Goals for the New Year

The Running Raw Project,

a grand experiment in diet and athletic performance. It was started by Tim VanOrden in November of 2005 as a simple question: Can one be an athlete while eating a 100% raw vegan diet. That curiosity was quickly answered with a resounding YES!

The 5K came and went and afterwards it got pretty cold here in Austin. Everything being relative, the fact that it was cold was not as much a big deal as it was difficult to adjust to. With cold fronts and warming temperatures mixed in for the last month or so, it makes it hard for me to acclimatize to the (colder) temperatures.

Since the TOL 5K on December 8th, nothing much has been going on work-out wise. With families having kids at home for the holidays to the actual holidays, my working out has been on the back burner. I do have bragging rights (alongside Katie, a new Team Zenner Linda, and Greg) for showing up at the training last week Saturday when it was around freezing near Town Lake, literally. Poor Greg was wearing shorts, freezing the family jewels no doubt (hehe) and he had to beg off. As we were sent off to walk/jog along the Hike and Bike trails around Townlake, the colder air seeping in from the water didn't help his condition. I'm not blaming him because how often does it get that cold here?
At any rate, Patrick our trainer had another commitment to tend to that morning so the three of us just walked around the lake for about 4-5 miles.

My goals for the New Year is to take better and more conscious care of myself. I will turn 44 on the 14th (happy birthday to me!) and when I get my annual physical I will ask the good doctor about nutritional and core training references. When I went in for bloodwork this morning, I found out that (I suppose) '44' is the time you start having to have an EKG so since I don't want to be that fit-looking runner who all of the sudden keels over, I'll ask him about women and heart issues as well.

Eating better is always a goal I suppose, but since I've mostly eaten when I felt like it my whole life (sorry, never had to diet), I figure I have to eat smarter now that I am going to be more serious on running. YES AND..getting older. Women's dietary requirements are always more of a challenge I think. How much of what and when. I felt good when I ate a good portion of broiled salmon a few hours before the race but salmon is my comfort and body and brain food. I do not intend to use special drinks or protein bars, I just want to eat 'normal', whatever that is.


So speaking of walking, I will be doing an hour long guided hike at McKinney Falls with the family instead of my morning training. The times are too close to each other and I am not going to sweat it going from one to the other. Plus, taking the kids out for a long hike is good for them and gets them moving. The love that kind of thing anyway.

I figure that most running blogs might have goals of improved time etc. Mine are (thank goodness) much more simple and yet enough of a challenge for me; eating better, find a good core-training routine and finding a way to work out throughout the week. Not in terms of finding time, but finding the 'oomph' to do so. I still hate running. Oh well. At least I feel great afterwards!