Six Years, Six Posts: Post 6 - Year End Plans

As long as I have goals in mind, I'll strive to meet them. I created my wellness goals this year to ensure my focus. I set goals I could achieve with some work and stretch goals that would require more effort. You can see all the scoop on these posts:

3rd Quarter Results
2nd Quarter Results
1st Quarter Results
2011 Wellness Goals

I realized earlier this year that I h.a.t.e.d running in the Texas heat. It was huge for me to admit it and revise my goals, but  running was a beating and I just didn't enjoy it. Problem is that in my 3rd quarter results I talked about how my revised mileage goal may be a stretch. Honestly, it has been bugging me ever since! So recently I decided to go for it, kick it into gear, and end the year strong.

The holidays are tough though. Surrounded by food, family stress, my own personal family baggage, holiday stress, etc. it can make keeping an exercise routine and mainly healthy choices rough for pretty much everyone. My husband is also going to be out of the country for a military detachment for over 4 weeks that includes Christmas/Eve and NYE/NY which leaves me more vulnerable than normal. So, I needed a plan and some focus that would help me with preventing excuses. Enter:

That's right a double race! It will be the first time for this race and seemed like a good way to end the year and start the next. So, what's a double? These were the options:

Essentially you can pick anything from a 5K on NYE and a 5K on NY to TWO marathons. I originally thought I'd do a half relay on each day. I ended up registering for:

That's right a HALF on NYE and a 5K on NY. Since my base is definitely not what it was, I will not focus at all on time for the half (hear that Fluffy?). My focus is "fun & finish". I went back and forth on whether or not to do the half, but if I did a relay, I knew that I could just go run the 6.5 miles which wouldn't help me with preventing holiday excuses. And, while the bling always attracts me to the race originally, this one is no exception. Check this out:

You get a half medal for each race (reflects the race you ran), but upon completing the 2nd, you also get the magnetic back plate. And look at the size! (That's right, everything is bigger in TX!). What's your plan for making it through the holiday season on track with your personal goals?

Man, writing 6 posts in 6 days seemed like such a good idea at first! Then I realized, heck I'm lucky if I post 6 times in a month!!! Thank you to each and every one of you that have read through these posts and for all the very kind comments. I truly appreciate it.