A few years ago, I worked at a leadership conference in Santa Barbara. I was standing at the on the beach with a few people, and someone asked me what direction I was facing. Having grown up in California, I felt pretty confident that if I was on a beach, and I was directly facing the ocean, I was facing west.
“You’re wrong.”
It wasn’t until someone showed me a map that I finally acknowledged my error. If you look at a map of California, you’ll see that the coast cuts inward for a few miles. People standing on a beach looking at the ocean in Santa Barbara are actually facing south.
I realized this week that while I may be going to the gym, it doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m heading westward. My workouts this week were mixed. My stamina is improving and I’ve been good about staying at the gym, but I’m not necessarily doing everything I need to do to prepare for the half-marathon.
I recognized I needed to crank out a map and start getting more specific in my planning for my trips to the gym and what I do once I’m there.
Two major lessons this week:
- I need to have a fully stocked gym bag in my car at all times. There were two days this week where I missed out on a workout because I hadn’t planned ahead. I was right by a gym, but I ended up missing out with the expanded commute back home and the distractions at home.
- I need to plan out specific workouts. I’ve been pretty good about using cardio equipment, but I need to start transitioning into more strength training. I need to have some specific goals for weight, sets, and reps. My schedule is also about to get a little bit interesting with a month away from my home in Phoenix. I’ll need to plan ahead.
On a cool note, my cousin texted me last week to let me know that the ½ marathon course this year will run across home plate in Angels Stadium. I’m really excited about the course. Now I just need to keep up some excitement about the training!