Mecember!

My co-worker and I have been discussing fitness and healthy diet quite a bit lately, mostly how we kinda blew it in November. In an effort to focus on eating well and exercising this month, she coined the term "Mecember" (instead of "December," get it?), and I've decided to adopt it, too.

This month is therefore dedicated to me treating myself well. And by treating myself well, I mean eating healthy, nourishing foods (sorry, sugar, you don't count) and keeping active (e.g., running). Sleep is also going to be high on my list of priorities. Oh, sweet sleep... ahem. Anyway.

So, since it's the first day of the month (holy cow, where did this year go?), I'm going to lay out several Mecember goals:

• I will run a minimum of 3 times a week. Even if it's just 2 miles, it's gotta happen. If I'm absolutely being stubborn about running, I can substitute a minimum 3-mile brisk walk.
• I will strive to be at work no later than 8:30 a.m. My arrival at work has been slipping later and later, which means I'm working later, which means I'm getting home later, getting ready for the next day later, going to bed later, sleeping later. It's a vicious cycle.
• I will eat at least 2 servings of vegetables every day. (Fruit is easy for me. Veggies, less so.)
• I will try to call one non-local friend every weekend. I've been awful about keeping in touch with good friends who live far away, and I miss them. So, this will help.

I think that's plenty to aim for now... I'm going to track my goals each week as follows:

Runs:

Work:

Veggies:

Friends:

One last comment before I sign off: In this last issue of Runner's World, a profiled runner commented that she motivated herself by leaving her watch at home during runs.

I love that idea. I'm so time-driven: I always check my watch when I start tiring, and it's easy for me to say, "we'll, I've run 30 minutes today, that's good enough." By leaving her watch at home, she was able to focus on the experience--how she felt, the world around her, and she kept running until she really was done, not until her watch told her she was done. Her runs got longer, and her fitness improved.

So, that's my new resolution. I've already stopped wearing watches otherwise, so this shouldn't be too hard to manage.

Happy Mecember to you!