10/7 - What is your goal....

It has been a while since my last post - without running, not much for me to blog about. I'm still keeping up the cycling and lifting routine on one day, and swimming and aqua jogging/elliptical on other days. 60 minutes a day, at least 6 days a week. Just do it, like brushing your teeth. Make it a routine, and don't question if you have to do it, just do it.

I did have an interesting meeting yesterday with a nutritionist/runner. She had some really good suggestions for me, and I'm anxious to see her proposals about moving forward. More on that in another post....

One question she asked me was "What is your goal?"

An interesting question. Of course, I do think there is value in having A goal, but really, I look to add bang for my buck - so having a few goals in mind help me maintain focus. For example, here is how I responded to the question -

First - I want to maintain some good physical condition while I can't run for the next 7 weeks. I don't want to gain extra pounds while I'm out.

Next - When I return to running, I want to position myself to be a better, faster, and stronger runner. If I can begin healthy eating habits now, I should be able to continue them while I return to running.

Long term - I want to be able to better understand how nutrition helps my performance - what/when I should eat. While I train for a marathon/ultra run, I usually need 3000 to 3500 calories just to maintain my weight per day. Many of those calories come at the end of the day when I am hungry and in the form of ice cream or junk food. Probably not ideal - but I never was taught how to eat during these training periods.

Overall long term goal - I've been reading books about making decisions about what to eat that is not only healthy, but also good for social/environmental reasons. I want to be able to start to make good food choices, that in the long term, may be beneficial for generations to come. For example, buying food from the local food coop, eating more plants - less animals, etc and reducing my carbon footprint.

So - there are my goals. This is one area where I look to set goals in area of short term and long term. I'll reset or adjust my short term goals when needed, while keeping in mind my long term goals.