Fitness Life Area: Healthy, Happy and Whole
This post is a follow on discussion about Life Areas based on the 90 Day Goals in Action planner that I wrote. It's my way of planning out goals that are realistic, time bound and achievable. This post will focus on the Fitness Life Area.
In this post I am sharing a few of my previous goals and some resources that helped me achieve them.
Here we go!
What is the Fitness Life Area?
The Fitness Life Area consists of all different things physical, mental and emotional health. Generally, things that make you feel healthy.
This includes:
• Self-care activities
• Working out at the gym
• Drinking more water
• Developing good sleep habits
• Going to therapy
• Seeing your primary care doctor for annual checkups
• Eating healthy, nourishing foods
Here are some of my own personal goals from the Fitness Life Area over the last couple of years.
1) Run a half marathon without stopping to walk
I first got the idea to run a half marathon in 2012 when I was in graduate school. A colleague of mine signed up for a race and she challenged me to run it along with her. I had been a runner for years - starting with running track in middle school - but I had never taken on a long distance race like that before.
I'll admit, I wasn't fully conditioned for that first race. And I only had a few weeks to train. BIG mistake! I had intense shin splits for a week after that race. Training for a half marathon is quite the endeavor. And it requires dedication that I really didn't give it the first time around.
I prepared much better for my next race. This time I had a plan.
My next half marathon race was the 2013 inaugural Hokie Half Marathon at my Alma mater, Virginia Tech. (GO HOKIES!) I spent about 16 weeks training for that and I used the Nike+ Running app for my training plan. I believe it’s called Nike Run Club (NRC) now.
The Nike+ Running app is amazing! It provided me with a guided series of workouts for each week with various exercises mixed in. I was doing speed runs, long distance runs, cross training and of course, rest days.
After that Hokie Half Marathon I was hooked on distance running! I continued to use the Nike+ Running app as I trained for other races. Soon enough I whittled down my half marathon time from 2 hours 45 minutes to 2 hours 7 minutes!
Resources that helped me
• Nike + running app for the training plans, logging my runs and tracking my pace over time.
• Fitbit to track heart rate
• Apple Watch to track my heart rate, pace and play music while I was out on my runs (connected to my AirPod headphones)
2) Connect more intimately with my emotions through talk therapy
I believe in the power of therapy and the power of prayer. (Jesus + therapy for me!) With that said, I found individual talk therapy very helpful for uncovering the root cause behind my actions and emotions.
A few years ago I was in 2 car accidents within a month of each other. The first one totaled my car and broke my arm. The second sprained my back and completely broke my spirits. It was a devastating, emotionally draining time. I was angry about what happened to me and disappointed that I wasn’t able to run and workout like I used to.
I became depressed.
After months of physical therapy I was able to use my arm again, but I didn’t feel like my old self. I wasn’t emotionally healed.
I started seeing a therapist about a year after the car accidents and it was life changing. My therapist recommended several different techniques that helped me to uncover and unpack what was actually happening emotionally and why that was triggering such a powerful physical response in my body.
My visits with her completely erased my fear of driving in the rain, and for that I am forever grateful.
I’m pleased to say that I am back to running again. It took me a few years to gain enough strength in my back and legs but I’m doing it!
Encouragement
Everyone has the right to feel healthy, happy and whole in their own body. I pray that you find whatever works for you and stick with it!
What sort of Fitness Life Area goals are you interested in taking on this year? Let me know in the comments!