January 2, 2025 • 33 mins
#124 - In this episode, I talk about 10 essential tips for planning a successful 2025, focusing on creating a fresh start, realistic goal-setting, and the importance of community in your running journey.
I discuss my own personal fitness wins and losses in 2024 and how that is translating into my areas of focus for 2025. You will hear about the good, bad, and ugly and the importance of balance, resilience, and realistic goal-setting, with insights you can apply.
Topics Covered:
- Listen to my personal goals and experiences and how I am approaching my fitness journey in 2025
- Hear the 10 tips and how you can apply them to have a successful year
- Discover books, podcast episodes, and gear that can help on your journey in 2025
Your Host
Richard Conner
Richard is a strategic marketing professional with experience in B2B marketing. Richard is the founder of Inspire to Run and is passionate about helping others reach their goals. He is a Connecticut native, a husband, dad, writer, Star Wars fan, and, of course, a runner!
Resources:
Incrediwear: Code for 10% off RICHARDCONNER
Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts
“Inspire to Run Podcast is truly inspiring!” <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move toward the healthy life that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Join the Inspire to Run community:
- Website - Inspire to Run
- Facebook - @InspiretoRun
- Instagram - @InspiretoRunPodcast
- Strava - @InspiretoRun
For more information, visit Inspire to Run.
Join the community and click the subscribe button!
Start your wellness journey and feel better with a 30-Day Healthy Living program!
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, my friend, the new year is finally here and I'm
pretty sure that you'rethinking about what will 2025
bring If you're still finalizingor fine-tuning your resolutions
or goals for the year.
I'd like to share with you 10tips that will help you plan and
execute a successful year.
Hope you enjoy.
Welcome to.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Inspire to Run Podcast.
Here you will find inspiration,whether you are looking to take
control of your health andfitness or you are a seasoned
runner looking for community andsome extra motivation.
You will hear inspiring storiesfrom amazing runners, along
with helpful tips from fitnessexperts.
Now here's your host, richard.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Conner.
Hi, my friend, welcome toInspire to Run Podcast.
I'm sure, like for many of you,2024 was a wild year for me.
There were into 2025,.
I want to bring forward whathas worked, leave behind what
(01:10):
didn't and have a strongermindset for what is to come.
So, on that note, I will sharewith you stories, books, podcast
episodes and more with the 10tips that I'm going to cover
today.
If something is not on my listbut has worked for you, please
go to the show notes for thisepisode and then you'll see at
(01:32):
the top.
Send us a text that will comeright to me and I'll share it in
a future episode and on socialmedia.
Even if all these tips resonatewith you, I would still ask you
to use that, send us a textfeature and let me know.
I really would love to hearfrom you and I'd love to share
(01:52):
your stories with others.
So, with that, let's go aheadand get started with the 10 tips
, as you think about planningyour year your 2025, and what it
is that you want to do to besuccessful in the year year,
your 2025, and what it is thatyou want to do to be successful
in the year.
So the first one is use this asan opportunity, as a fresh
(02:15):
start.
Leave those negative thoughtsand doubts back in 2024 and
carry forward your achievementsand your lessons learned that
will help you be successful in2025.
Lessons learned that will helpyou be successful in 2025.
And Fresh Start is a term that Igot from a book that I read
about a year ago called how toChange, by Katie Milkman, and
it's really interesting becauseI've just had this fascination
(02:38):
or curiosity around what drivessome people to make that change
in their lives or get to thatnext level, and others just
really have a challenging timewith that, and I use that as an
opportunity to help everybodyreach their goals.
So Katie talks about thisprinciple or this philosophy
(02:58):
around fresh start and ittypically happens, as you can
imagine, at the new start of ayear, at the new start of a
season, maybe at a birthday.
So whenever those kind of bigmilestones, that causes our
minds to kind of just stop andpause and maybe restart or kind
of rethink about the future,because you have that break
(03:21):
right Again, whether it's a newyear, a new season, a birthday
or some other milestone.
So I really love that and Ithink mostly everybody uses the
new year kind of as that freshstart.
So you really want tocapitalize on this opportunity,
just mentally, to again justkind of leave those negative
thoughts and doubts behind andreally just carry forward.
(03:41):
You know the positivity, whatyou've been able to do and what
you really want to build on asyou move into 2025.
So that's really the first tipis just really use this as a
fresh start for 2025.
And the book is called how toChange by Katie Milkman.
I definitely recommend it.
It's very good.
I listened to it on Audibleduring my long runs and I really
(04:06):
really enjoyed it as it waseducational for me.
But it really helped me thinkabout what could help me and
others as they want to make achange in their lives and get to
that next level.
So the next tip here isvisualize where you want to be
in 2025.
Visualize where you want to bein 2025.
(04:29):
So, before you get to the pointof setting your specific goals
or setting your milestones orwhat you're going to do,
visualize where you want to beand who you want to be in 2025.
So that may be something biglike hey, I want to be stronger
and faster.
I know a lot of folks arethinking about health and
fitness-wise.
(04:50):
I want to lose weight, or Iwant to be able to do X, y, z,
maybe it's.
I want to be able to do thisvacation, but I want to be able
to be active and I want to beable to explore and I want to be
able to hike, just do a lot ofthings.
That, maybe, is challengingtoday.
So just visualize who you wantto be and where you want to be
(05:11):
in 2025 at a very high level,before you even start thinking
about, well, what are thosegoals, what are those milestones
and what is it that you need todo to get there.
So it's a little bit of likewhat is your why?
