You don't just wake up one morning and run 17 miles.
At least I don't.
Yesterday if I would have just headed out into the dark morning without a plan, I would have been in a world of hurt. No water. No food. No bathrooms. No music. No route.
I needed a plan.
The night before my run I took special consideration for all those things. Knowing that simply running would be hard enough on my body, I needed to have the rest run as smoothly as possible.
So I prepped my oranges in little ziplock baggies. I mapped out several courses in my mind - knowing the approximate distances to each. I figured in bathrooms. And drinking fountains. And safety routes.
Once I was set on a plan, I headed out the night before to "plant" my "stash". These little orange "gems" would be a life-saver the next morning. And they were. 6 miles into my run I could not wait to get to my oranges. I needed a quick pick-me-up and the bathroom that awaited me.
Made me think of the importance of planning.
As a teenager my mom admired that about me. She told me no one made lists like me. I had everything organized, always. I was the female equivalent to a boy scout...prepared.
It worked then, so why wouldn't it work now?
I still believe in planning and being prepared.
I don't just "go" to the gym. I don't just "do" cardio. I decide before. Usually the week before. I will actually schedule in my mind what I'll be doing that next week. I'll pull out my calendar. I'll check for conflicts. I'll schedule my gym and training time around other commitments. I'll make sure it's ON my calendar. I'll even go as far as to write down what I plan to do on each day, so I don't forget, and I don't miss a body part.
I'll go through a series of checklists:
- How many days can I squeeze in this week (which as we all know isn't always easy when you have a baby and other kids you're running around for summer activities)
- How much time will I have each day?
- What do I really need MORE time for this week? Shoulders? Back? Legs? I'll plan my schedule around the importance of what I want to work.
- How many days can I run? Will I run first thing? Later in the day? Or not at all?Is it a hard week or a recovery week? When will I include my long-run?
- Will I be meeting any of my friends at the gym? Trainer?
- Do I like the current playlist I have on my iPod? Do I need something different?
- Is my iPod charged?
- Do I have my Glutamine and BCAA's set out for easy and quick access first thing in the morning before I go? (Otherwise, I might forget them).
- Is my alarm set?
- Are my workout clothes washed for the week?
- Have I laid out my workout clothes for tomorrow's workout? (This is especially important to me when I run early. There have been mornings when I DON'T do this that I find myself wasting way too much time turning the house upside down in search of some clean running shorts. Grr.)
I plan, plan, plan.
This is what works for me. Some people can fly by the seat of their pants and have great results, but that's not me.
Not only that, but by having a plan, I take out the guesswork of "will I work out today or not".
With a plan I am committing to myself. I am holding myself accountable.
It gets me one step closer to achieving my goal - a healthier me. There ARE mornings I don't want to bother. There ARE mornings I want to sleep in. There ARE mornings I'm really not in the mood, but I have found for me planning helps me follow-through and NOT let myself down. Letting myself down makes me feel like a failure. I don't like that feeling, and I choose not to feel it again. Heaven knows I felt it for too many years.
Sometimes its the simple obvious things which can produce the greatest results. Planning seems obvious. It seems like a no-brainer. For those of you who do this already you're probably wondering, "Are you kidding me? Who doesn't do this?" But I know there are non-planners out there.
"It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan." - Eleanore Roosevelt
We're all on our own journeys. We are all aspiring to something. We are all training for our own reasons. Most of it starts with a wish. I used to "wish" I looked like "that person" - whoever that person was. I "wished" I didn't have a layer of fat around my mid-section. I "wished" I didn't wear a size 14. I "wished" I had my teenage body back. I had so many "wishes" back then.
I turned those "wishes" into action. I "planned", set my goals, and moved forward, and my wishes have been coming true ever since. **smile**
"He who fails to plan, plans to fail." - Proverb quote
Enough said.
jen.fit.training@gmail.com
