Remember my word for 2021? If you don’t, it’s clear and you can read about it here. The last few years I used song lyrics each month that used my word — or maybe just the feeling I wanted to convey. In 2021 I’m just using quotes. I like to do something like this because then I can actually stay clear on my word!
It’s very important that we re-learn the art of resting and relaxing. Not only does it help prevent the onset of many illnesses that develop through chronic tension and worrying; it allows us to clear our minds, focus, and find creative solutions to problems.
–Thich Nhat Hanh
Obviously I’m a resting and relaxing champion, especially in January! All that rest did allow me to get clear on some goals and launch my Yoga Website here (in case you’re new to this blog).

Getting in scheduled runs
Good thing there was no scheduled runs. There was pretty much no running in January at all. I will get back to running, but I know my body and I know that just wasn’t what I needed. With the pressure of training off, I felt no guilt at all about not running. I never expected to take this long a break though! I did start the year off running, and I ended January with just a smidgeon of running.
Grade Earned: A (for listening to my body)/C- (actual running)
Recording my runs
I am actually back to using a planner. A smaller one, less things to fill out (although sometimes I wish there was more room), so yes, what little running I did got recorded.
Grade Earned: A
Dynamic Warmup
I think I may have slacked on this on the few runs I did, but I honestly don’t remember.
Grade Earned: B

Foam Rolling
There is daily foam rolling going on! I took a course in myofascial release, and I have another one booked for the end of this month. It came in so handy when my shoulder was painful! Thankfully that didn’t last long, thanks to the self myofascial release (SMR). Can’t wait to share some of that with you! Basically I do some SMR and foam rolling pretty much every morning before I do my Yoga.
Grade Earned: A+
Nutrition
Nutrition was actually very good. I’m pretty good about trying to eat very healthy when I don’t feel well because I know that is helpful. It didn’t hurt that when I was sick initially (way back at the beginning of the month), I wasn’t terribly hungry.
Grade Earned: A
Support
Normally this is where I remind myself to go to the chiropractor, the hair dresser, and get a massage. I think I’m just going to delete this section going forward! The only good thing about not doing those things is the $$ we’ve saved.
Cross Training
Well, there’s been a lot of Yoga and even when I still wasn’t feeling 100% I only missed a couple of days of walking Bandit. As I got better there were some days when we only walked him a short amount (due to cold), so sometimes I went on to walk longer solo.
Grade Earned: A+
January 2021 gets . . .
. . . an A. For effort. I did the things I knew my body needed. I didn’t meet my goals, but it’s just silly to push for no reason when you’re not feeling well.
January Goals:
- Continue to run 3 x week + 1 cycle class. N. It wasn’t the right choice for me this month.
- Focus on endurance. Y/N. Y, when I actually ran, LOL!
- Continue to strength train 2 x week N. This may actually have been behind when I tweaked my shoulder — twice in just a few days! — doing Yoga. I kept up with my AM Yoga, which does actually do quite a bit of bodyweight moves, but clearly I wasn’t quite in shoulder weight bearing shape.
- Continue to try to eat intuitively — unless the weight starts to creep up.. Y. It’s easy to eat healthier when you’re just not hungry (don’t worry, the appetite is definitely back) — although some people go for the unhealthy kind of comfort food when they’re sick. I know that won’t help me feel better. Even with minimal activity, I maintained my weight.
Which leads me to February Goals:
- Get back to running 3 x week. Not quite sure what that’ll look like right now. Maybe it’ll only be 2 x week in the beginning. Not sure. Just going to try and take it slow and ease back in.
- Listen to what my body is telling me. I don’t feel like I was pushing too hard at all before I got sick, but something is always out of balance when you get ill. I’m going to ease back in — not just in distance and pace, but maybe even the amount of days I work out. Someday I’ll actually get clear on what balance looks like for me!
- Ease back into strength training. I think that’s always my problem — I want to do it all: Running. Cycling. Swimming. Yoga. Strength Training. Pilates. Maybe this will be starting out with a couple of ten minute workouts a week — maybe even just one.
- Continue to try to eat intuitively — unless the weight starts to creep up. Always a goal. Over the years I’ve gotten much better at it, but it’s always a work in progress.
Linking up with Zenaida Arroyo and Kim @ Kookyrunner
This week I am also joining up with the new Runners’ Roundup linkup.