Three Things Thursday - Confession, Resolutions, and Training

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Happy Thursday everyone!! I hope that you have been having a fabulous week so far, and are looking forward to a fun and relaxing weekend - I know am! I have been kind of go-go-going this week again, with some work, appointments, and last-minute activities with friends (Running/Dinner date Tuesday night and Celtics game last night out of the blue!) - that being said, I haven't had a chance to read or comment on a lot of your blogs just yet and I haven't had a chance to buckle down on my own posts (at least I left you with a great quote from Desiree Davila to keep you motivated and training!). So here is a quick Three Things Thursday to update you a little bit on the past couple of days (weeks).  Kind of random, but here goes nothing!

1. Confession: I am going to stop the 30-Day Food Journal challenge (if you had noticed it there previously, I have de-activated my page dedicated to my food log).  Although I feel slightly guilty dropping out so soon, as it is one of my January goals, but I have realized that this is not the most ideal challenge to get my head wrapped around.  I will explain the reasoning a little more at a later date, but let's just say, it brings up some old bad habits, that I would rather not re-visit.

I shouldn't feel like I am spending dinner parties with friends and family  trying to count how many calories - I have an idea of portion sizes and intuition on when I am full.  That was a lot of food on that plate, but I didn't eat it all and I stopped when I was full and happy.

 I am still keeping track of my portions, sugar levels and general calorie counts on my own, but I am not in dire need to cut out certain food groups, or cut back on/add more calories - I do need to cut back on alcohol consumption and sugars, but I do not need to put my food log information out there, and I am not at a point in my life that I need to keep religious track of my meals and snacks.  Personal choice - but one that needs to be done - for me.

Resolutions: Wow this took a while to type out, mainly because I wasn't quite sure how to put it out there - but here it is, in black and white:

• Eat cleaner, be more aware of food choices and feelings around food

Split Pea Vegetable soup Tripp helped me make Sunday - yum!

Homemade thin crust grilled pizzas are a great way to get in a healthy pizza fix - you have control of toppings and portions.

• Log at least 1000, if not 1200, miles this year.  I am hoping to keep better track of workouts and running miles in DailyMile, as well as marking mileage in a calendar, so I can add this up easier weekly/monthly/yearly
• Get and Stay healthy - I think many of you know I have been struggling with ITB and knee issues all fall, and some of the pain is still hanging on today - so this is going to be a big priority in the first part of the year, and I am going to work harder and smarter to stay healthy, once I get there.
• Reconnect with friends and family - goes back to my January goals, when I think about texting a friend or calling someone later - I am going to make the time in the present - when I wait to text or call, many times I forget...why not make the contact when you think about it?!
• Be on Time - I am notorious for being late to things (appointments, parties, movies, reservations), so 2012 I am going to focus on getting my booty there on time, if not early.  Being late and always rushing adds un-welcome anxiety and stress and makes some events a lot less enjoyable.

There it is, five attainable, yet challenging, goals to keep in mind this year - nothing big or extravagent, just real.

3. Training: I am running my first big race of 2012 on February 26 - the Hyannis Half Marathon.  I have mentioned it on the blog, that I am working on getting my weekly mileage up (safely) and then going to try to work on some quality workouts...well I will tell you, I had a phenomenal workout this week that I ended yelling "yes, thank you, yes!" at the end of!  I am feeling more confident in my speed and endurance these days and I pushed myself to a pace that engaged my mind to keep up with, but wasn't completely uncomfortable.

I ran a progression/tempo run, negative splitting and running the final miles (4 & 5) with 6:45 minute/mile splits...I was seriously beaming - and the more I realized the speed, the more will I had to keep it throughout the whole run.  After this run, I am a little sore on the ITB/knee - but it didn't hurt during the run and I am ready to get out and try to introduce tougher workouts (probably only once a week at this point and working up to two when I can get my recovery time down).

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Do you keep a food journal? What do you find the biggest benefits of the journal have been/still are?

Did you make any resolutions this year?

I almost didn't, because I am making my monthly goals now, and never really have tried to make/keep resolutions before (I have always been pretty active, eaten pretty balanced, and don't have any unhealthy habits I need to dedicate my year to breaking).