Setting Goals

Two years ago this March, I made the decision to take full responsibility for my health and well-being.

In high school, I was a multi-sport athlete and an extremely active person.  I had always taken solace in physical activity.  In fact, when my grandpa died my senior year, my method of coping was to run down to the soccer fields and kick the s*** out of my ball.  When a boy broke my heart, I went for a run.  Sweating has always been more satisfying to me than crying.

The transition from high school athlete to college student was a difficult one.  Without a coach watching over my shoulder, I couldn't discipline myself into an exercise routine.  I gained some weight (the classic "freshman 15"), and my skin broke out.  Being away from home was difficult, and I wasn't happy with the major I had chosen.  All in all, it wasn't a pretty year for this girl.  After a whole school year of feeling unfulfilled and unattractive, I started coping with exercise again.  I was still undisciplined and my exercise schedule was nowhere near regular, but it was a start.  The next year found me working part time as a group exercise instructor, running on a regular basis, and studying the brand new (to me) field of athletic training.  Until March of 2012, I would go through phases of physical activity.  I'd run for a couple months, then get bored and take a break.  Then I'd become unsatisfied with myself again and find a new form of exercise for a couple months, then take another break.  It was a stuttered regimen, but the breaks grew shorter and I began to push myself harder.  It was like learning how to be an athlete again.

Like many others, the catalyst for my lifestyle change was a terrifying medical emergency, which I'll talk about later.  Since then, I have run more than 500 miles.  But exercise isn't enough in any case.  If I am to accomplish my long-term goal of being a good example of health for my loved ones, there are many smaller, more short-term goals I must reach:

• Drink more water (6-8 glasses/day) and less coffee (2 cups/day)
• Cook more and cook "healthy" (I have only cooked for myself twice since moving to KY in July)
• Get at least 6-8 hours of sleep every night
• Stick to the half marathon training schedule (start on February 24)
• Run a half marathon in May and finish in 2 hours!!

This might seem pretty simple, so let me break it down.  As a graduate assistant athletic trainer for a small Division I university, my hours are wicked.  In addition to my full class load, I also work 40-50 hours during the week, and cover all games on the weekends (including travel).  So I tend to replace sleep and water with coffee.  Seriously.  It's not unusual for me to consume 3-4 cups of coffee before noon, and then I'll wash down my mediocre lunch with a couple more cups.  So that just needs to stop.  You might be able to imagine, knowing what you know about my work weeks, that it could be a bit dodgy trying to stick to a training schedule.  But if I'm going to run this half-marathon in May, I need to discipline myself.  As for the cooking (or lack thereof)...my teensy-but-adorable apartment is equipped with neither a dishwasher nor a garbage disposal.  I HATE doing dishes, and I HATE having to scoop out little remnants of food from my drain.  So naturally, cooking gives way to eating sandwiches, canned soup, and spaghetti.  Waaaayyy too much spaghetti.

This blog will help me overcome a lot of these obstacles simply by holding me accountable.  And hopefully, over the next 14 weeks, the adjustments I make to my daily schedule will harden into habit. I plan on continuing my use of the MapMyRun app to log my running, and I'll blog about food and water intake and sleep schedules.

Yesterday was a pretty ok start for me; I ran 3.3 miles but did not drink any water or cook.  I'll have to try a bit harder today.  I was able to get 6 hours of sleep, but it took forever for me to fall asleep.