A Singular Resounding YES!

This line came to me as I was running yesterday... and I have been using it endlessly, shamelessly. This is what I will wave madly in welcome of 2011 - a singular resounding YES!

YES to Running challenges aplenty... scary commitments made, I'm all signed up, so I just need to make it happen!
- I signed up for the LA Marathon in March, hoping to tag on my first full marathon and international running event onto the end of a business trip! I also have a backup/potential additional plan in the Sundown Marathon in Singapore in May. I want to ensure that I will manage at least one Full Marathon before mid year!
- I aim to also improve on my Half Marathon and 10km race times over the course of the year.

YES to staying healthy all round...
- With a short training cycle running up to LA, I need to balance up my focus on the finish with the need to make sure I stay well and injury-free... to keep my head about me as I push myself to train hard, but make the tough calls if and when I need to hold back. This is a wise lesson - I envy those who can keep going and never seem to hit their limits... I am still unfolding the layers of yoga wisdom - ambition with acceptance, effort with surrender...
- I will keep up with cross training at least 1-2 times per week, as well as stay diligent with stretching and foam rolling... I'll get my core/strength sessions in 2-3 times per week as well.
- Healthy eating and enough sleep is also priority. Luckily, the diet piece is usually manageable for me, although my sleep quality leaves some to be desired.

YES to keeping things simple... I have numerous other things floating about as I think about 2011... but then I realise that I can only do a few things to do them well. So this year, mindfulness and simplicity will be my only other (non-running) key theme...
- 10 minutes quiet time daily
- TV time will be kept to 5 hours or less per week
- 'Consume less'... simplicity in life for me means 'needing/wanting' less because I already have plenty. This means shopping less, wasting less, using less, but with mindfulness of abundance.

In some ways, I have become someone I never specifically aspired to be but I am glad I am slowly becoming - I stop myself in surprise every so often with the feelings of gratefulness and content and optimism that fill me. I honestly couldn't and wouldn't ask for a single little bit more... a truly blessed and happy space to be in. At this end of 2010, I give thanks.

Celebrations...

I've been surprisingly chilled out this week... haven't done much and haven't really fretted about that fact. I have a 'store' of desire to get out and run, but my body isn't quite ready I don't think.

Weds - 4km plus strength/core - was nice and easy, but my feet hurt just proximal to the balls of my feet, I imagine where a lot of tendons insert to my metatarsals?

Thurs - easy yoga

Friday - spin class - wow this was hard work! my AHR was 154, but taking away the warm up/cool down sections, I think I was averaging around 160 or 87% of MHR. Feet hurt and were crampy again, same area.

Will do an easy run this weekend and depending on how I feel, go for 1-1.5 hours. Can't wait!

Had a couple of Amazon deliveries this week. It's getting close to Christmas and I decided to start Christmas shopping (for myself, fancy that?!!) early! hehe.

In addition to a couple of books I picked up in the bookshop recently, I now have all these awaiting me (and it is all I can do to control myself and not attack them all at once!):

Dean Karnazes' Ultramarathon Man and 50-50

Pam Reed's The Extra Mile

Bart Yasso's My Life on the Run

Elaine St James' Living the Simple Life

Julia Glass' Widower's Tale (one of my favourite authors, Julia Glass - check out The Whole World Over and Three Junes!)

Pauline Chen's The Final Exam

I have the whole holiday season to revel in all that and get inspiration from some more vegetarian recipes (my neighbour just lent me Gourmet Vegetarian). I always think that my life is a story told in the books I read - I like how things are going right now!

Next week, I should get up to 2-3 runs, but will give myself another easy week since I'm going away for a long weekend anyway. After that, I should work back up to 30km pw and then build from there! Happy weekend now!