This is Accountability Sunday where I look at the past week and how much work I did towards my goals and then set some goals for the coming week. Interested in joining me? You, too, can have some public accountability: just go to the accountability spreadsheet and put in your goals for the coming week. The goals can be fitness-related, health-related, work-related or anything else that you care to track. It’s not about competition, it’s just about putting your goals out there and then assessing how you did.
Another week gone — and it was a busy one for me as I talked about yesterday. My focus definitely shifted to work-related things (blah) and a lot of other commitments fell to the wayside. It’s been awhile since it’s been like this, so I can’t really complain too much (though I’ll still complain), but it really did throw me off my game. I’m glad — and a little surprised — to say that I got back on track before the week ended. That’s a good sign for this slacker who will take advantage of most any excuse to bail from hard workouts.
Last Week’s Goals
- 6 mile long run — 10k in the books! On the treadmill, since winter has decided to come back and I was too much of a wuss to handle mid-teen’s temperatures. And I’ll say this: even though treadmill running is easier, this run was still tough. But I’m proud of myself for getting it done. It was close to being axed because I really did have a legitimate work excuse to get out of it.
- Run 14 miles — managed 14.65 miles, if you can believe it. 2.80 miles were hiking because after not running all week, doing my long run on Saturday and then still having 2.15 miles to go, Sunday was not going to see me running. And since my next race (in two weeks!! AAAACK!) is a trail run with a lot of hills, I figure this is good training.
- Strength train twice — done! And more effort than last week. The knot in my back has finally released (mostly).
- Track weight — down 2.9 pounds … basically I’m back where I started. More importantly, I had sidetracked myself but righted the ship, to mix metaphors. Failures teach lessons and starting back up builds resilience. It’s all good.
This Week’s Goals
- I’m supposed to run 15 miles (7 mile long run) and this will be an aspirational goal, and will not necessarily reflect what happens. I’ll be heading to Zion National Park for a day and then a weekend in Vegas with family, which will be non-stop fun fun fun which probably won’t translate to run run run!
- Track weight because the saying “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” certainly was not referring to weight gained.
- That’s all. Don’t you remember me mentioning Vegas just a few bullet points ago?
What’s Making Me Happy This Week
I randomly thought about my compression calf sleeves (they were packed away with my “I’m a real runner” gear) and used them for my long run. Whether it be science or just placebo effect, my legs really did feel better. I have achilles tendinitis that flares quite often and while the sleeves didn’t make the run easier, they did seem to make it a little less painful. I’ll take that any day of the week and twice on Sunday.