Snowmageddon! Not Here in Texas! Need Some Motivation to Reach Your Fitness Goals?

Forget Snowmaggedon! We live in Texas (Thank God!) and it’s late winter or early spring, depending on your outlook on life. This means its 70 degrees one day and 30 the next. Be flexible! Get your run or walk done! Move forward towards your goals! A loop around the lake or a few miles on the treadmill will get it done! It could be worse, my peeps in Rhode Island are getting about 3 feet of snow today!

As we have talked about in the last few blogs, we are on a quest to run 2015 miles in 2015! Art and I have teamed up to get it done. That means we are accountable to each other to get 3 miles a day each done! We are actually doing very well and I feel the consistency is definitely helping my fitness level.  I feel stronger and more empowered since I have a teammate. I’ve even lost a couple of the holiday pounds! Yeah!

So here are a few suggestions to get you motivated to reach your own fitness goals:

1.     Grab a partner! It’s not square dancing, but having a partner really helps to get you off the pillow and out of bed in the morning. If you don’t have someone who has similar goals, then find an accountability partner at work or on Facebook. Check in with them and have them help you reach your goals! Keep a log or make a blog to track your progress!

2.     Buy a new pair (or two pairs!) of running shoes! There is nothing like breaking in a new pair of shoes to get the bounce back in your steps!

3.     Leave your watch at home! Forget about pace and just enjoy your runs. Time is irrelevant; it’s all about getting it done! This is not a race with anyone except your inner slug!

4.     Sign up for a short race that in the next 6 to 8 weeks. We are signed up for the Dallas Athletes’ St Patrick’s Day Sprint triathlon followed by the Rock and Roll Half Marathon; both in late March. That’s enough motivation to get me out of bed since an untrained race usually is painful (for your legs and your ego!)

5.     Think pizza!  Every mile you run burns around 100 calories. That means a 6 mile run is worth two pieces of yummy pizza! Or one slice and two glasses of red wine or two beers! Bribe yourself!

6.     When in doubt, use a very visible accountability counter. Here is one girl who is saving a dollar for every mile she runs in 2015. At the end of the year she is going to buy herself something totally frivolous (or several pair of shoes!)

Just a few motivations tips for today! I’m finding the more I talk about our challenge, the more motivated I get to get it done! Our next milestone is 200 miles and we are on target to reach that by the end of the week!  February is right around the corner and to reach our goal, we need to average 168 miles a month as a team. We should definitely reach our January goal by Friday and almost to 200 miles by the end of the first week of February!

Keep running! Every mile forward counts! Never give up!

Shake Off the Winter Lazy! Here are 5 Tips to Get Motivated!

If you are like me, you hate running in the winter. It’s even worse in climates where ice and snow have been abundant this winter. I weep for my friends in Chicagoland and the Northeast!! Getting all those clothes on just for a run in the cold seems like such a chore sometimes!!

Winter Running with the Peeps!

I hate the treadmill, but it is a necessary evil when ice and snow abounds! That being said, many of us get lazy in the winter and slack off from training; only to find the early spring races on our schedule quite the challenge.

This year I really doubled down and put the Galveston 70.3 triathlon and the Boston Marathon on my April calendar, followed closely by Ironman Texas in May. Somehow I didn’t anticipate this crazy cold Texas winter! I have been diligent about trying to keep motivated but my training is definitely not stellar.

Now that the weather is improving, it is time to get motivated!! Here are 5 tips to help get you back on track this early spring!

1.     Start fresh! Time to go shopping for some new running kicks! A new pair of shoes is needed to help get you back in the groove. Most of us have been pounding the treadmill in last seasons’ shoes. Start the spring off on the right foot with a new pair of shoes!

2.     Take a long hard look at your training log! If you have been writing in a lot of zeros or minimal mileage, the first thing you need to address is your aerobic base. It’s hard to do tempo runs when you feel like your heart is going to explode! It’s also a recipe for an early season injury if you do too much, too soon, too fast! Start with an easy 3-4 miles at a pace you can talk to your peeps. Do this three times the first week and cross train the other days with swimming or biking. Add no more than 10-20% of either time or distance each day you run. Yes, I know it’s like watching paint dry, but too fast ramp up and you will be sorry! Three to four weeks of base building and you will be much more comfortable and back in the groove! When you get to the point you can run 10 miles easy, the base is built and it’s time to challenge yourself.

3.     After you have built your base, it is time for a challenge. Consider doubling up. A short easy run in the morning and a tempo run or speed session in the afternoon. Interval training is a great speed workout that will help you build more strength and endurance. Careful no tot double up more than twice a week and never the day after your longest run!

4.     Go long! Pick a weekend day and gather your friends for a long, slow run. Longs runs really make you stronger, not only physically but mentally. Increase your long run no more than 2 miles every week until you reach your training goal. The goal of the long run is to build strength and increase blood flow, so these should be slow and walk breaks are encouraged. Enjoy the run and your social time with your running peeps!

5.     The best way to get your running mojo back is to pick a race and put it on the schedule. I recommend picking a short race as well as a goal race. If a marathon is your goal, then a half marathon at least 4 weeks before and even a 10 or 15K, 6-8 weeks before are good choices. For triathletes, jump in a sprint or Olympic distance 2 months before, and a 70.3 a month before, your goal Ironman. These races help keep you tune up your training schedule and also can mentally motivate you towards your goal!

Dr. Crane and Tina B. ready to race again!

