Fall Feats: Musings and Goals

Beautiful fall days...

After some commentary (or complaints?) about the weather here in Calgary, I must admit: we’ve had a few absolutely stunning fall days! It’s almost as if summer’s made a resurgence and no one’s complaining now! As I was driving to my client’s house this morning, I couldn’t believe my ears: it was 14 C at 5:55 am! This calm, mild, and clear morning just had to be celebrated with a good, fall run.

And so, after a small cup of coffee and a little bowl of cereal with almond milk and an apple, I headed out the door into the pleasant weather.

O, sweet nectar!

Along main roads and bike paths and trails I ran…and ran, and ran! I was feeling so good this morning I added an extra 3 miles to the end of my planned distance, and it felt wonderful. As I was running along at one point, I actually said out loud, “I am so blessed!” because I was hit with what a privilege it is to be able to run when I like and extend my run if I wish and not have the “normal” constraints of regular work hours. I am grateful not only to be able to run at all, but to run a flowing, fun, and very fall-ish 8.83 miles before 8:30 am. Wonderful!

Feeling great 1 hr, 11 min. later!

On that note, I thought I would post my fall/winter goals as I’m finally nailing them down – it’s been hard for me to be specific about what I want to accomplish, see, and build into. But here are a few that come to mind:

• Embrace winter running. Although I love to run, I normally cross-train in the winter, but this year I’ll have no gym access as far as cardio is concerned, and besides back country skiing, I want to still get out there and run for my cardio! Although this goal is rather loose, I know how I feel when I run (and run outside, for that matter), and I have been enjoying running so much lately that I want to make it a priority in the winter. Bring on the snow – here we go!
• Maintain my weight. As much as I try not to live by numbers or the scale, I do want to be aware of how I’m doing weight-wise over the holiday season with the fun of Halloween (my favorite holiday! oooh boy – it’s candy corn season already!), Thanksgiving, and Christmas just around the corner. Choosing health always gives me the best reward and the best feeling rather than 3 helpings of stuffing or choosing to buy the “extras” that would otherwise save me stomach aches, money, and calories! I will mainly be doing this by going by how my pants feel and how my face looks – I can’t hide weight gain because it shows in my cheeks – the ones on my face, that is. 😉
• Find a yoga studio/class to take once a week. Although we cannot afford a membership to a studio right now, I would like to make it a priority to try a yoga class once a week. I love hot yoga even though I’ve only done it a few times, and I can already picture how great it would feel after implementing my first goal of winter running to then be in a hot, sweaty room stretching it out and lengthening my muscles after some good pounding! My body’s been craving yoga right now, to tell you the truth, and every time I try to head out to a session I’ve been foiled at every turn! I think it’s worth the drop-in fee if I’m going just once a week but the outcomes will be so beneficial to my body if I can commit to it.

Fitness-wise, that’s about it for the time being. I’d like to refine these goals and make them more specific as they are currently in the generic stage, but I’m okay with that for now. Some other goals that come to mind (because life isn’t just about fitness!) include:

• Shredding the Gnar as much as possible! Mikey and I cannot wait for some good back country ski sessions this season…and hope to get out as much as possible even during a fall and winter that’s shaping up to be pretty busy. What a great way to get a workout with keeping the focus on fun and enjoying the outdoors together.
• Veggie-Loading: It’s so tough to eat a varied diet in the winter, but I’m bent on mixing it up and enjoying food to the fullest! I’m excited for the challenge of eating well and as local and organic as possible this winter now that we’ve begun to change some of our preconceptions on what eating “healthy” really means, and I’m looking forward to eating for health, nourishment, and enjoyment.
• Working on getting PeaceField up and running by the New Year: Some pretty big things are going on in our lives right now…to see exactly what I mean, check out my *other* blog here. There is a lot of work to be done, but we are already seeing God provide for this new need and opportunity in huge ways! We have an upcoming painting party lined up and are excited to take little steps to build into this beautiful new gift that we will be able to use for others.

Just a teaser: the new "gift!" Check out the link for more info.

On that note, I’m curious: Do you have any specific (or generic) goals for this Fall/Winter season? Sharing is caring…and I need people to help keep me accountable! So, life- and/or fitness-wise, post your goals so that we can help keep one another on the right path. Have a great rest of your Tuesday and thanks for reading! Live well & be well,

-Bonnie

Fall Friends