It's a little bit about thatand just kind of thinking about
it a little bit differently, butreally kind of visualizing that
(05:32):
as it's a powerful tool asyou're thinking about your
planning for next year.
So that's tip number two.
Tip number three is set yourgoals and make sure that they're
realistic, and I'll just take afew moments here to share a
little bit about my goals from2024 and kind of how I'm
thinking about 2025.
(05:54):
So I had three fitness goals for2024.
The first one was run my firstmarathon.
The second one was qualify forSpartan Deca World Championships
.
And then the third was PR in myhalf marathon but not only PR
reduced my time by like nineminutes or so, so an hour and 45
(06:16):
minutes so I'll talk aboutwhich ones may or may not have
been realistic.
So the first one was run myfirst marathon, and this is
something that I'm really proudof, because if you asked me five
, six, seven years ago, would Iever run a half marathon or
would I ever run a marathon, Iprobably would have said no, I
have zero interest in doing anyof that.
(06:38):
And over the years I've beengrowing and expanding and doing
things that I've never donebefore, and the next step for me
was to run a marathon, and myoriginal idea was well, I'll run
New York City.
If I want to run a marathon, Iwant the first one to be special
, and New York City is reallyclose to me and it's a popular
(07:00):
marathon and everybody has areally great experience, so that
would be a really cool marathonto run.
So that was my goal and, as youknow, I didn't get into New
York City, unfortunately, andit's a really tough one to get
into, so I chose a marathonoverseas.
So I chose to run a marathon inFrance.
It's called the BeaujolaisInternational Marathon, and the
(07:21):
reason why is because over thelast eight years or so I've
spent a lot of time in Francefor work, so I've developed a
lot of friendships in France andI heard about this one marathon
that some of my friends had run.
So I'm thinking would it be socool to run my first marathon
overseas, in a country that Ireally love to spend time in, in
(07:43):
an area that's absolutelybeautiful and with people that I
really just love and enjoybeing with?
And all of those things madethe experience just wonderful.
So, again, while I didn't getinto New York City, which I'm
bummed about, this was anabsolutely wonderful experience
for me to run my first marathonin France, in a beautiful
(08:06):
country and area with my friends.
So check.
So I checked that box.
I ran my first marathon.
Second was qualify for SpartanDECA World Championships, and
I've kind of used Spartan DECAas a way to help me with my road
races, which is my primarysport.
So in the past I didn't use itas, hey, I want a podium or I
(08:26):
really want to qualify for worldchampionships, I just want to
be able to train like the DECAathletes, I want to be able to
use this as an experience togive me an edge in my road races
and over the last couple ofyears it's kind of developed
into something more.
I really enjoy running theraces.
I really enjoy running with thepeople that I'm running with,
with the athletes that I'mrunning with, and I thought, you
(08:47):
know what?
Maybe I do have a chance ofqualifying for world
championships.
So I'm happy to say that Iqualified for one of the events
with one of my teammates in aroll down which was just
phenomenal, just to have theopportunity to be able to do
that.
And we ran the race just a fewweeks ago by the time this will
(09:08):
be released in Ocala, florida,and it was just a wonderful,
wonderful experience being there, being in the venue, being with
such incredible, amazingathletes.
These are the best of the bestwho came to the world
championships.
They race hard.
I know they trained and workedhard to get to this point and it
was just a privilege and anhonor to be there among all
(09:30):
these amazing people.
So we ran a race.
I talked a little bit about itwith my teammate Mickey on the
last episode, so you already hadthat story on how all that went
.
But that was incredible to beable to do and I'm happy that I
was able to do it.
So check that box.
And then the third one was PRmy half marathon by an hour and
45 minutes, and this one I didnot check that box.
(09:54):
This one was probably the lowlight of my year for a couple of
reasons, not so much that itdidn't hit the hour 45, which
was a super aggressive target,and honestly I probably would
have just needed to focus a lotof my time and attention and
training on just doing that toget that kind of improvement.
This year, which I had a lot ofother things that I was doing,
(10:16):
as I mentioned the marathontraining and world championships
so it was probably anaggressive goal to get there,
but that wasn't it.
What really got me this year isthat there was a number of
races where I did really well,like I either got a PR for that
particular course or I just didbetter on some races than I
(10:36):
thought I would like, way betterthan I thought I would, and I
even ran a half marathon betterthis year for that particular
course than I had in the lastyear or so.
So this set me up for my fallmarathon, which is my A event.
This is the number one eventfor me for the year.
It's a beautiful course.
It's in the town that I grew upin.
(10:57):
I run it with an athlete friendof mine, chrissy, who we've had
on the show, and it's just awonderful experience and that
was like a fast course.
So if I'm going to PR anycourse, it absolutely should be
that course, and this year Ididn't.
And not only did I not PR, Igot a slower time than my last
two years.
So instead of getting faster,I've gotten slower on this
(11:20):
course, and that's among all theother races that I've done
where I've had so much moreimprovements.
So it was just a weird time andrace for me and I was going
through a lot of things which Italked about on the show.
I think I just kind of wentthrough a period of burnout,
self-diagnosed.
So that was really challengingfor me.
(11:41):
So even though I didn't, notonly did I not PR, I didn't get
anywhere near this time, sodidn't check that box.
So those are the three goalsthat I had for last year and
again, kind of, as I mentionedto you before, I'm leaving all
of that in the past.
That was all 2024.
I learned from those.
Hopefully I'm going to growfrom those and then, as I think,
(12:04):
about my 2025 goals, which I'llshare with you now.
