Goal Setting

I have nothing to report wrt training. Could not drag my sorry butt out of bed this morning. I have no excuses. Just did not feel like running. So I thought I would add a little post on how I set my goals. Cause many people have ideals, but they do not have goals...the two are very different. I think when you start setting goals, these are the things to think about:
The goal needs to be SPECIFIC. For example, for me to say, I want to run a half marathon, is an ideal. I want to run a half marathon next May is more specific.
The goal needs to be MEASURABLE. I want to run my half marathon in under two hours.
The goal should be ATTAINABLE. I have done half marathons before and have been close to getting under 2 hours but for those that maybe haven't, I think you need to believe you can do it before you have ever even set the goal. ie. I believe I could do an Ironman someday, but that would be whole other set of goals to get there.
The goal should be REALISTIC. I would love to run my half marathon in around 1:40, but probably not realistic for me.
The goal needs to be BALANCED. It has to fit in with the rest of your life. Family, Physical, Business, Social, Spiritual and Community are my tests. If one of these is taking over, time to reasses things.

Weekend Training

The weekend as far at training went pretty good. Got out for my run on Saturday morning. Snuck out before anyone was up in the house and got 1 hour 45 minutes in. It was c-c-cold!! My hands and fingers were very cold and my thighs and butt were bright red when I returned home. My hair froze to my touque. Just a sniff of what is to come in a few weeks...yikes! But the run felt good, saw lots of people on the trail, and that always keeps me going...if they are out there, then so should I. Ran around the city on Saturday afternoon doing errands. Got up Sunday for my swim. A decent swim but drills, drills and more friggin drills!! We did a warm-up and the main set was 3 times 6 x 50s. Each set of 6 was a different drill. ARGH!!! The coach actually gave me hell at one point cause he said I was not paying attention...which was true, I just get bored and then sloppy. Was intending to get on my bike on Sunday afternoon but my girlfriends called and wanted to come over to watch the football game. One is just back from Brazil and one just back from NYC so we had lots to catch up on and lots of pictures to look at. Watching a football game is a bit trying with them, as they have no idea of the rules. And neither of them is very "athletic" so selfishly, I like to "brag" about my triathlon training as they are always SO impressed!!! But it is always good to get together with good friends and I figure the laughing we did yesterday should be considered an ab workout...

Jeepers negative people tick me off...

So, I try not to have too many of these people in my life. There are some I just cannot avoid and I try to ignore them but somedays, it just gets to be too much and I find myself putting a little vent on my blog. There is a person that I see on occasion that has started to really annoy me b/c everything that comes out of their mouth directed at me is just plain old negative. Do they not like me? Are they jealous of something? Do I care? But it just gets to be a bit much...you know? I would love to just come out with a zinger and leave them reeling one of these times, but then I would look like the bitch and the "high-road" always the one to take.
Okay, I am done now, just had to add this little blurb. My two best gal-pals are on their way over to watch the football game...I am sure they are bringing booze...and I can complain more to them!!

End of the week

Boy oh Boy, I have had an up and down day today. Did not sleep very good last night, Luke was up at 3:00am and I tried to ignore him, even put my earplugs in so I would not hear him crying...that sounds awful but I am convinced his little getting up in the middle of the night routine is strictly attitude and he needs to learn mom is not coming every time he lets out a peep. Tossed and turned for a bit, got up, rooted around on the internet for a bit, had a snack, went back to bed at around 5:00am. Do you remember the days when it was cool to go to bed at 5:00am? Not anymore, it makes for a tough day at work the next day. Consequently, I did not get out for my run. Heading out tomorrow for a couple of hours, a swim on Sunday, and hopefully a bike ride so that should make up for some of it!! Had some positive things happen at work in the morning and then the afternoon kinda fell apart. Got into a wacky and funny e-mail exchange with a friend and things started to brighten up. Looking forward to the weekend.

17 Weeks to Spring....16 To Go

Made it out to my very first cycling session last night. One of the local bike shops puts on this program every winter. It is a coached session and I have only ever heard good things about it. I need all the help I can get on the bike, so sign up I did. My afternoon went like this...call my friend Chris to check the time it started as I could not remember, race to the bank, the grocery store, daycare. Get home, thanks to my slow cooker, supper was ready. Eat with the kids, getting changed and hauling all my gear upstairs. Call Shaun (husband) to remind him he has to be home early today...he has a bit of trouble remembering my activities so a call is always necessary...sometimes more than one. When he is home, pack up all my gear in the truck and off I go. I can see already that this point is going to be a bit of an issue when the winter snow and cold hits. eeek. Did I remember to shave my legs? No. Too bad for anyone looking at them!! Haul my gear, trainer and bike up those stairs at the Fieldhouse...another issue I am going to have...but saw a woman actually taking her stuff on the elevator...hmmm...good idea for next week!! The workout itself was not too bad. I can't remember how many sets we did, but it was a few of 2 minutes in your zone 3 HR with a minute or two break in between. Was good to be with some hard core cyclists...wow...I have ALOT to learn. The coach is a Level 3 coach and she is just FULL of information.
Went for my run this morning as well. Just an hour. Felt really good. But it is so dark out there! I actually am looking forward to some snow just to brighten things up.