January 4, 2010 - Day One

Well, I have had a successful Day One of training!

• I planned well the night before, having my breakfast laid out, my lunch made and packed, and my dinner planned.

• I went into school on Sunday afternoon and prepped for the week so that I will be able to take off fairly quickly each day to get my training in before dinner.

• As Monday training called for a swim, I arranged with hubby so I could use the car, got the boy organized so he could come with me, and I packed my swim bag the night before.

• I even got my vitamins out into two containers, ready for morning and evening.

So this morning, I ate my planned breakfast, didn't even finish all the food I packed for lunch, got my swim in after school, ate a healthy dinner, and even fought the cravings to eat chocolate in the evening. I am feeling virtuous to say the least.

It's really not that hard to follow a new plan for one day. You are motivated, excited, energetic, and well planned. What's hard is staying on the plan for more than a few days. Well, I should qualify that - I can usually stay on the training plan, more or less, but keeping the rest of the my life in order - eating healthy, getting enough sleep, being organized - tends to fall by the wayside. Letting that stuff slide, increases my stress and fatigue which ultimately impacts on my training performance.

If I try to identify the cause of the inevitable backslide, I can usually attribute it to laziness after dinner. Whether it's the watching TV (my old addiction), or sitting at the computer (my current addiction), I seem to get into procrastination mode after dinner, and lose momentum. So the real challenge, and perhaps my 2010 resolution, is do to the evening prep every night. And that includes the stretching and yoga. And getting to bed at a reasonable hour.

Of course, I've said this before. It's the toughest part for me. That's going to have to be my focus for the next few weeks. They say it takes about three weeks to create a new habit. I guess mine should be:

1. Make breakfast/lunch during dinner prep or right after dinner.

2. Turn off the computer by 9 and do my stretching and yoga.

3. Get into to bed no later than 10, maybe even earlier.

Identifying problem areas and being proactive will help you achieve your goals. Figure out what stops YOU from meeting your goals and plan to nip them in the bud.

Training Notes

My swim felt great today. 30 minutes of easy swimming. Didn't need to stop for a break at all. 1000m done. Could have pushed and done 1200m but my shoulder felt a bit clicky from being out of use. Better to ease into it I think.

Tomorrow - 30 minutes on the elliptical. My shins are still aching so I won't run until they feel better.