October Goals

Since I wandered aimlessly through September, let's start October with some goals.

1. Run a long run (long defined as 5 miles or greater) each week.

I'm so excited to shift my focus back to running.  Training for a tri was great, but I felt like my running was on a back burner.  Now I'm ready to start training for an early winter half marathon.  That means increasing my mileage.  If you follow me on twitter, you may have noticed I'm counting my miles with the hashtag #100byHalloween.  This is a challenge sponsored by Tone It Up to get up and get moving this month.  Of course any form of cardio counts for the challenge, but it will keep my running on track.

2. Drink less soda.

I've kicked this habit a couple of times in my life, but I'm back to a daily dose of soda.  My weakness is Dr. Pepper Ten, that stuff is so good!  But after the sweetness and caffeine wears off, I usually feel pretty sluggish.  I want my energy to come from natural sources instead.  I'm hoping to increase my water and tea consumption to help taper down the sodas from one a day, to 2-3 per week by the end of the month.

3. Stretch after every workout.

Last week my calves were sore for 3 days after doing some cardio intervals that included jumping jacks.  I want to prevent injury and feel great.  This means more stretching!  And maybe the occasional foam roller session.  My body will thank me later.

4. Workout my core 2x per week.

When I start a run, I always tell myself that afterwards I'm going to take 5-10 minutes to do core exercises.  Guess what, I usually plop down under a ceiling fan after every run and wait for the sweat to stop pouring out (sorry...TMI).  This month, I want to change that habit and put some effort into building my core strength.  Here are some videos I want to try:

Post Cardio Ab Workout
Ten Minute Yoga Abs
8 Minute Abs  <- This throwback is a favorite of mine.

Happy October!  What are your goals?