Tagged: habits
Half-Marathon Training
Greetings Friends,
If you missed week one of training you can catch up on this post: https://livefitwomensfitness.com/2015/02/12/half-marathon-training/
It is so cold here and the snow just keeps falling, falling and falling. Not the greatest recipe for the opening week of training as I want to stay curled up on the couch with coffee, my leg warmers and a good book.
This week I put one foot in front of the other as I began my half-marathon training. I had a fair amount of days that I wasn’t feeling my run but after completion I was loving the endorphin rush and boost of positive energy.
Here’s a recap of the week:
Week one Half Marathon Training
I always loved interval workouts and Wednesday I hopped on my treadmill and ran my 400 repeats. I broke down my desired mile pace for the half-marathon and my time for sprinting the 400’s (2:07) and took about a 3-4:00 minute break of running in between to fully recover between all four of the 400’s. I was able to finish up this interval (track repeats) workout in around 30-32:00 minutes. Thursday I ran 3 miles in around 26:00 minutes. Running on the treadmill has been a little hard to jump back into, but over time I will start to get used to it again.
Sunday I hit the local gym with my sister in law and we ran 3 miles on the treadmill in around 27 minutes.
I want to encourage you this week with this: Don’t Let comparison steal your joy.I was working with a training client who has done absolutely amazing. She started comparing herself to other women in the gym. I stopped her in her tracks and I said “Don’t ever compare yourself, stop and look how far you have come.” She is able to lift heavier, run farther, and hold yoga poses longer. My friends don’t waste your time comparing and worrying about everyone else’s journey. Focus on putting one foot in front of the other and running your race. Those comparisons creep up everywhere from the gym, to at work, church, and between you and your friends. God has us exactly where he wants us and the beauty is found admist the struggle of overcoming the tough stuff, whatever it is in your specific life. This reminds me of such an important lesson this week. To stop comparing my journey to others and to focus on putting one foot in front of the other.
“May The Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.”
2 Thessalonians 3:5
This week my prayer is to try to become better at focusing on how to love like Christ and to pray for his perseverance when I am feeling weak. To appreciate exactly where he has me in this specific season and to not allow comparisons creep in to steal the joy the Lord fills me with.
Here is my half-marathon schedule for weeks 2-3:
Happy Running, Blessings
Michelle
Week 2: Keeping it simple in 2014 fitness challenge
Week 2 scripture verse: “apply your heart to discipline and your ears to words of knowledge.”-proverbs 23:12
How did week 1 go? The first week of any new change is difficult. Set backs often pop up and this is how we learn how to get back on track (instead of giving up or thinking you can’t do it, BECAUSE YOU CAN!) Creating a healthy lifestyle for yourself at first isn’t going to be easy but over time it will become routine and your will thank yourself three months from know!
Think small victories this week. Last week was all and all rough for me. Things came up, my plans often altered and I had to adapt quickly. I was still able to squeeze in 4 workouts and I am slowly eliminating my sweet tooth. Don’t be overly hard on yourself. I often clung to last weeks memory verse, looking for The Lord for help when things were spiraling out of my control.
Small victories could include: cutting back on the coffee(tough for me, but creamer has a lot of sugar), taking the stairs instead of the elevator(with a baby car seat is pretty intense:), drinking 8 glasses of water, eating the color of her rainbow and fitting in 3-4 days a week of cardio.
Lifestyle change takes time and to make these healthy habits part of our daily routine focus on the small victories.
Physical and spiritual fitness requires discipline. We can all understand that we need discipline but to actually put it into practice is hard. I found this quote in Food, Fitness and Faith: ” life’s greatest rewards usually require lots of work, which is perfectly fine with God. After all, he knows that we’re up to the task, and he has big plans for us.”
Challenge on challengers, I have loved hearing about your progress. Don’t forget to put this verse somewhere were you can see it along with your two goals for this month. #livefitin2014
Blessings, Michelle
Week 1: Keeping it Simple in 2014 Fitness challenge
Week 1 Scripture Verse:
“I lift my eyes to the hills- where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” -Psalm 121:1,2
Evaluate yourself this week. Pick two goals that you want to work on throughout the next month. Write them down and put them along with the week one scripture verse where you can see them and are reminded of them often.
Share them with your spouse, best friends, sister, brother. We are much more likely to hold ourselves accountable to goals when we have shared them with loved ones and written them down where we can see them.
How crazy is it that only 8% of Americans who set a New Years Resolution follow through and actually achieve their resolution.
I am defiantly convinced that living a healthy and fit lifestyle is more then fitness. A fit life is having a fit relationship with God, fit relationships with those we are close with , with our finances and our career. These are all things in which unfortunately we are never going to arrive in!Oh how I wish we could! We have to keep working at them each day on a continual basis. Your goals may be more related to maybe fitness in your finances or a relationships, we all are going to be a little different on this journey. When I fall into a good workout routine(I feel confident, physically able to tackle any task, accomplished) most of all I find focus. I then see other area’s of my life become more consistent and overflowing with vibrant life. I say this often:” you have to plan your plan and then you have to work your plan!!”
Good Luck, When you are feeling weak or have fallen of path don’t throw in the towel. Be reminded that ultimately we can’t do this life on our own. Look up to the hills and ask the Lord to give you help. The first week in any type of fitness program or lifestyle change is that hardest. Be reminded of that. I am giving up sweets, because they are my biggest weakness and they become a false sense of oh, I think they will make me feel good in this situation. Usually I end up thirsty, sick, and realizing I was eating to run away from my problems when I should have looked to the lord for Help!
Don’t forget to #livefitin2014 and post your goals this month on Live Fit’s Facebook page (like button is on the sidebar) for accountability and support throughout Week 1! We are on this journey together friends!
Blessings, Michelle
Live Fit Women's Fitness 