my ring, and everything it stands for.
COMPLETE A MARATHON! My dreams are coming trueeeee! I signed up for a marathon! I had a “2 year plan” for running. 2019 was to do my first half marathon and I always said 2020 I would do a full marathon. For a while now, I was under the assumption that I wouldn’t do a full. But things are just falling into place and I AM DOING IT! And I have a coach! 💪🏽

What are your goals?? How are you going to complete them?!