As much as I love goal-setting and weekly or monthly check-ins, this week, I dare you to put those measured focuses aside and simply choose fitness for fun.
In January, motivated by my first 5k race and inspired by all the health benefits of running, I set a resolution to run 600 miles in 2012. Since then, I've been good and then not-so-good about keeping on pace to accomplish that goal, but running the necessary amount of miles has become a burden. It made running work. So, last week, I decided I would mentally put that resolution aside for the moment and go back to running for fun. I'm still a new runner in my first year, so it would be very easy to go back to the days when I disliked running. To avoid that, I vowed to run when I felt up to it, when I wanted to, and NOT when I felt that I needed to just to log my miles for the week or month.
Soooo guess what happened? Reminder: my weekly minimum goal is 11-12 miles to stay on pace for my resolution. Looking back at February and March, I rarely reached that threshold. But now, one week into April...
16 miles. SIXTEEN MILES!
And I don't even feel like I overworked myself! I really just ran when I liked, hit the road when the sun was shining, agreed to run when a friend asked me, even though I'd already done Spinning that day. I ran not only as my workout, my conditioning, my tool to earn miles, but I ran for fun. I ran for sun. I ran for me, and it paid off.
The daily breakdown looked something like this:
(Wednesday was Spinning - no running miles.)
See? Just a little here and there. It helped that I had the time this weekend, which isn't always the case, but usually I pressure myself to "go out there and do five miles today, because I need to log miles for the week" when my head is just not in it. This week, I simply ran long as I felt like running, and those miles added up.
I'm thrilled :) And today, I ran three more! Did some high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on the treadmill, alternating one minute sprints of running at 8, 9, or 10 mph with two minutes of recovery walking at 3, 3.5, or 4 mph. Thirty minutes of that and I covered three miles--a great start to the week!
But forget the number -- I enjoyed it. I watched Ina Garten make some delicious looking zucchini soup (with some fancy French name) and lemon-something crusted salmon, I waited for my Garmin sportswatch to beep telling me to speed up or slow down, and before I knew it I was drenched in sweat and ready to head into yoga to stretch out my legs!
You can see how my heart rate skyrocketed and plummeted with my speed. THAT is what HIIT is all about!
Do you have certain exercises you enjoy, or do you only work out to stay fit, healthy, slim, etc.? What are your favorite types of exercises?
If you don't have an exercise you love, I dare you to FIND ONE! Whether it's in your gym, on a DVD in your living room, or in the great outdoors, find something you enjoy. Test out group fitness classes to see if any are fun for you. Try Spinning, Zumba, Pilates, yoga, outdoor running--solo or group!, dancing, strength training, swimming, cycling... There is something out there for everyone, and if you enjoy what you're doing, you're likely to do it more often!
In January, motivated by my first 5k race and inspired by all the health benefits of running, I set a resolution to run 600 miles in 2012. Since then, I've been good and then not-so-good about keeping on pace to accomplish that goal, but running the necessary amount of miles has become a burden. It made running work. So, last week, I decided I would mentally put that resolution aside for the moment and go back to running for fun. I'm still a new runner in my first year, so it would be very easy to go back to the days when I disliked running. To avoid that, I vowed to run when I felt up to it, when I wanted to, and NOT when I felt that I needed to just to log my miles for the week or month.
Soooo guess what happened? Reminder: my weekly minimum goal is 11-12 miles to stay on pace for my resolution. Looking back at February and March, I rarely reached that threshold. But now, one week into April...
 |
| DailyMile |
16 miles. SIXTEEN MILES!
And I don't even feel like I overworked myself! I really just ran when I liked, hit the road when the sun was shining, agreed to run when a friend asked me, even though I'd already done Spinning that day. I ran not only as my workout, my conditioning, my tool to earn miles, but I ran for fun. I ran for sun. I ran for me, and it paid off.
 |
The daily breakdown looked something like this:
 |
| DailyMile |
See? Just a little here and there. It helped that I had the time this weekend, which isn't always the case, but usually I pressure myself to "go out there and do five miles today, because I need to log miles for the week" when my head is just not in it. This week, I simply ran long as I felt like running, and those miles added up.
