MARCH REPORT

For some time now I've been doing a monthly review as each month has come to its end.  Here is my review for March and I invite my readers to stop and think about your own journeys and assess how you're tracking. I'd love to hear from you so we can support and encourage each other.

Interestingly we are now 1/4 of the way through the year. Some people had big hairy arsed goals, some had goals that were more "middle of the road" and some had few if any goals. I remember starting the year with a some fairly non-specific goals with only one absolutely black/white "I will do" goal and that was to not set myself a weight loss "this year I will lose XXkgs" goal. Yes I stopped living my life in a state of always wanting/needing to lose weight and it was liberating indeed!

Now back to the month of March. Wow what a roller coaster ride it was. And not a pleasant one at times.

March is known as "Mad March" in Adelaide as its crammed to the brim and then overflowing with events including artistic, cultural, sporting, community and more. Adelaidians hit party mode and really get into it all. And so we did but to a more moderate extent. One of the spinoffs from this crammed social calendar is that we eat out more, eat with friends more and also drink more. This can and did see the number on the MM creep up a little but life is to be enjoyed and the number will, I know go down again.

Training for the Half Marathon went into overdrive. Long runs became LONG runs and every time I completed one I enjoyed a sense of achievement and genuine elation ... once I got over my extremely tired and sore state. My perception of whats possible when I run has changed immensely. I once thought that a 12km fun run was torture and why would I want to run such a distance again? Having nailed a 17+km training run last Sunday I think back and dream of doing an "easy 12kms" LOL. Without a doubt my training has tested my physical abilities, my mental strength and my belief in myself. All three have at times let me down and it hasnt been a smooth journey of clocking up success after success. But every time I fell down whether it be physically, mentally or in my lack of self belief, I managed to pick myself up, dust myself off and keep going. I may have lost some battles but I plan to win the war on race day.

During March I had some bouts where I really struggled with emotional eating. Some of my old demons came back with a vengeance and I was in turmoil for quite a few days. Subsequently my date with MM this morning had me expecting to see a bigger number and yep I was 1.5kgs up from the start of the month (I honestly thought it may even have been more). Funnily enough there was a point during March where I was so motivated to do a smashing HM run that I planned to ramp up my nutrition, get a bit leaner and thereby really improve my performance. That didnt last long and I soon slipped back into living my life in a more relaxed and go-with-the-flow way. It seems to really suit me so I'm learning to harness it and work with it.

So on the eve of April, the month in which I do my Half Marathon (18 sleeps to go!) I feel optimistic, calm, focussed and quietly determined to run a good race. In fact I would also extend that to my approach to life in general. One thing is for sure....there will always be good days, bad days, hard days and "isnt life great" days. The key is to find the good and positive in every situation, to give thanks for all the good in our lives and just be. Be happy. Be confident. Be yourself.

Cheers all

M