Short and Sweet September Goals

If there are was anything greatly lacking from my running repertoire the last several months, it was goals.  And now that a new month is here, it’s time to set some!

Because I decided to take the rest of the year off from races, I’ve pretty much free floated from day-to-day and didn’t really set any goals for myself. Running mileage was simply determined by how I felt, or how early or late I woke up.

There were certainly times I’d set mini goals such as I’d like to reach a weekly mileage of 20 or 30 miles, or let me see if I can actually get the running shoes on my feet and head out the door 5 times this week.  BIG accomplishment if I hit that, and yeah I sure did from time to time.

While a part of me felt like it was a much bigger drop-off, I ended August with 67 miles which came down from 124 miles in July, respectively. I’m not a huge numbers person, but my body could feel the effect. I felt more sluggish and weighty.

Seeing as my monthly mileage has bounced around, up and down like a rollercoaster each month, I think aiming for 80 to 100 miles in September would be a reasonable goal. Barring anything that could potentially derail my plans, I feel confident in reaching 20 to 25 miles a week.

If that wasn’t enough, I need to make sure I incorporate strength training and core work more. Actually I need to be consistent with both! I’ll be the first to admit I don’t take either as seriously as I should, especially when when my mileage is low, but I need to change that going forward. I AM changing that this month!

I don’t think strength training, once or twice a week — every week — is too much to ask of myself. It takes as little time as doing a few lunges and planks and arm dips. Not much time at all!

So why don’t I invest more time in it? I have no idea. But that’s going to change around this month.

And that’s basically it! Those are my goals for September. Run more. Strength train more. Simple, right?

Oh, I almost forgot my last goal! No injuries. Even when mileage is low, injuries can still occur especially on those trails, but I tend to be cautious and back off when I get twinges and I suppose that’s where the power of strength training and stretching come in to help prevent those.

This post was short and sweet – much like meeee!  LOL! Okay you can calm your laughter now. Seriously though, unless there is something so gravitating I need to write about, I’m going to keep posts on the shorter side.

Last month I had a birthday (Yay to getting one day closer to being eligible for social security which I’ll most likely never receive), but it appears as my age increases, my attention span decreases, so short and sweet it is! Okay you can stop laughing now. 😀

Thanks for reading and happy running!