I'm thrilled :) And today, I ran three more! Did some high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on the treadmill, alternating one minute sprints of running at 8, 9, or 10 mph with two minutes of recovery walking at 3, 3.5, or 4 mph. Thirty minutes of that and I covered three miles--a great start to the week!
 |
| 4 minute warm up, 30 minutes of intervals |
But forget the number -- I enjoyed it. I watched Ina Garten make some delicious looking zucchini soup (with some fancy French name) and lemon-something crusted salmon, I waited for my Garmin sportswatch to beep telling me to speed up or slow down, and before I knew it I was drenched in sweat and ready to head into yoga to stretch out my legs!
 |
| Courtesy of Garmin |
You can see how my heart rate skyrocketed and plummeted with my speed. THAT is what HIIT is all about!
Do you have certain exercises you enjoy, or do you only work out to stay fit, healthy, slim, etc.? What are your favorite types of exercises?
If you don't have an exercise you love, I dare you to FIND ONE! Whether it's in your gym, on a DVD in your living room, or in the great outdoors, find something you enjoy. Test out group fitness classes to see if any are fun for you. Try Spinning, Zumba, Pilates, yoga, outdoor running--solo or group!, dancing, strength training, swimming, cycling... There is something out there for everyone, and if you enjoy what you're doing, you're likely to do it more often!
Great post!! Everyone should see that being active is fun!!!
ReplyDeleteNice job!!!! I need to keep running... I'm afraid I'm slipping back into my old elliptical habit ;) but the exercise of running is the BEST!
ReplyDeleteAh, yes. Before I started running, I was an elliptical junkie. Nowadays, the elliptical is for days when I'm not feeling up for a run (or not feeling too well at all), or on days I'm still sore from the prior day but want to move and loosen up! It's still better than nothing :)
DeleteFantastic job on the 16 mile week! Running is my go to exercise, the one that makes me happy and it's my ME time. That said, I don't do treadmills only outside because that's what I like.
ReplyDeleteuh,
ReplyDeleteWOW.
Thats more than Ive ever ever run! :-)
Great job on the runs this past week! You're so right that every bit adds up. And I'm with you - fitness should be fun. No pressure. :)
ReplyDeletei LOVE hiits on the treadmill. might do one today actually!
ReplyDeleteYu're totally right - exercising should be ENJOYABLE! I always resort to the stationary bike ... it's my fave :)
ReplyDeletei have been trying to work out doing what i love, not what i "should" do, for about a year now. um, i LOVE IT. no i haven't been following any sort of training "plan" be it for results or for an event. instead i do what i love. i LOVE well choreographed step classes! i LOVE strength training classes. i even LOVE the stair master, because it gives me time to read my mags and with HIIT settings, it gets me in and out of the gym in 30-45 minutes! i've already found workouts i love and i'm so glad you have too!
ReplyDeletePS. it bothers me that daily mile doesn't have some other way to track workouts besides just...miles. since my workouts usually aren't mileage based it often says i ran 0-3 miles each week. i know it's called daily MILE but just bugs me, ha!
Yess, so great when you know what you like. And so great that there are so many different types of workouts you enjoy! I also think the StairMaster is amazing for when I just want to read a magazine and not realize I'm drenched in sweat :) Agreed about DailyMile. It does have settings for some other workouts, but yep, just measured in time increments. Oh wellll. :/ Some of the most FUN workouts just can't be quantitatively measured!
DeleteSOOO true! Even when I am in the middle of marathon training, I never have a concrete schedule that I have to follow - it's pretty fluid b/c I find that I enjoy it more when I run however far my body feels like rather than running "x" miles. Glad you had such a great week of running =)
ReplyDeleteGreat job!!!!
ReplyDeleteI love it all, especially weightlifting :)
16 miles?!! That's awesome! I'm definitely in the non-training plan part of my training right now. and loving every minute of it:)
ReplyDeleteNice job Meredith! I love using Daily Mile to track my workouts. Keep up the great job! I love to hike as my fun fitness. And the fact I have a 3-mile trail 10 minutes from my work is sweet! When the sun stays out some more... I'm all over it!
ReplyDeleteSometimes its really nice to not have a schedule, and just run if and when you feel like it. I love run's like that, they are always so enjoyable. I am taking a bit of a break at the minute as I was training for a half, and sticking to a schedule for weeks on end has definitely sucked the fun out of working out! I will be getting back into it, but if and when I feel like it!
ReplyDeleteHi Meredith! Love your blog. I linked you for a Leibster award! Check it out here: http://inloveandpeanutbutter.com/2012/04/11/blog-love-the-leibster-award/
ReplyDelete