Who needs reality? How goals go from crazy to SMART.

Today's blog brought to
you by the letter R!

One more lesson in goal achievement!  Today we're going to hunker down and focus on the R in SMART goals.  As you know already, SMART goals are those that are Specific, Measurable, Action-based, Realistic, and Time-bound.  The R gets me every time...my eyes tend to be a little bigger than my stomach when I set goals, so I have a hard time accepting the reality of what my goals should be.

You see, when I sit down to make goals, I almost immediately jump to the physical manifestation of what I want my goals to provide: a totally excellent bod. 

And by totally excellent bod, I mean this:

Yes. I want to look like a comic book character. I'd be willing to bet that most people do on some level, eh?  I realized it a few years ago when actually reading a comic and finding myself strategizing ways to force my body into emulating what I saw drawn on the page: a petite, teeny-tiny waisted, lean and muscular nymph of a girl who balanced the forces of evil and swooning boys all in a day's work. It was a total fantasy, and once I snapped out of it and realized that I was, in fact, not a nymph but actually a 34-year old mom who needed to unload the dishwasher and make lunches for the next day, well I'll be honest I felt a little defeated.

But anyway, back to the goal setting part.  When I started realizing that I was spending a lot of time trying to make my body become something that defies the laws of physics, I started dissecting my goals to make them more realistic without sacrificing what I really knew I wanted. In other words, I refused to take no for an answer but was willing to negotiate. :)  No, I wasn't going to travel back in time and freeze my growth (and metabolism) at age 18, but I could develop some of the attributes of those comics girls that I admired, like strength, agility, and a bad-ass attitude.  I've succeeded!  I may not have illustration-worthy proportions but I do sometimes feel like I can lift a small building or out-run a freight train. 

The point is that while SMART goals are realistic goals, any goal worth pursuing has some basis in fantasy. We're surrounded by inspiration at every turn: media outlets constantly project unrealistic ideals that trigger the creation of unrealistic goals every day.  I suggest that rather than reject that, we build on it.  Swoon over your goals, fantasize about them, and even draw them out on paper if you want to.  Embrace what you really want.  Then, dissect.  Get down to the meat of what that visual goal represents to you. For me, it was strength, speed, and a functional (and kick-ass) body. That's where we get real.  That's where we get realistic goals.
   

You don't have to abandon your goals just because they're unrealistic. That's where incredible goals start!  Think up something crazy today, and turn it into a SMART goal.

Two of my good friends write the brilliantly inspired blog, Girls Gone Geek, which supplies plenty of inspiration for someone in the market for super powers.  Check it out.

I could use a sidekick.

January Beckons...do you have goals?

Okay so it's time to start thinking about goals for next year. Do you have 'em?  I do!  But you knew that.

This was a fantastic year.  I can't seem to wipe the silly grin off of my face when I think of all the wonderful things that happened this year and all that I achieved in my wellness.  2011 promises to be even better, if I can imagine it.  And of course I can!

So here goes!  My goals for 2011!  I can tell you're just dying with anticipation.

1. Get faster. I spent a lot of time racing this year and it was a lotta lotta fun.  But I'm tired of just participating. I want to get better! Faster! Make some PRs and really become competitive.  So, two of my morning runs are coming inside on the treadmill for a while so I can amp up my speed and start getting used to a faster pace. 

2. Get more smarter. Have I ever mentioned to you how much I loathed school as a kid? Well apparently that is not something you grow out of.  But, if I want to pass the exams to get the certifications I want, I gotta hit the books.  Personal Trainer and Wellness Coach certifications are goals so....I'll be needing some flash cards. *sigh*

3. Get certified.  See above. Not only learn stuff, but remember it long enough to pay lots of $$$ and pass an exam, neither of which will be conducted anywhere near my home.

4. Get fun! There are so many really fun events out there to do with friends and I am tired of seeing other peoples' pictures of them. So I am planning on at least one Rock and Roll Half Marathon, the Mud Run, and if I can swing it, the Warrior Dash. 


Have you started thinking of your goals and plans for 2011?  Tomorrow we'll talk more about making sure they happen!


Good day!

Half-Marathon Ants in the Pants

I am jumping out of my skin to run my first half marathon on Sunday.  I'm so excited to get out there and see what my time is so I can set a benchmark for future races. 

 I can't believe I waited so long to do this!

And I am trying to be very very good and not train myself to death in these last few days leading up to it.  I've done a couple of easy 3-mile runs, a couple of 5-milers, and planned to do 7.5 miles this morning but opted for the elliptical instead to try and keep some chest congestion at bay so I am not sick on race day.  But I have to admit - taking it easy when I thrive on going all-out really cramps my style. 

I definitely have ants in my pants. 

And this weather - OH MY LORD THIS GORGEOUS WEATHER - just begs for running.  It feels like a sin to not go run when it is this nice outside. 

I just might have to log a few miles at lunchtime.  I don't want to be a sinner.

