Friday 5: Fitness Goals for 2016

I am participating in the Trifecta Friday Five link-up hosted by Cynthia at You Signed Up for What, Courtney at Eat, Pray, Run DC, and Mar at Mar on the Run.  This week's theme is Fitness and since it is New Year's Day, it's the perfect time to share 5 of my Fitness Goals for 2016!



1. Get More Sleep:  This is a Big one for me! By nature, I am a night owl, but as a busy working Mom that loves to exercise, I need to be an early bird. So I do both....stay up late and get up early A LOT.  In fact, I rarely get more than 6 hours of sleep a night. Sleep deprivation is unhealthy on so many levels and definitely effects athletic performance, so that is why "getting more sleep" is my #1 Fitness Goal. I am going to shoot for 8 hours a night and plan to be in bed no later than 10pm on week nights, no matter how much laundry or house work needs to be done!

2. Hydrate Properly Every Day:  I often fall short on drinking enough water during the day, so even though this seems like a simple goal, I struggle with it! I participated in a month long program in November called: Swim, Bike, Fuel, which each day I would receive a lesson on how to improve my overall health by making small changes daily to my diet. The first lesson was about proper hydration and the Nutritionist recommended drinking half of your body weight in ounces each day. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, you should drink 75 ounces of WATER (not coffee, soda, juice, etc.).  I began to do this each day and could not get over what a difference it made in how I felt and it definitely had a positive impact on exercising.

3. Run/Walk 2,016 Miles in 2016: I stumbled across this Challenge recently and was intrigued. However, I thought "there is NO WAY I can log that many miles...it's 5 1/2 miles a day!".  However,  I could not get it out of my mind, so I checked into it again and found out that walking counts too. Then, I started to consider how I might be able to accomplish it and that it will be great motivation for me to do something Every Day. After being involved in Endurance Sports for the past 5 years, sometimes I have a terrible mentality that if it is only a few miles, it's not worth doing it...i.e.- Why get all dressed to run just 3 miles, when I can do 10? So, sometimes, I skip the shorter workouts, which is really silly!  However, 2,016 miles is A LOT, so I will need to log some form of mileage every day, even if it is a 2 mile walk with the dogs. I am a bit nervous about this commitment, but I decided to Go For It!!!

4. Obtain a 70.3 Triathlon PR: I typically try not to get caught up in times, but after having so many things go wrong last year during Ironman training and then at the actual Ironman Event, I want to have a good race this year!  I am doing the Ironman Mont Tremblant 70.3 in June and I am also considering doing the Rev3 Maine 70.3 in August. I would like to train hard and do well enough in one of these event to obtain a Personal Record at the distance.

5. Obtain a Half Marathon &/or 10K PR: Originally, I was hoping to have a Marathon PR this year, as I am doing the Disney Marathon  in a little over a week from today. However, I came down with a miserable respiratory virus right before Thanksgiving that lingered for a couple of weeks and took quite a toll on my running. I am prepared for the marathon and was able to get in my long runs, but at a much slower pace than I was aiming for.  So, I am planning on focusing on running shorter distances faster in 2016! I am not signed up for any specific races yet, but have my eye on a few for the Summer and Fall.

What are your fitness goals for 2016? Have you ever participated in a Running Challenge?

Happy New Year!!!


Please check out the the "Motivate Me Monday" Link-up with Janice- the Fitness Cheerleader and Running Rachel to read some inspiring goals from these two busy ladies!