Hey there! It’s been quite some time. There’s been ups and downs. Quite a roller-coaster really, lots of procrastinating, many life changing patterns and plenty of time for reflection.
I’ve decided to set 5 goals to achieve this year. It was working out the ‘what’ first before even going into the ‘how’. Firstly, I know it’s important to be tuned-in to your passions to make better goal-setters and for me running is definately one of them. I have observed that I was finding it difficult to keep to regular training. My running was becoming stagnant and I felt it a shame to let this slip. Also most of my training was spent alone. I knew WHAT one of my goals was to be:
.TO STEP-UP MY RUNNING.
and HOW?
.TO FIND A TRAINER.
Obviously this was the only way I will be able to remain committed, motivated and improve on my speed and technique.
The Universe Heard My Call
It’s strange but have you noticed that once you have a clear thought and goal, things start to manifest in your life? It so happened that a really good friend, who is an ex-athlete said that he wanted to get back into running again and asked if I would like to run with him. He remembered as clearly as if it was yesterday the training plans he underwent to become a good runner. I jumped at the opportunity (or rather jogged!) Next thing I knew there was a 6-consecutive day plan in place (I have never ran 6-consecutive days, maybe 4 at the most!). He said this would be good to get the ability quickly back to maintain longer distances but be prepared for week 1 being tough.
Week 1: 6-Day Training
I surprised myself that from day 1 I jogged a steady 30 mins to end up on day 6 with a good 60min off-road run that felt good. Running includes a variety of surfaces: off-road with hills, flat pavements and running tracks. During the week was a gradual increase in running time, a session which included a 15-min fartlek on day 3, a ‘bitch-day’ for me on day 4 where I really dragged my feet for 45 min, a session on day 5 which included slow and fast skipping drills and day 6 with the long off-roader. Everyday included core exercises: planks, press-ups, Russian twists, leg raises…and what surprised me was how quickly my body responded. And now we have the next couple of weeks training plan in place.
The Benefits
We’re in a win-win situation. I get to train with someone experienced to guide me and there’s NO backing out, only full commitment, come rain, hail or shine (including those strong Lanzarote gusty winds). The endorphines run and I feel great afterwards, challenged, motivated and clear-thinking. My friend gets back into good form again and it disciplines/motivates him to get away from the intellectual mind work on his computer for a while and connect with both his body and mind. He works much better as a result from that timeout running.
So I can tick-off that I am giving attention to one of my intentions and if you would like to know more about how to align your life I highly recommend:
All the best for your goals for 2019!