Training Status Update

I announced a few weeks ago that I was going to follow a training plan for the first time in years. So, how’s that going, you ask? My response is that it is going well, but not great. I am definitely working out more days per week than I have done in the recent past, so that’s good. And I’m 100% for my holiday running streak of one mile per day Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day. But I have missed some workouts too. Mostly, it’s because I’ve been stressed out or, more commonly, just lazy. I’m still really good at giving myself an excuse to skip a workout or to swap it with another day (that doesn’t usually work). But I’m not giving up. I’m sticking with the plan in spite of my unscheduled rest days. The plan is good, and I am capable of following it…if I choose to.

Things I have done to empower myself to stick with the training plan:

·        Enlist in the support of friends through Facebook. Unfortunately, I don’t have an in-person training partner, but I do get some motivation sharing my progress with some of my friends who live out of town.

·        Purchase some new running gear. I now own three pairs of running tights that fit. These will be used for cold weather runs, eliminating the “I don’t have anything to wear” excuse. Yes, it’s going to get cold this winter, but I have the right clothes, so I can dress for it. I also just ordered a new pair of sporty sunglasses, so I’ll have fun trying those out (my old ones had rubber pads on the sides that kept getting caught in my hair, pulling hair out every time I took off the glasses).
 
The new Julbo Gloss sunglasses that are on the way to me; same brand as my old ones, but these are definitely an upgrade
 
·        Keep a workout log. I’ve never done this before, even though it’s such a simple, basic thing that many people do. I have my workout plan organized as a spreadsheet in Excel, and after each workout I log what I ACTUALLY did against the PLANNED workout. I put in the pace I ran, the weather conditions, and how I felt. If I did cross-training, I log the details of what I did. I color code the box RED if I completely skipped a workout, YELLOW if I did a workout that was less than what I planned, or GREEN if I did the workout I planned, or even better. Seeing the red boxes encourages me to do better so that in the future there are more green boxes.

Perhaps even more importantly, I have not thrown in the towel just because of one missed workout. It’s not all-or-none. As long as I continue to log more successful workouts than failed workouts, I’ll keep going on my existing plan. Developing new habits is hard, so I’m cutting myself a little slack as long as the overall trend is good.

Question: How do you stick to your training plan?

Comments

  1. AnonymousDecember 2, 2014 at 10:06 AM

    Answering the question: same as you, but no computer excel spread sheets, but rather on paper and my bathroom mirror ;)....
    Good for you on not tossing in the towel with a single missed workout....and I'm finding getting a solid 7-10 days under my belt helps a LOT!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sandy HugillDecember 3, 2014 at 7:47 AM

      Yes, I've seen the photos of your mirror! Whatever works!

      Delete

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