I’m proud to say that I’ve discovered that I’m incredibly forgiving to myself. I have not run on either mornings of Days 2 or 3 and yet managed to continue to maintain a sense of self-respect. :p
What happened? Well, it was a combination of insomnia (the pressure of the run! oh no!), sheer laziness, and a morning meeting at work that thwarted my plans. Excuses, excuses – I know.
The point thought is not to give up, but to start again. I don’t intend to self-flagellate myself, so a modified plan might be my way of succeeding in my goals. While I knew I have never been a morning person, I thought I really could do this. After all, even though it took some time to change my routine, I’ve somehow transformed into a person who actually does her make-up properly in her home (and not while driving in the car), eat a leisurely breakfast at home with my partner, AND pack a lunch for work everyday. All these habits took a lot of discipline and years to form – about three to four years! As I write this, I realize that it not only took a desire to take pleasure in these things (make-up, eating breakfast, and making lunch) to begin creating a habit, it took a recognition of the process to get there.
A noteworthy accomplishment in getting closer to my goal of working out in the morning (for me) is in the fact that I want to go to sleep earlier than I have been. I’m in bed – with hardly any grousing – by 10 PM. That really is something! I’m just not yet in the habit of falling asleep at that time, and it may take some time to do that. But while setting my original goals was not a bad thing, it was probably too big an expectation on my end to think that I’d immediately and successfully convert to a new lifestyle. I took a project management class recently and learned the basics of planning, developing strategy, tracking progress, and logging what-went-right & what-went-wrong scenarios. Seems to me that these very concepts should applied in my little goal to run 15 minutes every morning!
As I mentioned, I am modifying my goal with some additional planning. I had to ask myself, What is the big picture? What do I want to accomplish with this seemingly random desire to run in the mornings? Well, my hidden motive behind this desire for a whole lifestyle change is that I really just want to enjoy my evenings! I want to go to happy hour. I want to read a book in the comfort of my bed at night. I want to catch a movie before it’s too late (the showing around my areas are so inconvenient!).
Currently I’m done with work at around 6PM, I go to the gym and I’m at home at 8:00 PM for a late dinner which probably concludes around 9:30 PM. It’s not fun! I want to be done at 4:30 PM, head to dinner/drinks/ movie/ company and be in bed by 9:30 PM for a nice page-turner. That sounds more like it! What if I become a parent? That is the weirdest thing I’ve ever thought about… I can’t fathom the thought – that’s a whole ‘nother issue!
Back to managing my goals here. 🙂
Objective: Get to work at 8AM and leave work around 430PM, with a workout completed in the morning.
Completion goal: Beginning of November (when daylight savings ends).
Strategy: Each month should have a goal and a milestone. Knowing that I love rewards, I will incorporate some if I accomplish any of these things! yay!
Progress: Instead of even trying to track my goals daily, I will track this weekly/ monthly.
Contingency Plans: If I get injured, then I can work out on my core, workout with my Pilates videos at home, or alternate workouts (spin? elliptical?). If I have problems sleeping or trouble waking, I should go for a walk around the block rather than do my makeup and have oatmeal or yogurt at work.
Planning & Milestones defined –
May – focus on/ refine sleep schedule (asleep by 10PM)
*May 31 – attempt to run 1 mile in the morning at least once a week for the month. Get myself out of the apartment to do something active.
Reward – a massage!
June – assess whether I enjoy the process
*June 30 – continue to add to the number of days a week I exercise. Get up to 2-3 times a week for 2 weeks in a row.
Reward – a new belt!
July – re-assess, re-define goals as necessary (half-marathon upcoming in August)
*July 31 – increase duration of exercise, incorporate swimming. 2 days a week (morning) + try to do 1 training run (either morning or evening) & 1 long run (weekend)
Reward – a new cardigan!
August – continue to re-assess, re-define goals as necessary (half-marathon month)
*Through August 22 – increase duration of exercise, incorporate swimming. 2 days a week (morning) + try to do 1 training run (either morning or evening) & 1 long run (weekend)
*Week of August 22 – recovery, light workouts in the morning
Reward – I deserve a reward for finishing a half-marathon! 🙂 A massage!
September – re-assess, re-define goals as necessary (recovery after half marathon)
*September 30 – workout 3 times a week in the morning, vary exercises as necessary (light walks, shorter jogs 1st half of September)
October/ November – goal should be realized.
*October 31 – Should be working out 3-4 days a week in the morning. Vary workout types at least once a week or every other week.
*November 30 – Should be varying workouts comfortably (weights/ yoga/ etc. once a week).
This whole project to re-systematize (is that a word? am I using that correctly?) my life might be an utter failure. Or it may be a success that I do not enjoy since I’m a pretty established night owl. It will be interesting to see if my vision is the stuff of my imagination!
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