Happy New Year! This was the week where I awkwardly worked between my 2020 and 2021 paper planners. Everyone at home laughs at my “stone tablets” but it’s how I roll. This past week was that glorious one where the days all meld together and you sort of forget exactly what day it is, except work is still nuts for me. We also had our first couple of “snow events” of the season. Here’s how the workouts went:
Monday: Walk 4 miles, Track Repeats
Tuesday: Walk 1 mile, Cycle Workout + Mobility
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Walk 4 miles, Trail run
Friday: Walk 2 miles, Zoom Cycling with the Biker Chicks
Saturday: Walk 2 miles, Cycle Workout, Upper Body Strength
Sunday: Walk 4 miles, Run 3 miles, Lower Body Strength + Core
Again this week, some of our walks were curtailed by single digits and an alternating snow/freezing rain affair I like to refer to as “winter strudel”. To be expected I guess.
While I haven’t noticed an earlier sunrise yet, they sure have been stunning. I have noticed the sun is setting about 10 minutes later already, and that I will gladly take!
Thanks to Kim for organizing a New Year’s group ride via Zoom. This was so much fun!
2020 Goals Review
2020 was not what anyone wanted in so many ways but yes, there are bright spots. I’m typically more of an intention setter than a goal setter but I did force myself to set a few:
Lose weight, especially belly fat
I’ll talk more about this in a future post, because I learned some things that are valuable to ALL women after menopause, not just those of us with autoimmune disease. For now though I’ll tell you I started the year 15 lbs. heavier than I am now. It may not sound like a lot but think about dragging around a 15 lb dumbbell. It’s significant on my 5’2″ frame. More important I’ve lost 4″ of visceral belly fat. I am MUCH more interested in what my body can do vs how it looks, so I’m not going to entertain you with before and after pics, but I runfess I was no fan of that meno-pot, especially given how active I am.
Weight: -15 lbs
Chest: -1″
Waist: -4″
Hips: -2″
Get thyroid antibodies under control without medication
Back in January, 2020 I went on the Autoimmune Protocol Diet (AIP), which eliminates many food groups for 6 weeks, before slowly adding most of them back. My antibodies took a full 6 months after that diet concluded to normalize, but they did finally come down.
Start a YouTube Channel and have 200 subscribers by the end of the year
I had no clue what I was doing back in spring when I started dabbling on YouTube, or what kind of goal to set as far as subscribers go so I just threw a number up against the wall. Thanks to many of you, I squeaked it in and made my goal. I still struggle mightily with YouTube, and I failed to post anything for an entire month when my dad died, so this is a big win, even if it doesn’t sound like one.
Move 1000 miles
I told you over coffee that this goal was one induced by my job at ZOOMA and that I included our pandemic walks in the mileage. I hit 1000 miles back in September and haven’t bothered to even look at what I’m at for the entire year, because I runfess I don’t care.
Coaching
Our little team at ZOOMA has grown a lot. I’ve been coaching 6 challenges a year for ZOOMA for over 2 years now and my groups have grown from hundreds to thousands. It’s been a wild ride and definitely out of my comfy zone, but the evolution from focusing on my own running to helping others achieve their running and fitness goals has been great. I love what I do. Running has been so very good to me and I love to pay it forward.
Kitchen Update
We had the first team of kitchen designers in to assess our situation. They seemed nice enough and will come back with some designs in a week. They said to plan on not having a kitchen for a couple of months. Not surprised. Another team of designers is scheduled for later today, then another for later this week.
New on YouTube
Super Set Strength. Us older girls may not recover as quickly as we once did but a high-intensity workout still does a body good. This full-body strength sequence will help you build and keep that muscle on your body, which is SO important.
How was your week? Did you assess your 2020 goals? Set some for 2021?
I’m linking up with Kim and Deborah for the Weekly Run Down. Join us!
You accomplished so much this year! I had to shift alot of my goals from what they were at the beginning of 2020, but it was still a pretty good year despite everything that went wrong. Happy new year!
You had a great year! I have really been enjoying your trail photos. I enjoyed a spectacular sunset on our drive home from my son’s yesterday. It made the drive much nicer.
I think our kitchen remodel took over 2 months, but they completely gutted the space on day 1, and the finishing touches dragged on at the end. It was SO worth it though — just don’t set up your back-up space under the kitchen space, because then every day you will have to clean up the sawdust that filters down from above ….
Congrats on your YouTube channel!