Anyway, to distract myself I have started looking at the race calendars for next year and daydreaming about which ones I will do.  The idea of traveling to big races so I can run in new, exciting towns seems like a lot of fun, and the Twin Cities Marathon, next October, looks like it would be a great goal....for 2012. LOL  I do want to do a marathon in 2011, but I think it will be one a little closer to home.  After that all bets are off.

So here are my race goals for next year:

• 1st Quarter: one half-marathon, one 10k, and two 5ks
• 2nd Quarter: one half-marathon and maintain with some 5ks
• 3rd Quarter: summertime - icky running weather - so just maintain with some 5ks
• 4th Quarter: one triathlon and one marathon

Got ants in your pants for a great 2011?  Take some time today to put pen to paper and commit yourself to some stretch goals!  Check out this goal-setting guide for tips on how to get started.

Good day!

Can she do it? YES SHE CAN! But she might not.

Warning: I am going to get all self-righteous-motivational-speaker on you.

Removing the word, "can't," from my vocabulary has been one of the most revealing things I've done for my personal wellness.  It's a cliched motivational-poster-type thing to say, but a really helpful thing to do.  I mean, when you really pay attention to the number of times you say you can't do something, it starts to take a toll on your self-esteem, doesn't it? Some people go through their entire day belittling themselves with reminders of all the things they are unable to do.  That must suck!

They can't eat healthy, they can't exercise, they can't get places on time, they can't do

wah wah wah. 

Yeah, get over it.  I'm busy too.  What they're really saying is, "I won't."  It could be, "I haven't yet," or "I don't want to," or "I didn't," but rarely is, "I can't," a true statement. To be clear, I am referring to things not bound by the laws of physics. :)

I hear it in the gym all the time and it just pisses me off.  Erika can tell you first-hand about when she told me she couldn't run.   How sad it must be to go through every day feeling like a miserable failure!  So I started challenging myself to really stop saying it and be more honest about what I was really saying.  After a while, I started applying that rule to my life outside of the gym, too.  At work, at home, and in relationships with people, I found that when I stopped short of saying I couldn't do something and honestly admitted that I just plain didn't want to, I had not done it yet, or I wasn't going to, I was a lot happier.  Maybe I am imagining things but I think the people I communicate with are happier too. :)

I often hear people say they can't live without sugar, can't wake up earlier to exercise, can't run or jump or whatever, and believe me there have been times when I have believed that about myself.  But I know we can, we just don't want to. And that's okay as long as we realize that some of our goals will not be fully realized until we do. 

Listen to yourself over the next few days.  How often do you catch yourself saying you can't?  What are you really saying?

Working the Negative

Today at the gym was all about working the negative. It was chest, biceps, and shoulders day and as a result, my eyeliner is a little wobbly. Ahhh....you know it was a good workout when you have not yet regained total use of your arms by the time you have to leave for work.

But before I did my first BOSU ball push-up, I had already spent a full 60 minutes working the psychological negative. After a weekend of nutritional choices that were, hmmmm, less than ideal, and facing a week dotted with lunchtime obligations that would keep me from my running game, I couldn't wait to hit the gym and work my cares away. I needed a good sweat, some warm worn-out muscles, and a swift kick in the pants to snap out of the negative zone I had been in for the past three days.

Unfortunately, the negative stayed with me for my hurdle training. I got to the gym early and set up in the parking lot, grumbling about how it could already be 73 degrees and 250% humidity at 4:30 in the morning. As I set up my hurdle and started on my drills under the curious eyes of other early-morning exercisers jogging past, the little voice in my head asked who I was kidding. My high-knees were pathetic. My trail leg drill was amateurish. I watched my reflection in the gym's dark window and wondered if I would ever become good at this. And I did 15 more.

The negative nagged at me during my first round of cardio, too. Doing bike intervals is usually a fun, high-energy way to start the day. But this morning, all I could think about was how my quads looked a lot more defined last week than today. I knew I needed to get positive soon, so I bumped up the resistance and pedaled harder.

Finally climbing off the bike to hit the weights, Captain Awesome set up a little circuit and informed me that we would be working the negative. "Whatever," I thought. "Like it will make a difference." I grimaced at myself. Was this really me? Why couldn't I snap out of it?

I finally felt the stress and negativity start to melt away as I concentrated on slowing down the negative effort of each exercise, really focusing on the movement and resistance of the weight. As I dedicated my attention to visualizing my muscles at work, I began to feel more like myself. And finally, when Awesome and I high-fived and congratulated each other on our hard work, I was awake.

I went in for my second round of cardio with somewhat renewed vigor. I was still angry at myself for losing focus over the weekend, but somewhere between doing karaokes in the parking lot and incline hammer curls in the weight room, I had made amends. I realized that working the negative was going to have to be part of the rest of my day. Meaning, that I was going to have to find a way to make the negative energy that is inevitable in life work for me. By harnessing the frustration I have in a goal not met and using it instead as energy to try "try again," I can more easily forgive, forget, and ultimately get over myself and move on.

Get over myself and move on. Now that's what I call resistance training. :)