Update

You probably suspect my lack of consistency with blogging mirrors my lack of consistency lately with exercise. You are pretty much right. Although I definitely haven't been just sitting around, I haven't been getting my traditional workouts in either. I've been working on lots of projects around the house (painting, grouting, cleaning).. all the fun stuff, so I have been at least engaged in some manual labor. I went on a great 5-mile ish walk on Saturday on a local trail. The weather was beautiful and it felt great to be outdoors. How can life be bad when you follow that up with an iced skinny caramel macchiato at Starbucks and good conversation with your best friend as you look over the trail watching Team and Training finish their workout! Now the question is how do you keep up the momentum and get yourself outside or to the gym for a workout on a dark, drizzly day like today?

We've missed the last few SacFit workouts for various reasons, so it will be good to get back on schedule this Saturday. It's those mid-week workouts that are killing me.. In fact, I could be at the gym right now (or working), but I was able to talk myself out of it by telling myself I will catch up on this blog instead. I am shooting for three workouts this week (totally realistic) and will report back in next weekend on how I did. Maybe that will provide some level of accountability. I think accountability is important and is often the one thing that changes our thought process in a different direction. Without it, things can be grim!

In the spirit of austerity, I don't have a new product of the week but will go on the hunt for one soon. I appreciate any and all suggestions! I don't want to sound totally negative, so on the positive side, daylight savings time is coming up and the Parkway half marathon is less than two months away. Both of those provide a good morale boost and help me escape the winter exercise blues and start picking up speed! That's the thing about exercise is it actually feels really great and can be lots of fun if you just get out there and do it!

I know lots of people have been getting out there and participating in lots of races! I will join you all as soon as I can.

Happy training!

-Lisa

The Parkway half marathon training begins

I am happy to say that we completed our second official SacFit winter season workout on Saturday. It's amazing how quickly your body (physically and mentally) can get out of shape. Of course, it's much easier to get back in shape then starting from scratch but our 40 minute workout Saturday seemed like about how 10 miles would have felt a few months ago. I am struggling with whether I want to stick with my pace group that has the people I enjoy talking with in but it is a little faster than I want to go for a Saturday endurance workout or whether I want to slow it down a bit and enjoy the moment. I am sure the competitive side of me will win out in an attempt to shave 2 minutes off my time so I can break two hours in this year's Parkway half marathon. We will see!

It was also obvious to me on Saturday how important those mid-week workouts are. Even just getting one workout in mid-week makes a huge difference! It's all about getting mentally and physically back in the swing of things! It's definitely easy to negotiate myself out of a workout on the long drive home from work, but no more excuses!

In addition to getting back into the Saturday training routine, I am excited that several of my friends have chosen to "pay it forward" and bring their friends into the SacFit family. It can't help but keep people motivated to know that others will be counting on them showing up. It's also a great opportunity to socialize and catch up when life seems so busy. My best friend from high-school, best friend from college, a college roommate, and close co-worker are all just a few that are among the SacFit family. I've also enjoyed meeting new people and expanding the circle of people who are crazy enough to get up early and spend their Saturday mornings getting fit!

I am going to have to call it quits for now... lots of chores to get done before another busy work week. Instead of focusing on all the things that didn't get done this weekend, I should focus on how great it was to get a good workout in and all other things will fall into place!

Happy training!

-Lisa

New year, new Square Peg Running blog!

I am sure everyone thinks Square Peg Running has dropped off the face of the earth, but we are still here! I don't really have any legitimate excuses for not blogging. I've thought about it and wanted to but time just slips away. Well, it's a new year and time to get back into it! We recorded a short Podcast today in an attempt to re-motivate ourselves into doing something we really enjoy doing... running, walking, talking, and writing about it!

One thing I've discovered while not blogging is that I really need a goal, in this case a race, to keep me motivated. As a project manager, I live a very structured work life. Everything is tracked to tasks and a timeline with a beginning and end to every project. I guess I really need that structure in my personal life as well to keep moving forward.

Over the past few months we did finish our SacFit summer/fall training session, albeit neither Lara nor I completed the full marathon training. We put two relay teams together for the California International Marathon relay and had a blast. I spent a week in Paris and made sure I walked everywhere in an attempt to keep up my fitness level and put as many Parisian miles as possible on my new GoreTex boots. I highly recommend a week of walking in Paris to boost anyone's spirits. But, with all the things we've been up to we just didn't get around to blogging or talking about them. Trust me, I am sure we will have lots to say this year and plenty of new Square Peg Running adventures to share!

Today starts the new season of the SacFit running/walking group. I am really excited for the new season because it means a new half marathon to train for and a new running/walking schedule to follow. I am always afraid to not follow the schedule when training for a big race, but I manage to negotiate myself out of exercise when I don't have a goal to work for. It doesn't have to be a half marathon or marathon to keep you moving. It can be a 5k or a new hike that you want to complete... whatever it takes to stay motivated!

We look forward to also hearing about your running/walking adventures this year. I hope this year is filled with good health, good finances, and the ability for all of us to take action to complete whatever we want to do! Thanks for reading and sticking with us!

As in life, don't forget to run your own race!

-Lisa