So the first one is one of mymain goals is really just to be
stronger and faster in 2025.
And that doesn't really followthe SMART goal format right.
It's not specific or measurable, but it is achievable, it is
(12:25):
realistic and it is within theyear.
But I'm not putting specificnumbers around that particular
goal Because for me, mentally, Iwant to make sure that I have
more of this in my training.
So, instead of putting in somany miles every week just to
get in those miles, I want to bemore intentional about being
stronger and faster andfollowing my plan for my coach a
(12:48):
lot more strictly this comingyear than I did in 2024.
So that's my first goal bestronger and faster.
The second goal is to PR my 5Kand my half marathon races.
So I just talked all about myhalf marathon and how I didn't
do that in 2024.
In 2025, I will do that, I willPR it, but I'm not going to put
(13:11):
this goal.
That just feels so far out ofreach for me to get there.
So I want to PR and I'll seehow the year goes and I'm going
to train for it, but that's mymain goal.
So I feel like, yes, this isdefinitely realistic for me to
do, but it's not so far out ofreach that I don't really strive
for it.
And, of course, my 5k time.
I really need to get my 5k timedown.
(13:31):
So I'm really looking forwardto my 5k races.
And I have some other distancesthroughout the year that I
really would love to do betterin PR this year as well, I have
a four-miler and a five-miler.
They're not my A races, they'reprobably more of my B races,
but I have a couple of 5Ks inthe year that I really enjoy
running and those are the onesthat I really want to see myself
(13:52):
do better.
And then back to DECA Superexcited that I was able to
qualify for one event this pastyear, so, going into 2025, I
want to be able to qualify fortwo or more events for this year
.
So, whether it's individual orteams, I've got my plan for the
year, I've got my teammates andI'm really excited to just kind
(14:13):
of get after it.
So those are my three goals.
One is to get stronger andfaster.
Two is to PR my 5k and halfmarathon races and three is to
qualify for two more deck racesgoing into this year.
And the other thing that I'mtrying to do is I'm being very
intentional about what I'm goingto do and you may hear this
sometimes in other settings is Ineed to be very intentional
(14:35):
about the things that I'm notgoing to do.
So I had a lot of races in 2024and I just they were just noise,
right, and some of them Ididn't even do, I just scratched
them off the list, but theywere just taking up space.
They were taking up space on mysheet of paper with all my
races.
They were taking up space in mymind.
All those are gone right.
(14:56):
So this is not the year whereI'm going to be like well, I'll
also run a couple of marathonsand I'll run my first ultra and
maybe I'll do a high rocks,which I'm not saying I won't do,
but I'm saying that that's notmy plan.
My plan is to focus on the 16races that I've set for the year
and my plan is to focus on thegoals that I've set for the year
, and everything else is noise.
Now, if the year starts goingwell and I get to where I need
(15:18):
to be and I can start to add insome additional things.
Fine, definitely will considerit, but I'm not going into the
year with that mindset.
My mindset is to focus on thethings that I want to achieve
and just be really laser focusedon getting after those things.
So that's kind of how I'mapproaching my year.
You approach your year howeveryou want.
I'm just sharing how I'm doingmine, but it's however you do.
(15:40):
It is really important just tokind of visualize who you wanna
be and where you wanna be in theyear, and then what are those
realistic goals and milestonesand plan that's gonna help you
get there.
So, speaking of plan, thisbrings me to tip number four.
So tip number four is kind ofaround your plan and execution.
(16:00):
So a lot of what we do and a lotof who we are is really based
on our habits, and this issomething that I'm really big on
and one of the books that Iabsolutely love again, I think I
listened to it on Audible,probably on all the long runs
that I did this year, listenedto it on Audible, probably on
all the long runs that I didthis year was Atomic Habits by
(16:24):
James Clear, and his philosophyis what you do as an aggregate
is really made up of all theselittle habits, good and bad and
the trick is how do youcapitalize or stack habit he
calls it habit stack kind ofthose good habits and then how
do you change some of those badhabits.
So if you go from, you knowmaybe there's something in your
life that you want to change,that you're not necessarily
(16:45):
happy with right, they'reprobably based on some bad
habits that you want to change.
So he gives a lot of tips and alot of background, a lot of
things that you could do tobuild more of those good habits
or the habits that lead you towhere you want to be.
So just an excellent book,excellent framework and
philosophy around how habitsreally define how we act, how we
(17:09):
behave and the things that wedo.
So I definitely would recommendthat you read that book Atomic
Habits by James Clear if this isan area that you feel that you
need to work on.
So maybe consistency is just oneof those challenges that you
have.
This is a book that's going tohelp you do that, because it's
going to help you build theright habits where you're not
(17:31):
thinking about it all the time,right, it's just part of what
you do.
So if I work out five days aweek or six days a week, I know
what I'm going to do.
I know one day I'm going to dothis and another day I'm going
to do that and Sunday I'm goingto do my long runs.
I don't really think about ittoo much, right?
So maybe I got to move thingsaround a little bit or adjust or
whatever the case may be, basedon my plan or my or everything
(17:54):
else that's going on in my life.
But I've built those habits toachieve the results, to achieve
the goals that I'm looking for.
So that's tip number four, whichleads into the next tip, tip
number five, which is erase andreplace and this was one of my
favorite conversations that Ihad on the show, episode 58,
(18:18):
boost your mental fitness tolive a better life with Amina
Blake Foreman, which is alongtime friend.
She's just excellent.
She's a very successfulbusinesswoman.
She's a successful real estatebusiness.
