February Goals

Well, we all know that January didn't go the way I wanted it to. I missed all my goals, which is slightly disheartening.

But, onward and upward. I've got a bunch of new goals for February. Gotta move forward, right?

On the positive side, I have already completed one of my goals for February! I entered the lottery for BSR - Broad Street Run. They will contact people on February 18 if they got in or not, so not much more I can do about it now. Hoping I get in because it will be the perfect last long run before The Wild Half.

I'm halfway through goal number four, as I've downloaded the ESP, Eastern State Penitentiary photos onto the computer. Now to just edit them. Pretty happy about that. It's such a small thing, but it makes a mental difference.

I will admit now that I have adjusted the 1500 calories for 23 days. I read in Runner's World's The Runner's Diet that to stay the same weight-wise you take your weight and times it by 15. To lose obviously you need to reduce the calories in or burned. Well, 1500 is really low for me at this stage, so I'm giving myself a range between 1500-2000 daily. I'm putting it out there since I wrote my goals before reading the book and making the adjustment. So far so good on this one too.

Maybe my lack of motivation in January could have been avoided if I had worked a bit on some of my goals. Maybe I just needed action to get out of the malaise I was feeling. Whatever the cause, I'm working on things this month. Hoping to meet a few of those goals so when I recap my February it's on a much better note.

Do you have monthly goals? Do you write them down?

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I'm over it

Yea, I'm over it. February that is. I've been thinking about it and I'm pretty sure I just want this month to end. It has not been a good month at all.

I've gotten off track with my food.

I've gotten off track with exercise.

My Pooka's back legs became paralyzed (but are doing much better!)

I saw someone's dog run over in the street.

My boss spoke with me twice about work related issues (left a document on the copier and I talk too much to patrons in the search room).

My trainer favors my husband.

Those are the biggies. I know I should counteract those with some positives to show that February really wasn't all that bad. I've got very little...

Going to celebrate my friend's birthday in Milwaukee this weekend.

Pooka's legs are healing. He's walking and climbing again, even if jumping is taking a bit longer to come back.

Spent the weekend with my cousin (19).

So, I'm all for February coming to an end. Mentally it has not been a good month. I need to wipe the slate clean and move forward. Yea...yea...I know. There is still a week to go in February. I'm hoping that by writing this now, that I can make the rest of the month better. Maybe just getting it out of my system will be what I need to turn the rest of the month around and end strong. Let's hope!

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February Update

Time to see if I met my monthly goals.  I know, exciting huh?

1. Lose 5 pounds a month
        Success!  I actually lost 7.2 pounds in February.  I am very happy with that.  I try to follow the 80/20 rule most of the time.  I had a couple weeks where I didn't completely follow it, but it seems like adding in the gym 3-4 days a week helped. 

2. Run 25 miles
         Success!  I actually got through 25 miles on my long runs this month, let alone the miles on the treadmill.  Total miles run was about 41.5.  I am sure it was a few more, but I didn't do the greatest job of writing it down each day.  Oops!  Good thing I have my long runs written down and I ran them all as scheduled. Must add keeping the journal updated better to the list of goals.

3. Bike 40 miles
          Success!  Oddly enough... Granted I didn't ride my bike outside and it was the stationary bike at the gym, but I managed at least 45 miles on the bike.  I usually got more than that, but didn't write the miles down, so I averaged it to 5 miles per ride (which is the lowest estimate I could figure) and still managed to meet my goal.  I can't imagine how many miles I might get when we get outside! Add keeping better tabs on the miles to the list.

4. Work on my photography
          Eh.  This didn't go to well.  I didn't do much with my camera this month.  I have a feeling my concentration on my other goals kept me from doing much.  I took some photos of the cats, but other than that, February was a pretty slow month.  Must work on that for March.

 
5. Focus on the big picture
          For the most part, I managed to keep this goal.  I had a set-back at the end of the month where I had a couple days of wallowing in self-pity, but I was able to move beyond it.  I'm still sad about what happened, but I'm trying to remember that there must be something else around the corner.  There must be something better to come.  And with so many things going well this month, I need to focus on that rather than the negative.  Easier said than done some days...

So all in all, not a mad month.  I wonder if 5 goals a month is a bit much.  I do think I might get better at the photo thing this month with a couple races and a couple parties.  I might get that camera out yet!