This time of year is when we take time to reflect on the past year. Looking back to assess what has worked well and identify areas we need some improvement. The New Year marks a clean slate allowing us to refocus as we move forward. It is a very common tradition to set new goals for the upcoming year and often we do so with a renewed sense of hope and motivation.
What I’ve learned through my walking and running journey is that goals are indeed a very important aspect of growth and give us direction for our training, but habits are what will actually get you there. Habits are the systems and processes that we put in place to ensure our success as we work towards our goals. And while everyones goals for the new year may look very different, it is in the habits, systems and processes that we will find many more similarities. Let’s take a look at some habits that are crucial to get us to our goals, no matter what they are.
Scheduling is number one. No matter where you are in your walking or running journey we all need a schedule. A block of time that you’ve set aside to push out the door and get your workout done. Therefore, I think the number one habit to put in place is to set a schedule, pencil it into your calendar and stick to it. If it’s on our schedule we are much less apt to let other activities crowd in and take over.
Being prepared is number two. We’ve already set a schedule so now we need to prep ahead of time to make it easier to stick to it. One way to be prepared is to look at the weather forecast. I’m a firm believer that there is no bad weather for walking or running outside, only poorly selected clothing. So be prepared, check your forecast and lay out your clothing accordingly. Simply skipping because it’s too hot, cold or raining will quickly destroy the habit of scheduling your workouts.
Two other habits that will help get us closer to our goals is proper hydration and adequate sleep. Both of these have a big impact on our overall health and will affect our performance in a huge way. A good rule of thumb regarding hydration, is to divid your weight in half and that is the number of ounce in water you should be drinking daily. Sleep may look a little different for each of us depending on our schedules but most adults should get 7 or more hours of sleep every night to function optimally.
No matter what our goals are for the coming year or how different they may be, good habits such as scheduling, being prepared and taking care of our physical self will put us all on the path of least resistance to accomplishing anything we set our minds to. Let’s keep moving forward – Together!
Connect with us on Facebook @CoastalRace or @RunCRP and if you’d like to connect with JoJo or join a weekly group walk or run please email I’d love to hear your story jojo@coastalraceproductions.com