In all honesty, I have no idea what my 2020 goals were (or if there even were any). I just kept on keeping on, and did the best to stay positive through al the crazy turmoil (Covid cancelations, Max’s surgery, the derecho, my stress fracture, and my own Covid episode). We can do tough things, right? I need to check out your You Tube channel more often…I’m not really a You Tube gal, so it’s off my radar (my bad). It’ll be fun to follow along on your kitchen remodel, especially since I won’t be “living” it 😉
You had such an awesome 2020! Congratulations on crushing your goals for the year, and way to start of 2021 strong! I am also team “paper planner”. I know that there are awesome digital options out there, but I just love using pen and paper to write down my workouts and goals.
Loved virtually riding with the group yesterday and hope we can do it again soon.
way to really crush so many goals this year! That’s great that the Zooma challenges are going so well. I didn’t join this time bc I can hardly keep up with all the Peloton challenges. I also made some drastic changes to my diet and I am really happy with the changes in my composition so far too. I am anxious to get some. new blood work done this month to see if it has made a difference in my cholesterol etc. Way to start the year strong!
Wow, what a great year with regards to your goals Marcia! Impressive. Glad the Zooma challenges have been a success.
What an absolutely stunning sunrise!
No pun intended but 15 pounds is HUGE by any standards. And of course the real prize is that those pounds are still gone all these months later. And being able to get off medication is another huge win as well. You rocked 2020!
I use regular planners, too. Mine is sitting in front of me on the desk as I type this.
15 lbs is MAJOR. While I could lose that much & still be healthy, I’d be really happy with 5 lbs. It’s always been difficult for me.
Yes, YouTube can be the bane of my existence but I’m proud of what I’ve built, even if I have far fewer subscribers than you. I can’t imagine coaching thousands of people though. You really have no idea what’s involved in video until you just do it!
Congrats on your weight loss. You look awesome (not that you ever looked heavy).
Now that I bought a bike I plan to add that to my running and walking.
Our kitchen update has been pushed into the summer at the earliest.
I hit 1000 miles run and I’m happy. I do walk a lot but never record the distance. I guess I could but again it doesn’t really matter – just a number. I try to walk everyday. I hope to continue that in 2021 (thank you pandemic).
You’ve had a fabulous year. Didn’t realize the antibodies had eventually gone down, yay. I’m also a fan of what I can do vs. how I look, but I think we all get that moment of not liking elements of what things look like. I think I said it early in December but your YouTube was sanity saver in post-travel quarantime.
Congrats on a great year for you–that abdominal spare tire is definitely a gift that menopause doesn’t want us to return, lol. I’ve worked hard on my diet too–between that and strength training, I’m staying on top of it. The holidays kind of messed with me.
Great year with your goals! And 15 lbs is awesome! I know I’ve got 10 I’d love to say goodbye too…especially the meno-middle!
I’m also a paper planner. While technology can make life easier in so many ways, for me there’s still something about putting pen to paper that can’t be beat.
So good to see you yesterday! We’ll have to do another virtual ride soon!
I. Love. Paper. Planners. I have two. One is general and the other is a little more fitness focused. I haven’t decided which I prefer.
We are hoping to have our kitchen done too. Mr PugRunner is not going to handle the timeline well, so we need to have a plan to let him be elsewhere during the construction. I wish I had the ability and tools to do it myself.
I have to say that I am pretty grateful to be on the taller side. At 5’10”, I can gain up to 20 pounds without it really showing significantly. I’ve been good at keeping the weight off this year (surprising even myself, what with my leg and all the stress eating), but I’m feeling pretty solid in that regard heading into this year.
I used to have a paper calendar but now have switched over to Google Calendar. I use it for both personal and school. That is awesome on losing those 15 lbs!! I am excited about your kitchen renovation but a few months with no kitchen? How is that going to work out?
Wow, you really accomplished a lot in 2020! I think I speak for everyone (or at least most of us) when I say I want to hear more about how you lost the belly fat! It sounds like you successfully targeted that area (4″ is a lot!). I agree that looks aren’t the most important thing, but it’s a health issue as well and I’ve been struggling with it.
Also looking forward to hearing about the kitchen remodel! Please take lots of “before” pics before it begins!
Gotta love practical goals. I put mine on one of my blogs to remind me all year. Definitely need that.
Visiting from ZOOMA challenge (as an ambassador)
Wow, thousands of people in your group! that’s awesome!! As for a paper planner, I don’t have one of those because I change things around so much, but I love (and need!) to make lists of all sorts. I have 4 different To Do list apps on my phone because I need them to keep me focused on a goal or remind me of something. Congrats on your weight loss achievements!