Run a 5k/Jawbone UP 24/get fit

7 - Run a 5k/Jawbone UP 24/get fit

Talking with my best friend always means ideas will grow and plans will escalate. Last year as I began to tell her of my hopes for a "23 goals for my 23rd year" it went from a passive idea to a challenge.
What does this project look like?

If I start - Will I finish?

Will I make good on promises?

Can I actually commit to something this big?

What sort of time commitment will be required?

There were many questions brought up and honestly, at the time, I didn't know if I could do it. But I believed I should try.

Don't give up on your dreams because they are hard or take a long time...

...the time will pass anyway.

So onwards!

My original plan for this one was: Run 1 Mile

That was the goal for the whole year because it was something I thought I could never surpass. I have cross country friends who do 4-6 miles a day...I thought they were insane!

Until I broke a mile...

I ran my first full mile in February, and continued to improve my time throughout the month.

April 2 I ran with my coach and set my record time at 12:07.

Then I realized I needed to make a better goal, something that would be a REAL challenge.

My challenge no longer is limited to running, but rather a more encompassing full body fitness.

I decided to add other things to my running routine.

April - 30 day Burpees Challenge (8 days in...my opinion: burpees are a cruel and awful torture)

If I survive either I'll do it again or find another work out to add. My overarching goal is not a number on a scale, or jean size, or a specific shape, but rather my goal is to be physically fit. To be a good steward of the body that God gave me and to be able to fully enjoy life.

So now I am faced with upping my own goals, it's a satisfying problem to have. So now my new goal: Run a 5k in under 30 minutes (possibly running an "Adventure Race" like a Spartan Race or the like...maybe next year...)

Hebrews 12:1-2

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

Comment with YOUR fitness goals and how you plan to accomplish them!

Disconnected or Plugged In?

3 - No Facebook, no Twitter

In a desire to be controlled by nothing other than the Lord, I have used this year as a chance to start new habits. Near the end of 2014 there was a short lived fad (I guess it's because it was a convicting one!) of an algorithm that calculated the amount of time you spend on Facebook. Like many, I went ahead and plugged in my info for it, then watched as it computed the results. I don't remember the exact number, but I do remember how shocked I was at the amount of time each day, week, and year that was spent online doing pretty much nothing to impact the world for the gospel. I decided that needed a change. There were a few days I would try to just not look at it as much, but I found that I was quite addicted to it. Because I had so many things I was planning for 2015 I thought that maybe I would set some up to happen in stages, and while for some this is still the plan, it was not going to work for my social media habit.

I have a Mac, her name is Victoria, you'll hear more about her in a later post this year. With the help of a friend, I went into the terminal on Victoria and blocked the sites (Facebook and Twitter) from my computer completely. Now it doesn't matter who tries to get onto those links, my computer can no longer access them. After this I deleted the Facebook app from my phone and the Facebook Messenger app as well.

I have retained my accounts, you can still find my FB and Twitter accounts, but I'm not there. Nor will I be there for a while. At least till the first of 2016, probably not till my 24th birthday. I may *gasp* never come back...because...I feel so much freedom! YAY!

As I have chosen to disconnect from most of my social media and plug into other things, I've found new blocks of time to use. Time for things such as family time. In the first week of the New Year, I began remodeling my bedroom. New Year's Eve I built a furniture fort with my brother. I've spent time out on my farm, enjoying the hiking, and having meals with grandparents and relatives. Time I didn't seem to have before now.

What eats your time? Is it really what you should be spending your time on?

Caffeine Addiction

4 - No caffeine

Yes, just as it sounds. I will drink no caffeine this year. There maybe cause for it at times and in those situations I will be judicious, but as my general rule. No caffeine this year.

To start with a confession: when I began working at Starbucks, my caffeine addiction wasn't terrible, it wasn't good, but it wasn't something I worried about. Not anything against Starbucks, but when I was given free coffee, my caffeine intake skyrocketed. To the point where a day with a "normal" person's* intake of caffeine just didn't cut it, I'd get a bad headache.

So, start of the new year, I stopped drinking caffeine. It was awful. Withdrawal is awful. The headache is bad. It's just all around a bad deal.

For the record, 11 days in and I still get headaches some days, including today.

So, what keeps me from drinking caffeine again? My motivation is to be healthier. Knowing that nothing worth doing is easy to do. Determination has been my biggest strength. My plan is that I will not be ruled by any substance even something as "innocent" as coffee.


More on food addictions coming soon!

Do you have a habit you are getting off? What are your secrets?



*No, I have no clue what a normal person's coffee intake is. Only that even drinking a mere 2-3 cups of coffee wasn't enough to avoid a headache.

Cut back on coffee? Okay! I'll have just one cup then.

For the CDO out there...I'm sorry that I didn't start at 1 for you, but occasionally my spontaneity eclipses my desire for structure. So this post was published first.

New Year - New Adventures

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Life has been packed, jam packed of late. In fact, it's been so full that I decided to do something drastic about it. For the fun of it, since I am turning 23 this year, I've decided to do 23 somethings about it!

But we'll just start at the beginning.

Not so much a "New Year's Resolution", but rather a decisision to focus on some really important things, cut out distractions, and reevaluate life in every sense possible. This conclusion happens to also come at the same time as the end of the year. Thus it seems to work as a NYR, so call it whatever you like.

Typical NYRs are about health, self improvement, and religious ideas. Well, what do you know! It's perfect!


So, we'll go through it in reverse.

1 - Be more faithful in prayer
I'm desiring to focus my time in more effective ways. I know of nothing more effective in time management than prayer. So this is certainly one of the biggest things on my list of 23 amazing changes.



2 - Be devoted to reading my Bible daily
Likewise, changing a lifestyle is pointless if it's outward alone, but I purpose to hone in on my soul in this year. Soul style changes are important to me. This is something that we should all strive to cultivate, so if you'd like to start a reading plan, here are some from my friends at Ligonier Ministries. They also have a lot of great resources for FREE!!!
Be sure to let me know how your reading plans go.

3 - No  Facebook, no Twitter

I love people. I love talking. I love being connected. But for this season, being connected needs to be very purposeful. It calls for the disconnecting of some areas, so that those efforts can be rerouted in more efficient direction. So this is just one of the the steps I am going to be taking to become more focused in my 23rd year of life. Should be a lot of fun!

4 - No caffeine

After college got my coffee addiction started, I started working for Starbucks. As of December 31, 2014...consuming 11-12 shots of Starbuck's espresso shots, does not effect me. So, for 2015, there will be no caffeine consumed by moi.
There are a few foodie related things I have planned for this year. For January this is my big step. Of all the foodie plans, this is going to be the hardest, so it's going first.


I hope you keep up with me as I go through this year of adventures! Leave a comment with your NYRs, lifestyle changes, and soul changes you have either just jumped into or have been working on lately! I'd love to hear from you.

Together, lets make 2015 a year of glorifying God for the growing and maturing He develops in us!


Adventure is out there!

Ephesians 5:16-17

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is."