October Goals, Take 1

I spent the day on enforced rest to try to heal up quickly and get back to the action. It’s so easy to forget how important rest is to a healthy and active lifestyle. Well, and sleep. But we all know that!

Fall morning coffee august to august kitchen calendar sesame chicken and cucumber salad

Today I wasn’t up for doing much. My brain was just as shot as my body. So I spent time reading through a few of my favorite blogs, truthfully, not getting far from my bed. Sometimes we just really need to rest.

Let’s talk a little bit about goal setting. I’m not the type of person who is shattered if I don’t complete a goal that I’ve set for myself – for me, goal setting is really “intention setting” and “visualization”. If I can’t visualize it, it likely won’t happen. And I’m competitive. So more often than not, I finish what I intend to. Goal setting isn’t something that I have to do, but I really enjoy the process, and find that I get more done when I take the time to jot down a few things at the beginning of each month and season.

October Goals 

Kitchen journaling :: my kitchen journal got an upgrade (see above). This year I’m writing down my meals (and workouts) (and other momentous notes) in a bright yellow August to August planner. Did you use these when you were in school? They are my favorite paper planners!

Self Care Calendar :: every month, I like to focus on little things to take care of myself. This month I need to get back into the habit of regular manicures. I got off of the bandwagon, and my hands suffered. Fitfluential has a timely #FFWellness challenge with Grokker all month, so I’ll be playing along with that too.

Home Cooking  :: eating real food. I’ve been doing a few food related freelance projects that have me eating healthily and well – tonight’s chicken and cucumber salad was part of it. The better I eat, the better I’ll perform at my marathon next month.

Giving back  :: every month I try to think of different ways to give back to my community (in Jewish tradition, this is called Tikkun Olam, or repairing the world. This month I’m going to be organizing some of my current charitable donations, which I try to expand upon as much as I can. Additionally, I work as the coordinator for local alumnae interviews at my college (Wellesley), and the early admission season is just starting now! I can’t wait to help some amazing high schoolers get into their dream school. It’s totally selfish really, one day these women will take over the world.

Fall foods  :: so many amazing fruits and vegetables to take advantage of this month! I’m looking at you – apples, artichokes, Asian pears, avocados, basil, blackberries, carrots, cippolini onions, corn, cucumbers, dahlias, French prunes, fresh olives, grapes, jujubes, lettuces, melons, new crop dates, onions, peppers, persimmons, plums, pomegranates, potatoes, radicchio, radishes, shelling beans, strawberries, summer squash and early winter squash, sunflowers, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, Valencia oranges, and wax beans! (Okay, I stole that list from the CUESA email, which I still look forward to each week. We don’t have quite the selection here on the East Coast!)

Spin class  :: I’d like to go back and try a spin class now that I’ve biked 300 miles in September. My hunch is that I will have more power!

Watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix  :: Yep, it’s a goal. Note, I did not say “binge watch all of the seasons of Gilmore Girls that were just released onto Netflix, Hallelujah!” but.. that’s sort of what I was thinking.

Triathlon future planning  :: So, apparently, with this sport, you have to plan WAYYYYY in advance. But, I guess that’s for the best, because you can’t really just wing a multi-hour endurance event. I’m weighing my options for a 70.3 race next season. Currently I’m debating between Pumpkinman, Timberman (official Ironman 70.3), and Patriot. (A local race). If I finish my 20 miler without dying in two weeks, then I’m going to register for one, assuming they haven’t all sold out. Anyone want to sponsor me?

Good things happening in October:
October 6th – Devon’s birthday (there will be a farm trip, and pho)
October 11 – Sukkot, the Jewish Harvest Holiday – we eat chili outside under the sukkah!
October 12th the B.A.A. Half (13.1 miles to glory!)
October 13thTufts 10k (All women! Joan Benoit Samuelson runs the race and then gives everyone a high five!)
October 17th -19th Wellesley Alumnae Leadership Council – my best friend Lizzy is coming from Minnesota to visit me for this!
October 18th20 miles on the calendar
October 26th Newburyport Half Marathon
October 31stHalloween

I have to rest up, and get better quickly! There’s so much to see and do! What are you up to this month?

New Challenges

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Things are shifting, and they’ll be looking a little bit different around here. For the next two months I’m participating in a challenge at my gym. Yes, that’s right, cue the crazy-alarm, I’ve gone ahead and lost my mind. The challenge is based on both fitness and nutrition, and boy am I looking forward to it. We’ll eat healthy, unprocessed foods (okay, so minimally processed – I don’t have a larder of canned foods to draw from, nor do I have a 12 cup food processor, so I’m okay with things like canned coconut milk, and frankly Rao’s tomato sauce is better than what I can make even from the best tomatoes) and each week we participate in new fitness challenges, with benchmarks at the beginning and end in power and endurance.

There are a few great things I love about this challenge. First, that I’m doing it with a team (and there are over 50 people participating). Doing anything with a team is fun. I wasn’t really a team gal in school, but now that I’ve been going to the gym on a regular basis and working out with people, I get it. Second, everyone is required to use a food journal. I’m a strong believe in using journaling to help you attain your goals. This is also good because I have a blog, and I plan on using it as my own accountability. Daily meals, inspiration, lists, and even yes, some workouts. Which means lots of posts over here – I hope you don’t get sick of me.

My focus for this challenge is on whole foods, cooking, improving my fitness, and general happiness. I haven’t hashed it all out yet, but, for now here’s what I’ve come up with in addition to the challenge rules:

My major nutrition goals for this challenge include: planning my meals and share my meal planning, eating at home as often as possible, eating a rainbow of colors and taking advantage of seasonal produce, and drinking a hell of a lot more water.

My major fitness goals for this challenge include: running a race, and then another one. I’m signed up for the first, in a little over a week. Yeesh! And, a 200 lb. deadlift. We’ll work on that one. I have a little ways to go.

Happiness goals include: Sticking to my kitchen resolutions, doing more to make my house into a home, being a better partner, daughter, sister and friend.

This won’t be about preaching, it’s a personal reset. But, I do hope to see you around. Have you ever done a challenge before?