Goals to Crush

Another year, another summer, another half-marathon down! I ran the lululemon SeaWheeze Half Marathon on August 15th, 2015, and the weather was pleasantly cool, allowing me to crush my goal/guestimate of 2:45. I finished in 2:31:53 which was a great experience, and I had a fantastic time right up until the last 2km or so. I was better with my training this year, and had I not missed 2 of my long runs, I know that last 2km would have been much less painful.

Anyway, I know I’m not a fast runner, but I’m so proud of what I’ve done this year with my running. I can’t wait for the next race! (Spoiler alert- it’s the 10k during this.)

As the seasons change, it’s the time of year again when I revisit the Whole 30. I’ve been wanting to get back on the wagon for a while now, but with a job change, some travel (I love San Francisco!), and the usual summer happenings, there hasn’t been the best chance. Now, my new office is running a health-focused theme for the month of September, and the person who drops the highest percentage of weight over the month wins $500 to use towards fitness things (not sure exactly what that entails, but I’m guessing gear, since we already have a generous monthly fitness reimbursement). Given that, and my lululemon addiction, I am SUPER motivated to do this and crush more personal goals. So the time is NOW (or more specifically, September 1st).

Not only that but I’m excited to get back on the Whole30 train again! In the two years since I heard about it for the first time, it’s blown up, and now you can find tons of recipes of great things to make and beautiful photos, without ever leaving social media. The Whole30 recipes Instagram is a great place to start, and I’m very eager to try some new things.

This year I want to get a veggie spiralizer so I can get into making vegetable noodles, and it’s high time I invested in a proper cast iron frying pan. Also, I want to really extend my Whole 30 thinking longer than just the month, and stick to it right through to my weight loss goals. I can see that being possible, given my great results last year, and I don’t want to waste the hard work!

I found that last year, after the half-marathon and the September Whole 30 were done, I pretty much gave up on everything for the winter. When Spring rolled around and I had a 5k race, I was out of shape and my performance was miserable. I don’t want to repeat that! I’d love to keep my running going for the mental health benefits as well. There’s nothing like that runner’s high, and the good muscle ache of a solid long run.

I’ve also signed up for a spin class once a week at my neighborhood rec centre, and I’m a little nervous, but excited to see how it goes. I’ve heard that spin cross training helps with running speed, and I’d like to have a class to go to for a change.

Anyway, I’ve rambled on enough! Exciting times to come, and hopefully I’ll have some photos and stories to share with you!