I know she's branching off intoother things and she coaches
and mentors others and reallygreat philosophy about how she
(18:39):
manages her life and herbusiness, and one of the things
that she said that I absolutelyuse all the time is erase and
replace.
And the principle behind this is, you know, scheduling your
activities is recommended, whichI know you know it's not for
everybody.
Not everybody likes to havekind of that strict plan and
(19:01):
something on the calendar andI've always got something going
on.
But it's really going to helpyou organize your life and make
sure that the most importantthings in your life are on your
calendar and they get done,because if it's on your calendar
there's going to be thatreminder that it's there and
that block of time for whateverthat activity is, but it doesn't
(19:23):
have to be so strict.
So her point was well, if youhave your workout at six in the
morning but you have familyobligations and your son or
daughter was up all night andyou know six o'clock is just not
going to work right that day,then move it to six o'clock in
the evening, erase and replace.
(19:45):
But because it was on yourcalendar in the first place,
you're like you know what Ican't do the six o'clock in the
morning, I'm going to move it tosix o'clock in the evening and
I'm just going to kind ofshuffle things around to make
sure I get the proper sleep andI can support my family and I
can do all the other things thatI can do.
Now, if it's not in yourcalendar, it's very easy to say,
yeah, I was supposed to workout at some point today and that
(20:08):
point never comes, and then theday comes and goes.
So it's really important toschedule the most important
things in your life.
Whether you know, calendar iswhat I use, so for me, that kind
of resonated with me.
Kind of I feel like my calendarruns my life, however, it is
that you plan your week or yourday, whatever that looks like.
(20:29):
That principle still applies.
If it's on there, then it'seasy to adjust if needed and you
can just erase and replaceEpisode 58, boost your mental
fitness to live a better, andyou can just erase and replace
Episode 58,.
Boost your Mental Fitness toLive a Better Life with Amina
Blake-Vorman.
Check it out.
The next one is rest andrecovery.
So we were just talking aboutgetting that appropriate rest,
(20:51):
and sometimes it's hard to dobecause we have a lot of
obligations, we have a lot ofthings going on in life.
So rest and recovery is reallyimportant and it's something
that we need to prioritize, andI'll say that I did that in 2024
.
I absolutely feel like, interms of rest and recovery, this
was a priority for me and Ithink I did a pretty darn good
(21:12):
job in 2024 that I'm reallyproud of, and it's something
that I'll just build on in 2025.
And one of the things that I didis I bought an Oura ring, I
want to say, the year before,and it's been so helpful because
it's given me so much data thattells me how I'm sleeping and
(21:32):
then helps me figure out well,what's really getting in the way
of getting good rest.
So it's not just about thenumber of hours which is
important, it's about thequality of sleep.
So one day, if you get reallygood sleep, you can reflect and
say, oh well, it's probablybecause of this.
Or if you get really poor sleep, oh well, it's probably because
of that.
(21:52):
So what the Oura Ring does itallows you to, it gives you all
that data.
Your resting heart rate tellsyou how much sleep is is optimal
for you.
It gives you a whole lot ofdata points and then you can
reflect it was a good night,that's great.
Here's what I did, I'll keepdoing.
If it was not a good night,here's probably what I did and
(22:14):
I'll stop doing, and then youcould just see how that works
over time.
So that's really what helped me.
With the rest part of it Now,the recovery, I would talk a
little bit more about kind ofthe aches and pains and minor
injuries that I've had.
And one of the ones that I'vehad this year that's really been
kind of bugging me is my knee,my right knee.
(22:36):
And one of the products thatI've used that's really helped
me this year, other than goingto PT for a little while is I
use IncrediWear sleeves and Italk about this on episode 88,
how to master recovery and reachyour full potential as a runner
with Gina Myers, who is anengineer for IncrediWear.
(22:56):
She was so gracious enough tocome on the show and talk about
why recovery is important andalso talk about the technology
behind IncrediWeare, which isit's.
It's pretty incredible.
I know I love technology.
I've been in technology rolesfor, you know, all my career
(23:17):
I've worked with technologyproducts.
So it was really cool andinteresting to hear the
background behind this and I cantell you that the IncrediWare
sleeve, you know, among otherthings, has really worked well
for me.
So I'm also excited to say thatI'm an affiliate for
IncrediWear.
So, you know, check out in theshow notes I'll put a link there
(23:38):
if you're interested.
Whether it's your knee or yourelbow or you know other areas
that you have aches and pains, Iwould recommend that you check
out IncrediWear and see whatthey have in store for you that
can help you.
So that's tip number six.
Tip number seven is communityfinding community.
So I'm grateful and happy thatyou're here as part of the
(24:00):
Inspire to Run community.
So I want you to be able toreally capitalize and embrace
Inspire to Run community.
Tag us on Instagram.
You can come to Inspire to Runpodcast on Instagram.
Tag us there.
We'll share your stories, we'llshare your posts and that's one
way of kind of buildingcommunity and kind of sharing
(24:21):
your successes and let'scelebrate your successes
together.
Another opportunity here is youknow, find an accountability
partner.
If you don't have one or arunning club, you know, just
really find that community,whether it's a virtual one like
Inspire to Run or that local,you know accountability partner
or running club that can giveyou kind of that local community
(24:43):
and feel that you know somepeople like.
So that's tip number seven.
Tip number eight is giveyourself some grace.
And what do I mean by that?
Give yourself a break.
Workouts don't have to beperfect.
