Off the road again...

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood...and I'm having to take the one of rest and cross-training. I'm not "heeling" like I thought I was...turns out my run last Sunday made what seems to be plantar fasciitis worse this week.

I'm lucky that my massage therapist is also a runner. That way, he could tell me stories of his running buddies who refused to rest, needed surgery, and had to sit out SIX MONTHS. When you put it that way, his advice not to run for at least 4 weeks is not so bad.

I've gotten some Doc Scholl's inserts specifically for heel pain and PF that are helping a lot in my dress shoes and in my cross training. I was encouraged to keep up my walking, Wii, elliptical and weight lifting (especially since my weak calves are likely the root of all this), so that's promising.

I will admit, I was a little bummed I won't be running the Rodeo 10k (though, I might be able to walk it if I keep "heeling"). Instead, I took it as opportunity to focus on the Bayou City Classic in March. I was waffling between which race to do anyway. I know I can do a 10k with little training as I did in November, but I'd like to train for at least a week or two if I can.

If not, there are plenty more races this spring, and the goal of the 10 miler this fall. It's hard, but I have to keep the big picture in mind. In the meantime, I'm going to take this as a challenge to be active in different ways and build my muscles. It reminds me of my toe injury last summer...which forced me to appreciate being active at all.

After all, perception is reality, right?

The best laid plans...

...are usually foiled by a return to reality. Today was my first day back to work after 2 weeks off. I was a little ready to get back to some routines and interactions with the outside world, but a little nervous about my newfound resolve to improve myself. So I made a plan.

And broke it. Adam is always telling me I like to make plans "so then I can break them."

I never intend to of course...life just gets in the way. I planned to leave at 5 today to have enough time to eat and catch an 8p yoga class. I left at 6. I was winding down about 5:15 (not far off my plan for those who know me well) then got tied up on something for one of my projects this weekend, and there went the time. I then resolved to do a yoga or pilates video at home instead. About 2 hours later after decompressing from a long day, I settled on a walk. Did a little more than 1.5 miles in 25 minutes, which for me, is a really good clip. Add some ab work into that and I proud that I didn't slip completely (I decided walking is OK if it is at a level of exertion. I was puffing, plus had to ditch gloves and earmuffs due to getting warm. Yay!).

I planned to go to the gym tomorrow morning and go into work later since I am working nearly all day Saturday. I came back to an email for a 9a meeting tomorrow. My plan at this point is an exercise video at home instead since I have volunteer work tomorrow night. I may settle for a walk again. As long as I do SOMETHING, I think the plan is not a total failure. At least the thought of planning is moving me in the right direction.

What I need to plan better is road nutrition. With two mornings in a row of not going straight to the office, I haven't been able to take my lunch. I did good to avoid french fries etc. today. I'll have to try again tomorrow, perhaps for a salad instead of just a sandwich. This is probably going to be the hardest part of the 2010 Plan. I eat out a lot for work and with the volunteer schedule I have for the short-term. I have to make the best choices I can, even if they aren't always fun. 'Cause I want to be fun for a lot more years to come.

Off to redo tomorrow's to-do list and reconfigure what didn't happen today...at least today tipped towards success (albeit altered) than failure on my plan.

Plan for a New Year

New Year's is a great time to re-evaluate goals. This year, instead of calling my goals "resolutions," I am setting my 2010 Plan. Here's what I will work to achieve this year:

1. Running: Last year, I set out to run a 10k, which I did on Thanksgiving. This year, I want to run more 10ks. My ultimate goal is to run a 10 miler in 2010. I'm targeting one in Clear Lake in October. This gives me 9 months to train...which is realistic considering I will still have a full work & volunteer plate, at least for the first half of the year. I also ran my first 5k in 2008...so this is a nice increase of about 3 miles per year for racing. If this works, I'll target a half marathon for 2011.
2. Staying active: I'm going to continue the theme from 2009 of trying to be active everyday, with the 65 day off allowance for account for illness, injury or just plain crazy days. I'm going to add a caveat, however. I want to log 200 minutes of exercise a week, actual exercise I plan, not just walks to meetings across campus :) Real Age says we need to get at least 80 mins of intense exercise (cardio or weights) a week to keep visceral fat (the kind around internal organs) away. I figure to lose weight, I need to up this, and the 200 is a good almost 30 mins a day average. Days I will run or lift, I know I'll get more in, so it should work itself out.
3. Eating: I'm going to get back to writing down what I eat most days, no matter how bad it is :) I'm hopeful this will keep me more accountable.
4. Professionally: I want to become a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE). The test is offered quarterly. I likely won't test until the second half of this year, but feel this would be a great time to earn certification, as I passed the 5 years consecutive fundraising experience mark in 2009 and qualify in all the other areas as well: amount raised for organizations, community service, etc. (Though I've been fundraising for more than 8 years, I did take a brief break to finish my grad coursework and went back to newspapers to do so.)

I do want to continue the other themes discussed in my 2009 review, such as balance, making time for family, etc. but these cover the major milestones I will work towards this year. So what's your 2010 Plan?? Let's share and keep each other accountable...happy new year!