Fitness Friday: Avoiding Excuses

That's right, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna start a weekly alliteratively named theme day. I posted before Thanksgiving about starting to run, but realized I need to avoid making excuses as much as possible to stick to it. Hey blogging world, want to hold me accountable too?!

Here are the excuses I'm working to preempt...

• I'm tired.
• It's cold out.
• I don't have time. 
• Waaahhhhhhhh I don't wanna!

Pretty easily used excuses, huh? Especially that last one. To an extent, I think #2 and #3 can be valid, but #1 and #4 are good ol' favorites for no rhyme a reason.

I'm still working on getting into a routine, but I can knock out #1 and #3 by simply planning ahead. Don't wait until 10pm to say, "Oh darn, I was gonna run today..." Who wants to run at 10pm? Aside from being tired, it's freezing and probably not the safest idea. My entire world is scheduled on my Outlook calendar - why can't I squeeze in a 30 minute plan to run? Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I can fit in a quick run at lunch. Tuesdays and Thursdays right after dinner. Saturday and Sunday I don't work, so whenever. I've got a jogging stroller and can even take a kid with me. If I can't find at least 3 times to run during the week, I'm not planning well enough.

Excuse #2 is a tough one. I can't exactly change the weather, but I can prepare for it. It's colder early in the morning and later in the evening. With a magic thing called the Weather Channel I can even find out HOW cold it'll be so I can choose a time to go out! Also, dressing properly helps too. Honestly, I'd rather run in the snow than in the humidity, so the cold doesn't bother me much. A good base layer of a non-cotton material, then another layer or two and a hat does the trick. That's right - I remember learning about hiking and layering in Girl Scouts. Last week, J took me to the Nike and Under Armor outlets to pick out some cold weather gear. Coupled with what I already own, a pair of UA base 2.0 pants and a waterproof hat and a Nike Therma-Fit hoodie will keep me toasty warm!

We're all adults and can most likely dress ourselves, but this tool on Runner's World is a neat way to double check your wardrobe against the weather conditions. 

Then there is excuse #4. I don't wanna run!! I'm doing this because I need to, not because I want to. I don't like running, but I DO like having run. This one is gonna fall on me (and, let's be honest, J too).

I tell my students when they are planning for the year - the first step to overcoming your road blocks is to identify them before they come up. I know that I don't like running and I know what I've said that has kept my butt on the couch. What do you do when you take power away from your go-to excuses?