I had on a great interview sometime ago where the guest talked
(25:05):
about you know, if you had justB-level workouts, it's going to
be so much better than heythinking like I can't get an A
workout today, therefore I'm notgoing to do my workout at all.
So remember that workouts don'thave to be perfect, and I'll
share with you something that Iheard.
(25:25):
I heard a speech by amotivational speaker I'm sure
you've heard of him, eric ThomasET, and he talked about one of
his speeches, about like theeffort that you give and, you
know, really think about it,even if you don't necessarily
get the results that you wantduring your workouts or during
your races or your events.
You know what he talked aboutwas like making sure that you
(25:48):
put in the effort you know.
You know he's, he's pushinglike high level elite athletes
and he's talking about they canalways put in 110% effort, right
and at a minimum.
That's what you could do.
So I always think about thatLike as long as you're putting
in your max effort, no matterwhat it looks like for that day
again, even if it's not the maxthat you could do, but it's what
(26:10):
you could do that day.
It's better than nothing and italso just adds and builds to
your overall plan, because youneed to be consistent at pretty
much anything that you do, butespecially with fitness, it's
really important to beconsistent.
So that's tip number eight.
Give yourself some grace.
Tip number nine is celebrateevery single win.
(26:36):
I used to joke around about this, you know, a couple of years
ago.
So I really like tequila and,for whatever reason I don't know
if I heard it or if I just madeit up, but you know, I was just
like you know what.
I'm really just going tocelebrate this with tacos and
tequila, and it just became athing that I always joked about.
So I don't really drink a lot,you know, maybe occasionally,
(26:59):
but definitely not leading up toa race and sometimes not during
a specific training block.
But there was a race that I itwasn't a race, it was a virtual
race that I did, I don't know,maybe like three or four years
ago, where I did my firstvirtual half marathon.
So it was during a time whereraces were canceled and I still
(27:19):
went ahead and did my first halfmarathon on a running trail.
That's kind of near where Ilive.
So I was really kind of jokingaround like gosh, if I'm able to
do this thing, I'm going tocelebrate with tacos and tequila
.
So I was really kind of jokingaround like gosh, if I'm able to
do this thing, I'm going tocelebrate with tacos and tequila
.
So the funny thing is, I don'tremember if we had the tacos,
but we definitely had thetequila and it's just been one
of those things that I jokeabout.
(27:40):
But, all jokes aside, reallyjust celebrate every single win,
because if you get to that goal, you get to that milestone, you
get to that small thing that isreally important to you during
the year and you just kind ofmove on and you forget about it.
Then it's all just going tofeel like work and so really
just kind of take the time tocelebrate.
(28:00):
And this is something I've beenthinking about for myself, like
how do I celebrate and how do Ireally kind of acknowledge the
work that I've done throughoutthe year?
So here are some ideas, notnecessarily maybe ideas that
I've used in the past or youknow, but things that I consider
.
But you know having a favoritemeal.
(28:21):
So for me, I absolutely loveburgers.
It's one of my favorite mealsand it's something that I really
look forward to after a race.
So if I'm doing a really hard5k or a half marathon or
whatever the case might be, Ifeel like definitely that day
(28:42):
I'm going to have a burger.
So for me that's kind of alittle bit of celebration.
Some people may not be into thiswhole celebrate with food and
all of celebration.
You know some people may not beinto this whole like celebrate
with food and all of that.
They may have differentphilosophies.
So if you know that's kind ofyour thoughts, like I don't want
to really do that with food oralcohol or anything like that.
You know there's plenty ofother things in the world that
(29:03):
you could do that you know,whatever it is that's important
to you.
So whether it's getting amassage or some kind of
self-care, whether it's having aparty which is a lot of fun and
it really kind of brings yourfamily and friends together to
celebrate and support you, maybeit's taking a trip, maybe
you're going to run a race.
That's kind of a destinationrace.
(29:24):
Right, you have to travel forMake a trip out of it.
We were just in Florida forSpartan Deco World Championships
and a number of people tookthat opportunity to bring their
family and go to Disney and dothe things that you could do
kind of in that area.
So there's lots of things thatyou could do, but the important
thing is to be intentional andthink about, like, what are the
(29:45):
ways that you could celebrateand give yourself something to
look forward to, kind of afterthat event or after you
accomplish what you're lookingto accomplish?
And then this leads me into thefinal tip.
Tip number 10 is just have fun.
If you don't enjoy it, you'renot going to want to do it.
(30:05):
And, honestly, there's a lot ofthings that we start that are
really hard and it's a bit of agrind and we're probably not
going to enjoy to do it.
And, honestly, there's a lot ofthings that we start that are
really hard and it's a bit of agrind and we're probably not
going to enjoy it at first.
So think about number one.
You're going to get to a pointwhere you get better and you
start to see results.
You're going to start enjoyingit.
But leading up to that point,what are those things that you
(30:26):
could do to make it moreenjoyable?
So if we're talking aboutrunning which I love to talk
about.
Maybe it's having headphonesand bringing music along with
you.
I love to use Shox headphones.
If I run outdoors I have Shoxheadphones.
That allows me to hear what'sgoing on around me, kind of a
safety feature, but they workreally really well.
(30:48):
It's something I really love todo.
I listen to music, I listen toaudio books, which I mentioned a
couple of times and if I'mdoing like a really hard run, I
don't listen to anything becauseI need to really really really
focus on that run.
But if I'm doing a long run ormaybe some shorter runs that are
just kind of at an easier pace,then certain types of music or
(31:11):
audiobooks work really reallywell for me and I really enjoy
that time.
Or even podcasts how about that?
