Thursday 3 February 2011

Running Breeds Positivity

Running led me to triathlon, which got me back in the pool, out on the bike and on the path to Ironman.

It has also contributed elsewhere in life: overall health, work and beyond.

Thinking back through training for my first marathon (building from the "Run" blog), as the weeks breezed by, I felt both mentally and physically stronger and began to think, 'well, if I'm doing all of this to improve my running, what else could aid the program (other than more training)?'  Aha, diet!

So, the bad eating habits started to go: Tesco's oven pizza was limited to monthly rather than weekly, the idea of a post-training baguette (not a small single, but the big family-size baguette!) had to go, packaged lunch meat now a thing of the past, free hot chocolate from the vending machine at work was no more, excessive amounts of peanut butter on toast at breakfast was reduced, etc.

This process has led to a diet of mostly fresh foods and a microwave-less life as refreshing as a plateful of straight-from-the-market veggies with a side of cous-cous.

The training also improved skills at work.  The long-term program broken down into monthly, weekly, daily goals helped me focus each day on an individual session without losing sight of the end goal.  As simple or common sense as it sounds, that project management mentality never clicked in my brain before this.  So, I applied the concept to some projects at work with smashing success!

Let's also not forget the time management skills necessary to train, work and maintain a healthy social life which I put into action on a daily basis.

While it may appear indirect to some, I clearly link the following: surrounding myself with those who have achieved what I want to achieve TO taking action to finally chase my goals TO positive reenforcement as I work toward my goals TO taking new skills from the experience and applying to other aspects of life TO starting the cycle over targeting new achievements.

It's a never-ending circle of positive energy.

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