As 2012 is coming to an end it’s very exciting to think about what’s ahead in 2013. For me 2012 saw some major improvements in fitness and new adventures. I ran not one marathon but two! I also got injured for the first time in a long time. I learned a lot about what types of stress my body can handle and where I need to get stronger. Going into 2013 I want to use that knowledge become a better athlete.
While thinking about what I want to accomplish in 2013, and already having some ideas floating around, I realized, oh wait, this might change pretty quickly if my ultimate goal is met, what if I get pregnant?
Screeeeeech! Put the breaks on goal setting! How do I set big goals when my body could change drastically?! Do I set these goals and then revise them when we get the good news? What if my pregnancy is tough and I can’t exercise as much as I will want to?
After thinking about what my original goals were going to be ( sub 1:30 half marathon, 180lb deadlift, getting 100lbs over my head) I realized that they’re all number related. I’ve now decided to start thinking about fitness goals a little bit differently this year, and while those other goals can stay in the back of my head, the ones I’m shooting for will be things that will keep me healthy and eventually get me to those numbers.
People say you should always make SMART goals, meaning specific, meaningful (this is also sometimes substituted as measurable), achievable, relevant, and timely.
I realize that I can apply SMART goals to things that I want to improve on in fitness for 2013 that have nothing to do with numbers.
1) Improve core, glute and ham strength by attending AE classes at least twice a week.
2) Get more proactive about my nutrition by cooking at least one meal a week.
3)Get more sleep by getting in bed at 10:30 without any gadgets (no laptop no phone)
4) drink more water by always carrying around my blender bottle. I recently saw a great video with Matt Chan talking about how important water is for recovery, besides it makes your skin better and a whole list of other incredible benefits for downing some H2O.
I think with these goals in mind, I’ll have a fantastic 2013 without the disappointment of not reaching certain numbers if I’m able to get pregnant.
Any ladies out there deal with this in the past? How did you go about planning for a year ahead when you knew you wanted to have a baby?
December 27, 2012 at 5:36 pm
When I was pregnant I definitely adjusted my goals. I think the ones you are setting are great ones! I worked out until the day I had my daughter and I accomplished a lot of goals during those 9 months. Good luck!
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December 27, 2012 at 9:16 pm
That’s really great to know! I have friends who have had easy pregnancies and loved working out throughout them, and other friends who struggled to get out of bed and were sick throughout the whole thing. I’m hopeful to a)get pregnant and b) be able to workout during it!
December 27, 2012 at 6:57 pm
Oh my, this post is right on the money!
We’ve been trying to conceive since April, and because of that I didn’t end up doing either of the marathons I had planned last year because I was focused so much on getting pregnant. Almost 10 months later and I’m still not pregnant. I still could have done my races and kept up with my goals. So next year I’m trying to reevaluate what I want to do. I want to set and attain goals, but be able to change them a bit if I do get pregnant. What I want to avoid is putting everything running/fitness wise on the backburner because of “the plan”. Because let’s be honest- plans don’t always work out the way you thought they would, and it’s no good missing out on awesome things because you were too stuck on one idea.
Anyway, that’s just my thought. Rather than planning around something and focusing too much on “what if?”s, keep living and doing things. Maybe some adjustments will be necessary, but don’t have regrets.
December 27, 2012 at 9:15 pm
Great advice, thank you Lurel. I’m trying to be careful with race registrations, but also telling myself that I never know what could happen and I still need to live my life. I want to train and reach goals but also walk the fine line of not being disappointed if things change, because any change will be for a new life!
December 27, 2012 at 8:41 pm
I’d say go for those number goals until you find out you’re pregnant, then go from there. I’ve also been thinking about this myself, *tick tock* I’m a little bit younger than you though and haven’t actually committed to pulling the goalie yet.
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December 27, 2012 at 9:22 pm
I’m getting really close to the 100 over head (got 100 to my shoulders two days ago!), and my deadlift is currently 175, so 5 pounds will hopefully come, those are not the lofty ones. The scary big one is the sub 1:30. Getting 1:33 in 2011 and going over 6 months not getting out of the 1:40s is kind of hitting my ego. I know I actually need to TRAIN to get under there, and training means a big commitment. Big commitment equals pressure, and if I get pregnant and can’t fulfill the commitment I’ll be upset. So that’s my big scary one. I have two half marathons on my schedule already, and I’m not pregnant yet, so we’ll see…
December 27, 2012 at 9:10 pm
I really don’t have much advice on this. I have 4 year old twins and my pregnancy was rough and high risk so exercising was at a minimum. I would suggest not putting a lot of expectations on yourself. You never know what kind of pregnancy you’ll have. Believe me, I never thought I’d have twins! Good luck!
December 27, 2012 at 9:26 pm
I hear ya. After knowing friends with both great pregnancies and terrible ones (non stop morning sickness, bed rest required, early deliveries, some of the scary stuff) I’m hoping for the best but well aware of the worst. I can’t say that I’m planning for anything because I won’t know how I’m going to plan it until it happens, no reason for me to stress about it until I’m there.
December 28, 2012 at 11:33 am
A friend of mine passed this post along to me because I am struggling with the same thing! I want to finally run a full marathon, but at the same time, I want to become a mother. I really love your perspective on this – it’s definitely caused me to reconsider some of my goals!
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December 28, 2012 at 12:08 pm
Hi Meghan! So happy you stopped by, it is so hard to think about putting a lot of effort into something (like running a marathon!) and then realize you may have to give it up. It’s also this double edge sword, I will be over the moon if I get pregnant, but that also means I’ll have to be the driver rather than a participant on my hood to coast team (depending on timing and status of pregnancy), womp womp. So I decided that I just had to change my way of thinking on this, if I build up these other things, I’m pretty sure it will help me achieve my number goals. After reading the comment from Lurel I feel better about being signed up for two half marathons in 2013. Knowing that I’m not pregnant now, I can see within the proper amount of training time where I’m at. Since half marathon training is about 12 weeks (yeek that’s 3 whole months!) I’ll take each month at a time and see what happens, expecting that GOOD news will happen, but won’t stop training for the sub 1:30 until I find out. Good luck on your road to pregnancy and with your decision making on how or what to train for, I’ll be cheering you on!
December 31, 2012 at 8:17 am
More water? You can do better than that! That is not very measurable
You know how I am about the whole water thing… I think you have captured something very important with your goals though. People all too often focus on outcome goals without paying any attention to the process. You have outlined some excellent process goals that will undoubtedly lead to some great outcomes – pregnancy or no pregnancy. I look forward to hearing how it all goes. Happy New Year!
December 31, 2012 at 11:14 am
Hey! My blender bottle is 20oz, if I drink at least two full bottles a day I think I’ll be in better shape than 2012 and meet that goal!
Happy New Year to you! Just signed up for BMO, but will hopefully be seeing you sonner than May, thinking February or March as a “take a break and drive to Vancouver because I can” type thing. Maybe drop in at some crossfit places, maybe even yoga with you? (probably not yoga…)
January 2, 2013 at 7:28 am
I think you’re going about it a positive way by re-framing your fitness goals. However, I would keep the numbers you want to achieve in mind until you do get pregnant.
January 2, 2013 at 10:00 pm
Thanks Jenny! I agree, those goals aren’t gone, they’re just not at the forefront. By striving to achieve the other goals, I’m hoping I’ll be in a good spot to pick up the ones with the numbers. If all goes well, I’ll be adding track workouts and long runs into the schedule in mid-February and I’ll see if I can knock off that half marathon in April!