You can listen to Inspired toRun podcasts on your runs and
that'll help you enjoy it somemore.
You could do group runs.
So maybe you don't want musicin your ears but maybe you like
to socialize, so you could dogroup runs, like with a running
(31:32):
group.
Beyond your training runs, youcould run themed races, and
themed races are a lot of funbecause you can dress up.
In some races race whether it's, you know, beer at the end of
the race or activities or otherthings.
So that's something that youcould do that brings a little
(31:53):
bit of fun and enjoyment to whatyou're doing.
So that's tip number 10 is toreally look for ways to have fun
.
So those are the 10 tips.
I really appreciate you stickingwith me today and listening to
these 10 tips and I really hopethat they help you, because a
number of these have helped meand I really wanted to share
that with you as you're thinkingabout 2025, to help you have
(32:16):
your best year ever in healthand fitness, and these apply in
a lot of areas in life, so I'msure that you could apply these
to other things that you'relooking to do outside of health
and fitness.
So, again, if any of theseresonated with you, or if
there's something that's not onmy list that you want to share
with me, go to the episode shownotes, click on.
(32:37):
Send us a text.
I'd love to hear from you.
So do that today.
Love to hear from you and I'llshare it in a future episode and
on social media.
So with that, in a futureepisode and on social media.
So with that, I want to wishyou a healthy and prosperous and
successful 2025.
And really looking forward tosharing more interviews, sharing
(33:03):
my own personal journey andalso hearing from you as we go
throughout the year.
So thanks for listening andhave a great day.
Hi, my friend, the new year is finally here and I'm
pretty sure that you'rethinking about what will 2025
bring If you're still finalizingor fine-tuning your resolutions
or goals for the year.
I'd like to share with you 10tips that will help you plan and
execute a successful year.
Hope you enjoy.
Welcome to.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Inspire to Run Podcast.
Here you will find inspiration,whether you are looking to take
control of your health andfitness or you are a seasoned
runner looking for community andsome extra motivation.
You will hear inspiring storiesfrom amazing runners, along
with helpful tips from fitnessexperts.
Now here's your host, richard.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Conner.
Hi, my friend, welcome toInspire to Run Podcast.
I'm sure, like for many of you,2024 was a wild year for me.
There were into 2025,.
I want to bring forward whathas worked, leave behind what
(01:10):
didn't and have a strongermindset for what is to come.
So, on that note, I will sharewith you stories, books, podcast
episodes and more with the 10tips that I'm going to cover
today.
If something is not on my listbut has worked for you, please
go to the show notes for thisepisode and then you'll see at
(01:32):
the top.
Send us a text that will comeright to me and I'll share it in
a future episode and on socialmedia.
Even if all these tips resonatewith you, I would still ask you
to use that, send us a textfeature and let me know.
I really would love to hearfrom you and I'd love to share
(01:52):
your stories with others.
So, with that, let's go aheadand get started with the 10 tips
, as you think about planningyour year your 2025, and what it
is that you want to do to besuccessful in the year year,
your 2025, and what it is thatyou want to do to be successful
in the year.
So the first one is use this asan opportunity, as a fresh
(02:15):
start.
Leave those negative thoughtsand doubts back in 2024 and
carry forward your achievementsand your lessons learned that
will help you be successful in2025.
Lessons learned that will helpyou be successful in 2025.
And Fresh Start is a term that Igot from a book that I read
about a year ago called how toChange, by Katie Milkman, and
it's really interesting becauseI've just had this fascination
(02:38):
or curiosity around what drivessome people to make that change
in their lives or get to thatnext level, and others just
really have a challenging timewith that, and I use that as an
opportunity to help everybodyreach their goals.
So Katie talks about thisprinciple or this philosophy
(02:58):
around fresh start and ittypically happens, as you can
imagine, at the new start of ayear, at the new start of a
season, maybe at a birthday.
So whenever those kind of bigmilestones, that causes our
minds to kind of just stop andpause and maybe restart or kind
of rethink about the future,because you have that break
(03:21):
right Again, whether it's a newyear, a new season, a birthday
or some other milestone.
So I really love that and Ithink mostly everybody uses the
new year kind of as that freshstart.
So you really want tocapitalize on this opportunity,
just mentally, to again justkind of leave those negative
thoughts and doubts behind andreally just carry forward.
(03:41):
You know the positivity, whatyou've been able to do and what
you really want to build on asyou move into 2025.
So that's really the first tipis just really use this as a
fresh start for 2025.
And the book is called how toChange by Katie Milkman.
I definitely recommend it.
It's very good.
I listened to it on Audibleduring my long runs and I really
(04:06):
really enjoyed it as it waseducational for me.
But it really helped me thinkabout what could help me and
others as they want to make achange in their lives and get to
that next level.
So the next tip here isvisualize where you want to be
in 2025.
Visualize where you want to bein 2025.
(04:29):
So, before you get to the pointof setting your specific goals
or setting your milestones orwhat you're going to do,
visualize where you want to beand who you want to be in 2025.
So that may be something biglike hey, I want to be stronger
and faster.
I know a lot of folks arethinking about health and
fitness-wise.
(04:50):
I want to lose weight, or Iwant to be able to do X, y, z,
maybe it's.
I want to be able to do thisvacation, but I want to be able
to be active and I want to beable to explore and I want to be
able to hike, just do a lot ofthings.
That, maybe, is challengingtoday.
So just visualize who you wantto be and where you want to be
(05:11):
in 2025 at a very high level,before you even start thinking
about, well, what are thosegoals, what are those milestones
and what is it that you need todo to get there.
