I love the start of a new month – so full of new possibilities. As most of you know, I always like to set a couple of goals for the month – it helps to keep me on track. But first, here’s a quick recap of this week’s workouts.
Week 9 – Setting Goals for March
Monday — Full Body Strength, Core & Stretch. Jess did not mess around with this workout and her Mary J. Blige playlist was on point.
Tuesday — 1.5-mile walk & Yoga. Once again I stacked a few of Peloton’s 10 min. Focus Flow classes concentrating on hips and hamstrings.
Wednesday — 3.2-mile run, Upper Body Strength & Stretch. So much black ice! I managed to stay upright so that was a win!
Thursday –– 4-mile run. It was a bit warmer and there was much less black ice to contend with. I finished the workday with a much-needed sports massage.
Friday — 2-mile walk & Core. I had planned a Peloton ride, but another poor night of sleep (it was a theme all week!) left me dragging, and it just never happened. The midday walk and core was a nice break in the day.
Saturday — 4-mile run, Core & Stretch. I opted to sleep in and run around noon. It was a good call – the temperature was 20 degrees warmer.
Sunday — 3-mile run & Stretch. 4th day of running this week!
March Goals
As I noted, today was the first time I’ve run 4 times in a week in quite a while. Shifting to 4 runs/week had been one of my February goals, but a combination of scheduling & feeling various aches kept this from happening. So this will now be among my March goals:
- Lay the foundation for half marathon training — 4 days/week of running and extend my “long run” to 8 miles by the month’s end.
- Opt outside daily — The goal is to run all of my runs outdoors and on my off days to head out for a walk. With just 14 more days until Spring, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the weather will cooperate (i.e., no more snow/ice storms!)
- Make sleep a priority — My sleeping was so poor this past month so I’m going to focus on what I can to set myself up for success. That means stepping away from both my laptop and phone earlier in the evening, adding in a stretch or yoga class before bed, and being consistent with my end-of-day meditation.
What have you got planned for March? Any races? Starting training?
I’m linking up with Kim and Deborah for the Weekly Run Down. Join us!
hope you figure out what is causing your sleep troubles! That is the worst. Look at you running 4 days a week. Nice job! When is your half?
Deborah Brooks recently posted…Hello March! Weekly Run Down
My half is Memorial Day Weekend – I haven’t run a half in what feels like ages!
Great job this week, Michelle!! I need to consistently bring back a 4th day of running, too…but I’m on the bike so much, LOL It’s going to be tough to lose some biking miles in exchange for running. Maybe I can come up with an every-other week thing? I make myself get outside every day (most days it’s a “GET to,” not a “HAVE to”), so I’m excited to hear how that works for you this month. I just realized I will hit Day 500 next month 😉
It sounds like you have a good plan for ramping up for your Half. Are you likely to get more snow? Even if we don’t get snow, sub-freezing temps leave our damp sidewalks slick.
Ugh on the sleep, though. I hope you get some rest soon.
The lack of sleep is starting to drain me so I’ve really got to get this figured out.
Wow 500 days is an awesome streak!
Okay, fingers crossed for good weather for you! Getting outside every day helps tremendously.
Ah… sleep. I need to make sleep a priority (haven’t I said that in the past? Sigh.) It seems like I always get slightly too little, and then every once in a while- like maybe once a week- I have a horrendous night where I hardly sleep. It is the WORST! I hope you can resolve your issues- it sounds like you’ve got a lot of good tools there.
Your sleep pattern sounds like mine. Hopefully, we’ll both figure out it.
Nice job getting in those 4 runs!
I hope that you can get better sleep going forward. You’ve been so happy at your new job, I was kind of surprised you’re functioning so well if you’re not sleeping well!
I think in the NE we’re all with you on no more snow. Although we actually didn’t get a lot of snow this Winter. And what we did get is gone for the moment!
I’m largely functioning on adrenaline and good vibes so far where the job’s concerned – but better sleep would certainly help!
I’m with you on the sleep issue. I wake up in the middle of night wide awake. Ugh.
Great news about the job.
I try to get 4 runs and 3 rest days.
Which half are you training for?
I’m hoping the snow leaves so I have more places to run. No big races in March but a half in April. My goal is just to stay healthy and be consistent.
I’ll be running Boston’s Run to Remember at the end of May. I haven’t run an in-person half in over 2 years – I hope I remember how lol.
Staying healthy and being consistent always sound like good goals to me!
Love your tights in the top pic! Sorry sleep has been a bit elusive lately. I hate when that happens and it throws off my Lumen’s morning reading too. Love your goals! What half are you running?
Those tight are actually an old Skirt Sports pattern – it’s one of my favorites.
Interesting that you’ve seen sleep impact your Lumen readings – I should pay closer attention to that.
I’ll be running Boston’s Run to Remember on Memorial Day Weekend.
I’m so happy to see you running strong again. I want to bring that 4th day of running back, but I’m waiting until the weather improves. Right now the pool running is my ‘4th day’. I can’t wait to not worry about black ice! Or any ice for that matter.
Pool running as your 4th day seems to be working really well for you – I wouldn’t rush to change that, especially with the weather being what it is.
Looks like some great goals you have set for March! In March My March goals are:
– Focus more on mobility work. I plan to add 10 min to my morning routine.
– More relaxation. I plan to meditate or power nap after my studies more often.
– Use my phone 15 min less every day. I want to bring the daily average down to 1h 45m.
Hopefully, we’ll both succeed, or at least improve towards our goals.
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Love your goals! Here’s to a great March!
I’m a terrible sleeper so I totally feel your pain!
Glad the ice didn’t trip you up, pun intended. Black ice is so scary!
Ugh I’m sorry to hear you struggle with sleep too 🙁
Nicely done on the baby steps to four days, and I’m with you on opting outside. So essential for our mental health. I have had some bizarre dreams of late. Do not like
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I wonder what’s causing the strange dreams?
Great goals that will set you up for success for a half marathon! I love the idea of just getting outside every day, it makes a big difference!
Thanks Jessie!
A couple of weeks ago I set a goal for myself to get into running (and even cross country) this year and, more importantly, do well at it. While my progress has been incredibly slow to date, I want to make sure my goals aren’t unrealistic and that there is enough time to achieve them without having to rely on family/Friends and/or other means which may or may not be reliable — especially considering the current environment. As this was an unanticipated move we had to put off (and even if there is good news at the end, that might take me longer than March, especially when it’s already so close), and we also have a toddler who can be fickle — we don’t want him to miss out in trying new things either as he’s seen what’s happened up to now. Having said all that, I also made note of other goals as well: So here I am after having read a few “running related tips and tricks”, thinking “maybe there’s something I’m missing, maybe there is…” After about 2 hours on Google the problem that stood out the most was that none of these tips seemed like they would hold…