Spring is in the air! Let’s get motivated to get off the coach! Get off the treadmill and the trainer and get your running mojo back! I’m excited for the new season and ready to hear about all your experiences this year! Run Happy! Go long!

Seven Steps to a New You in the New Year! Motivation For Change

It’s the last day of school vacation for most kids in North Texas. Teachers are back today and busy Moms can’t wait until they put the kids back on the bus tomorrow after more than 2 weeks of Christmas vacation.

This is the time that many of us are thinking about New Year’s resolutions and are trying to motivate ourselves to change a bad habit or start a new one. It turns out that 67% of resolutions are not to stop doing something, but to start a new good habit. Exercise tops the list. Unfortunately almost 95% of people will not reach their goals in 2013. Why?

1. Lack of motivation to change
2. Unrealistic goals 
3. Focusing on goals and not behaviors
4. Change is uncomfortable
5. Excuses, excuses, excuses 
6. Lack of accountability coach
7. Procrastination

Let’s take these 7 reasons for failure and work on 7 tips for positive change. Let’s make 2013 the year that you reach your goals and find a whole new you! Whether your goal is to lose 10 pounds, run your first 5K, finish your first marathon or break 12 hours in an Ironman triathlon; these tips still hold true.

1. What is your motivation for change? Examine it. Are you just feeling full and bloated at this moment? Do you have a hangover from last night? Was your last race truly unfulfilling and your time disappointing? Or is there a more enduring reason for your desire to change? If you can't think of a better reason than the fact that you're uncomfortable at this moment, then you're better off not making promises to yourself that you probably won't keep. However, if you are realistic and accept the responsibility of discipline required for change, your motivation will be sustained long after the discomfort from over-indulgence has passed. Let’s face it, most of us feel fat and out of shape when the holidays end and the New Year dawns. Mom’s apple pie gives quite the hangover for weeks!

2. Make realistic goals. Habits and behaviors that are changed gradually have a greater chance of success. Don’t decide that you are going to lose 100 pounds or run a marathon when you haven’t even gotten off the couch in a year! Make a resolution to run 5 out of 7 days a week. Lose 10 pounds in 30 days. Do a speed play session at least once a week. You get the idea….. Bottom line: write your goals down! A goal not written down is a mere wish!

3. Focus on the behavior more than on the goal. For example, if you decide to control your diet, your goal for the day is not to lose a specific number of pounds, but to stick to your program. Make sure you have a written program to follow! Such focus on your behavior will help you feel in control of your life. You will gain satisfaction from making sensible choices several times throughout the day. Then the pounds will fall off as you accomplish a change in your behavior.

4. Learn to redefine physical sensations of discomfort. Whenever we restrict ourselves or change a behavior, we have both physical and mental reactions. For example, a new runner feels aching and soreness when he start to increase his workouts. However, he has a choice as to how he interprets these symptoms. He can define them as extremely unpleasant, or alternatively he can interpret them as his body growing stronger. Someone who is restricting food intake will also feel physical discomfort. However, the successful dieter tells himself that his growling stomach is a sign that his body must go to the fat reserves for energy. Bottom line: change is painful but worth it!

5. Make tasks non-negotiable. Forget excuses. I can come up with some really good ones to stay in bed! People who are most successful at implementing such changes are those who make their tasks non-negotiable. For example, if you debate with yourself at 5:30 a.m. whether you feel like getting up to run, you will probably opt for staying in bed for another half hour. But if getting up for exercise is no more negotiable than getting up for work, then you'll do it regardless of how you feel about it. The same goes for organizing your closet or taking charge of your finances. One can almost always find an excuse not to do these things. However, if you make a non-negotiable decision that's based on a sound logical reason rather than on how you feel at the moment, you will be successful.

6. Be accountable to someone else and allow for imperfection. It is important to profess your goals to the world and ask for help. Your family and friends can be motivators but often they are the greatest naysayers. A couch or personal trainer can be helpful to get you on track. No one is exactly on target all the time. In fact you should expect to falter every now and then. If you give in to temptation, do not use this as an excuse to abandon the whole program. Learn from your mistake and move on.

7. Do it now. If you're waiting for a more convenient time to begin, it won't happen. It's almost never convenient to change ingrained habits or build new ones. Now is just as convenient as any time. And if you begin now rather than later, you'll have a jump on a more satisfying future. Make a plan and start today!

Kids are back in school tomorrow. Time for me to get back to work and put a race on the calendar! Make 2013 your most successful year yet! Run Happy!! And often…….

Self Motivation to Exercise

Why do most people not achieve their goals? Great question! 

I had a patient today who was in to get a new pair of orthotics. They were quite worn and she was having recurrent foot pain. We discussed shoes, stretching and new orthotics. Then I asked the million dollar question, “When are you going to get serious about losing weight?” For every pound you lose in body weight, you lose 3 pounds of torque on your feet. It is amazing on how just a few pounds can impact your foot health.  She gave me some hollow excuses and then said’ “I just can’t get motivated.” 

This is not uncommon. Unfortunately, we are part of the microwave generation and many lack self-motivation. I personally always have a race on the calendar as a carrot to chase. If I’m not training, then the race will be humiliating or hurt really bad! That’s part of my motivation. The other part is the personal well being, you could call it the “runner’s high” that I get out of my workouts! They just plain make me feel better! 

I’m going to try to find something that is inspirational at least once a week during this holiday season to try to help you motivate yourself to start reaching your goals way before the New Year! Remember, Rome was not built in a day! Baby steps every day towards your goals and all of a sudden you find you are there!

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. -Jim Ryan