So it's a little bit of likewhat is your why?
It's a little bit about thatand just kind of thinking about
it a little bit differently, butreally kind of visualizing that
(05:32):
as it's a powerful tool asyou're thinking about your
planning for next year.
So that's tip number two.
Tip number three is set yourgoals and make sure that they're
realistic, and I'll just take afew moments here to share a
little bit about my goals from2024 and kind of how I'm
thinking about 2025.
(05:54):
So I had three fitness goals for2024.
The first one was run my firstmarathon.
The second one was qualify forSpartan Deca World Championships
.
And then the third was PR in myhalf marathon but not only PR
reduced my time by like nineminutes or so, so an hour and 45
(06:16):
minutes so I'll talk aboutwhich ones may or may not have
been realistic.
So the first one was run myfirst marathon, and this is
something that I'm really proudof, because if you asked me five
, six, seven years ago, would Iever run a half marathon or
would I ever run a marathon, Iprobably would have said no, I
have zero interest in doing anyof that.
(06:38):
And over the years I've beengrowing and expanding and doing
things that I've never donebefore, and the next step for me
was to run a marathon, and myoriginal idea was well, I'll run
New York City.
If I want to run a marathon, Iwant the first one to be special
, and New York City is reallyclose to me and it's a popular
(07:00):
marathon and everybody has areally great experience, so that
would be a really cool marathonto run.
So that was my goal and, as youknow, I didn't get into New
York City, unfortunately, andit's a really tough one to get
into, so I chose a marathonoverseas.
So I chose to run a marathon inFrance.
It's called the BeaujolaisInternational Marathon, and the
(07:21):
reason why is because over thelast eight years or so I've
spent a lot of time in Francefor work, so I've developed a
lot of friendships in France andI heard about this one marathon
that some of my friends had run.
So I'm thinking would it be socool to run my first marathon
overseas, in a country that Ireally love to spend time in, in
(07:43):
an area that's absolutelybeautiful and with people that I
really just love and enjoybeing with?
And all of those things madethe experience just wonderful.
So, again, while I didn't getinto New York City, which I'm
bummed about, this was anabsolutely wonderful experience
for me to run my first marathonin France, in a beautiful
(08:06):
country and area with my friends.
So check.
So I checked that box.
I ran my first marathon.
Second was qualify for SpartanDECA World Championships, and
I've kind of used Spartan DECAas a way to help me with my road
races, which is my primarysport.
So in the past I didn't use itas, hey, I want a podium or I
(08:26):
really want to qualify for worldchampionships, I just want to
be able to train like the DECAathletes, I want to be able to
use this as an experience togive me an edge in my road races
and over the last couple ofyears it's kind of developed
into something more.
I really enjoy running theraces.
I really enjoy running with thepeople that I'm running with,
with the athletes that I'mrunning with, and I thought, you
(08:47):
know what?
Maybe I do have a chance ofqualifying for world
championships.
So I'm happy to say that Iqualified for one of the events
with one of my teammates in aroll down which was just
phenomenal, just to have theopportunity to be able to do
that.
And we ran the race just a fewweeks ago by the time this will
(09:08):
be released in Ocala, florida,and it was just a wonderful,
wonderful experience being there, being in the venue, being with
such incredible, amazingathletes.
These are the best of the bestwho came to the world
championships.
They race hard.
I know they trained and workedhard to get to this point and it
was just a privilege and anhonor to be there among all
(09:30):
these amazing people.
So we ran a race.
I talked a little bit about itwith my teammate Mickey on the
last episode, so you already hadthat story on how all that went
.
But that was incredible to beable to do and I'm happy that I
was able to do it.
So check that box.
And then the third one was PRmy half marathon by an hour and
45 minutes, and this one I didnot check that box.
(09:54):
This one was probably the lowlight of my year for a couple of
reasons, not so much that itdidn't hit the hour 45, which
was a super aggressive target,and honestly I probably would
have just needed to focus a lotof my time and attention and
training on just doing that toget that kind of improvement.
This year, which I had a lot ofother things that I was doing,
(10:16):
as I mentioned the marathontraining and world championships
so it was probably anaggressive goal to get there,
but that wasn't it.
What really got me this year isthat there was a number of
races where I did really well,like I either got a PR for that
particular course or I just didbetter on some races than I
(10:36):
thought I would like, way betterthan I thought I would, and I
even ran a half marathon betterthis year for that particular
course than I had in the lastyear or so.
So this set me up for my fallmarathon, which is my A event.
This is the number one eventfor me for the year.
It's a beautiful course.
It's in the town that I grew upin.
(10:57):
I run it with an athlete friendof mine, chrissy, who we've had
on the show, and it's just awonderful experience and that
was like a fast course.
So if I'm going to PR anycourse, it absolutely should be
that course, and this year Ididn't.
And not only did I not PR, Igot a slower time than my last
two years.
So instead of getting faster,I've gotten slower on this
(11:20):
course, and that's among all theother races that I've done
where I've had so much moreimprovements.
So it was just a weird time andrace for me and I was going
through a lot of things which Italked about on the show.
I think I just kind of wentthrough a period of burnout,
self-diagnosed.
So that was really challengingfor me.
(11:41):
So even though I didn't, notonly did I not PR, I didn't get
anywhere near this time, sodidn't check that box.
So those are the three goalsthat I had for last year and
again, kind of, as I mentionedto you before, I'm leaving all
of that in the past.
That was all 2024.
I learned from those.
