Welcome to the first hump day of 2017….haha, I couldn’t resist!
I hope you’ve had a good week so far. Many of us are returning to work after a lovely holiday vacation. I enjoyed my time off but to be honest, I’m glad to be getting back to my regular routine!
Now that December is really in the rear-view mirror, it’s a good time to look back and review what my running goals were for the month and see how well, or poorly, I did. And instead of dwelling on my shortcomings, I’ve got plans to make January even better!
I’m joining Ange and Carmy for the Monthly Goals Linkup! I’ve really enjoyed participating and keeping myself accountable each month. Be sure to check them out!
I’m also linking up with Susie, Debbie, Lora, and Rachel for the Running Coaches Corner and Annmarie, Nicole, Jen, and Michelle for Wild Workout Wednesday!
[bctt tweet=”It’s a new month, time to look back on December’s running goals and forward to January! #runchat” username=”Janelle_RWNR”]
December Running Goal Recap
December was a long and extremely month but unfortunately, running wasn’t a big priority for me. It took forever to recover from Thanksgiving hosting and then I had to start getting ready for Christmas! I’m ashamed to say I still haven’t sent out Christmas/New Year’s cards…it’s probably too late at this point. But regardless, let’s look back on how my running goals fared for December!
- Focus on building full-body strength. Grade: B+. This went pretty well in December! I continued to take yoga, spinning, and barre classes throughout the month and I know that it has made a difference in my overall strength. I tend to neglect my core, so yoga and barre have been crucial in getting stronger!
- Overhaul my meal planning. Grade: C. I made some improvements but this still isn’t where it needs to be. Bret and I have agreed on days where we’ll be responsible for dinner, so that’s helped a lot. I still need to make more meals in advance and make it part of my routine.
- Run 2x per week. Grade: D. While I thought this was a reasonable goal, my motivation to run was almost nonexistent in mid-December, and I only had 6 runs the entire month. Thank goodness half marathon training starts this week and I’ll get back to routine!
January Running Goals
It’s a new month and a new year so I’m all about hitting the ground running, pun intended! I was far too “sleepy” in December but now I’m getting rid of my excuses and getting back to being serious about my running! We’ve been blessed with pretty decent weather so far this winter, so I need to take advantage of it!
- Commit to a training plan for the Love Run Half Marathon. I’m currently not working with Coach Kristy, so I need to find myself on the right track for half marathon training! I’m not sure if I want to find a plan online or work with a coach, but I know I need to get back to consistent running!
- Complete the #CFGStreak for January. City Fit Girls is hosting a running/workout streak for the month of January, and my goal is to make it to the end! Even if I’m just doing pushups and planks for a few minutes, I want to make sure I keep active every day!
- Make 2 wholesome meals each week. Towards the end of December, I finally got inspired to make healthy meals! Now I want to commit to that. I have so many healthy dinner recipes on my Pinterest board; I just need to pick one and make it happen!
Since my workouts have been pretty lackluster these days, I don’t have much of a workout recap to share. Trust me when I say I ran a few days, practiced yoga, and did lots of barre. Unfortunately, barre makes my calves cranky and running has just been so sluggish lately! The good news is that next week I’ll be back in the groove of sharing regular weekly training recaps!
How did you do with your goals in December? What is your biggest health/fitness goal for January?
I have not done monthly goals post but I like the idea of that! You can so do the healthy meals thing it’s really easy once you get into it.
Even though you didn’t run, at least you cross trained! I don’t think it’s a bad thing that you gave your legs a little break from the road.
Yes, I do think my legs needed the break whether I want to admit it or not! I just hate feeling so “rusty” now though!
I have a really hard time being consistent when I’m not training for something specifically. But you probably needed that bit of time off running before your next cycle anyways.
I think your right! Hopefully I have some easy runs that feel easier than the last few that I’ve had!
Happy New Year!
While I’m not about resolutions, I think it’s great that you continue to set and prioritize goals for a healthy well-balanced life!
My January goals:
1.) Select a training/run plan for the Disney Princess 10K
2.) Prepare 2 balanced meals per week
Help me stay accountable? #JJFit
Happy New Year! I think those are great goals, and please let me know how I can help! Maybe we could start up another #JJFit cooking challenge??
My December goals were a big flop, but I’m hoping to kick January’s butt!
Hey, it happens…and you had so much going on! Onwards to January!
I want to cooook this January! That is my goal. And to do some great strength workouts while I can’t do cardio!
Hopefully you share some of your recipes and workouts on your blog!! Great goals!
December is a hard month for workouts and healthy eating. I know for me, getting out of my routine makes finding motivation about 10x more difficult. Good for you for still cross-training and quickly refocusing for January! The CFGstreak sounds really interesting and motivating!
City Fit Girls is a great community for women and they occasionally put on these monthly challenges to get people motivated through social media. I think it’ll be fun. I’m looking forward to starting fresh this month!
December was rough schedule-wise for me too. Just happy to be back in routine now that the kiddos are back in school! Here’s to hoping January is a lot more productive 🙂
Glad I’m not the only one who struggled, but thankfully it’s in the past now! I think January is going to be great!
The extra running rest in December was probably exactly what your body needed for a stronger spring training season!
Sometimes running just isn’t what you need, looks like you did great with cross-training!
I love how you set a goal of making 2 meals per week in January…much more attainable than overhauling a whole program, lol. Your January goals sound great…best of luck!
Thanks a lot, Michelle! When it comes to meal planning and me, I have to take baby steps!
I haven’t recapped my December goals (daily planks, push-ups, cardio, streaking, etc. plus different daily workouts), or written out my January goals…but I have been active. Stay tuned….that’s coming on Friday 😉 FOr not having an official plan, I have been staying on track…so far.
I’m not surprised at all that you’re keeping on track! I’ll have to check out your new goals!
Oh I feel you on the not running thing… I ran after my marathon but not nearly as much as I was hoping to. I really wanted to maintain a 10+ mile long run but ended up more around 6 miles. Lol! Oops… I’m starting training again this week too and it feels so good to be held accountable again.
My workouts have been less than eventful for the past few weeks (especially since my gym was closed for 2 weeks for renovations). Like you, I’m looking forward to getting back into a routine.
Love your goal of cooking more wholesome meals. That’s something I am working on too!
Great goals this month and best of luck to you! I need to be more consistent with my workouts, but so far…off to a good start! :] + yay for cooking at home! I need to meal-prep this weekend!
Re: Running in December/winter, I always find motivation dwindles too. Sounds like you’ll get back on track with half marathon training, though! That always gets my motivation right back up too!
Yeah, I was the same way about running in December. I hadn’t run much since my December 3rd half marathon at all. But I’m starting training again this week so have to get back on track!
It’ll be fun to be back in training mode!
I didn’t do much either during the second part of December. I want to get back to my routine now that the holidays are over, and normally I can. I did a 5k on the treadmill yesterday, and will do some more strength training today.
Sounds like a plan, Lesley!