Changing Your Plan and Winners

Changing Plans With Life
My husband recently changed our phone plans because it meant saving money, getting better phones, and having better coverage. It was a better fit for us.  Of course, the new plan will take adjusting to.  For me, this means talking on the phone less and texting more.  As with most things in life, there are always going to be times when we end up changing our plans to fit our needs the best.  This is true for our plans/goals as parents, athletes, professionals, etc.  We have changing needs and so there are always going to be moments in life where we have to go off our plan, take a break from them, or rework them entirely.  


Yesterday, I went on my first run in a week.  I ran 4 miles with no groin pain!  This was such an amazing feeling and it reminded me of just how important running is in my life.  It reminded me of what a gift it is to be able to do something that makes me so happy and how it shouldn't be taken for granted.  We only have one body.  One!  If I don't take care of this one body of mine then forget running a marathon, I might not even be able to run an easy 4 miles!  Many times, not being able to run or do something we love is out of our control.  This is unfortunate.  But taking care of myself and making sure I'm doing what is best for this body of mine is something that I can control.  


That brings me to my plan.  Someone asked me recently about my plan for the rest of my training.  My marathon is 3 weeks from Saturday.  The idea of going back to the amount of work I was doing on my Brain Training plan sounds almost overwhelming to me.  My body has definitely been feeling over-trained and I am going to have to be very wise in how I carry on from here.  I will need to be very considerate and loving with my body and listen to what it is telling me. I will need it to run a strong race.  My plan is going to have to change.  And just like with my change in phone plans, I will need to make some adjustments in my life to make sure I'm a good fit with the plan and the plan is a good fit with me.  As of now, my goals are:

• To do what I can to maintain my fitness without losing too much.  
• If my body is up to it, I will incorporate 1 day of either speed or tempo but not both for now.  I will reevaluate as I feel myself being up to it.  
• My body is still very tired.  I'm getting plenty of sleep so I don't understand why.  Perhaps it will help if I just tell myself that I'm full of energy instead of moping around saying how tired I am.  
• I will try for one more long run this Saturday.  I will try for a slow and easy pace.  Thinking 20-22.
• My goal for the marathon is no longer a time goal.  My goal is to run at a pace I feel strong with.  I will try to stay strong and then pick it up at the end.  By the end of the race I want to know that I gave it my all.  A PR would be nice but it has been 7 years since I've run a marathon so at this point, I don't have a lot of expectations.  
• I'm really focusing on weight training, eating adequate amounts protein and good calories, stretching and fluid intake.  All the things that I was letting slip as my marathon training got more difficult. 
• Enjoy the process!

I have an equal amount of plan changes and new goals in my life as a mother.  I will save these for another post.  Recently, a relatively new blog friend sent me a book in the mail.  It was so sweet of her to think of me and I hope to share it with you soon.  I am certain that she was brought into my life for a powerful reason.  Already, she has proven to be a mommy mentor and I'm excited to read several of the books she has suggested to me.  I'm ready to make some big changes with the way I parent.  As my kids have gotten older, I'm being called to a new level of parenting!  I'm up for the challenge and I'm not going to drop the ball on this one.  Way too important of a job to not continue to reflect and make changes with.  More on this soon.  Thanks Jen!  at Why I Run!

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And the winner's of the Tri-It Wear T-shirts are......


1.  Karen (Karen, are you K on my comments?  On don't think you have a blog to link but I'll e-mail you if I don't hear from you).  
2.  Chris K  He has already said he is going to ask for a women's shirt so he can give it away to one of his awesome lady followers!  How generous Chris!  


Please contact Juan at juan@triitwear.com to claim your awesome t-shirt!


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What is something in your life that you've had a "plan" for that you've had to make changes to?  


Amanda