Hopefully I'm going to growfrom those and then, as I think,
(12:04):
about my 2025 goals, which I'llshare with you now.
So the first one is one of mymain goals is really just to be
stronger and faster in 2025.
And that doesn't really followthe SMART goal format right.
It's not specific or measurable, but it is achievable, it is
(12:25):
realistic and it is within theyear.
But I'm not putting specificnumbers around that particular
goal Because for me, mentally, Iwant to make sure that I have
more of this in my training.
So, instead of putting in somany miles every week just to
get in those miles, I want to bemore intentional about being
stronger and faster andfollowing my plan for my coach a
(12:48):
lot more strictly this comingyear than I did in 2024.
So that's my first goal bestronger and faster.
The second goal is to PR my 5Kand my half marathon races.
So I just talked all about myhalf marathon and how I didn't
do that in 2024.
In 2025, I will do that, I willPR it, but I'm not going to put
(13:11):
this goal.
That just feels so far out ofreach for me to get there.
So I want to PR and I'll seehow the year goes and I'm going
to train for it, but that's mymain goal.
So I feel like, yes, this isdefinitely realistic for me to
do, but it's not so far out ofreach that I don't really strive
for it.
And, of course, my 5k time.
I really need to get my 5k timedown.
(13:31):
So I'm really looking forwardto my 5k races.
And I have some other distancesthroughout the year that I
really would love to do betterin PR this year as well, I have
a four-miler and a five-miler.
They're not my A races, they'reprobably more of my B races,
but I have a couple of 5Ks inthe year that I really enjoy
running and those are the onesthat I really want to see myself
(13:52):
do better.
And then back to DECA Superexcited that I was able to
qualify for one event this pastyear, so, going into 2025, I
want to be able to qualify fortwo or more events for this year
.
So, whether it's individual orteams, I've got my plan for the
year, I've got my teammates andI'm really excited to just kind
(14:13):
of get after it.
So those are my three goals.
One is to get stronger andfaster.
Two is to PR my 5k and halfmarathon races and three is to
qualify for two more deck racesgoing into this year.
And the other thing that I'mtrying to do is I'm being very
intentional about what I'm goingto do and you may hear this
sometimes in other settings is Ineed to be very intentional
(14:35):
about the things that I'm notgoing to do.
So I had a lot of races in 2024and I just they were just noise,
right, and some of them Ididn't even do, I just scratched
them off the list, but theywere just taking up space.
They were taking up space on mysheet of paper with all my
races.
They were taking up space in mymind.
All those are gone right.
(14:56):
So this is not the year whereI'm going to be like well, I'll
also run a couple of marathonsand I'll run my first ultra and
maybe I'll do a high rocks,which I'm not saying I won't do,
but I'm saying that that's notmy plan.
My plan is to focus on the 16races that I've set for the year
and my plan is to focus on thegoals that I've set for the year
, and everything else is noise.
Now, if the year starts goingwell and I get to where I need
(15:18):
to be and I can start to add insome additional things.
Fine, definitely will considerit, but I'm not going into the
year with that mindset.
My mindset is to focus on thethings that I want to achieve
and just be really laser focusedon getting after those things.
So that's kind of how I'mapproaching my year.
You approach your year howeveryou want.
I'm just sharing how I'm doingmine, but it's however you do.
(15:40):
It is really important just tokind of visualize who you wanna
be and where you wanna be in theyear, and then what are those
realistic goals and milestonesand plan that's gonna help you
get there.
So, speaking of plan, thisbrings me to tip number four.
So tip number four is kind ofaround your plan and execution.
(16:00):
So a lot of what we do and a lotof who we are is really based
on our habits, and this issomething that I'm really big on
and one of the books that Iabsolutely love again, I think I
listened to it on Audible,probably on all the long runs
that I did this year, listenedto it on Audible, probably on
all the long runs that I didthis year was Atomic Habits by
(16:24):
James Clear, and his philosophyis what you do as an aggregate
is really made up of all theselittle habits, good and bad and
the trick is how do youcapitalize or stack habit he
calls it habit stack kind ofthose good habits and then how
do you change some of those badhabits.
So if you go from, you knowmaybe there's something in your
life that you want to change,that you're not necessarily
(16:45):
happy with right, they'reprobably based on some bad
habits that you want to change.
So he gives a lot of tips and alot of background, a lot of
things that you could do tobuild more of those good habits
or the habits that lead you towhere you want to be.
So just an excellent book,excellent framework and
philosophy around how habitsreally define how we act, how we
(17:09):
behave and the things that wedo.
So I definitely would recommendthat you read that book Atomic
Habits by James Clear if this isan area that you feel that you
need to work on.
So maybe consistency is just oneof those challenges that you
have.
This is a book that's going tohelp you do that, because it's
going to help you build theright habits where you're not
(17:31):
thinking about it all the time,right, it's just part of what
you do.
So if I work out five days aweek or six days a week, I know
what I'm going to do.
I know one day I'm going to dothis and another day I'm going
to do that and Sunday I'm goingto do my long runs.
I don't really think about ittoo much, right?
So maybe I got to move thingsaround a little bit or adjust or
whatever the case may be, basedon my plan or my or everything
(17:54):
else that's going on in my life.
But I've built those habits toachieve the results, to achieve
the goals that I'm looking for.
So that's tip number four, whichleads into the next tip, tip
number five, which is erase andreplace and this was one of my
favorite conversations that Ihad on the show, episode 58,
(18:18):
boost your mental fitness tolive a better life with Amina
Blake Foreman, which is alongtime friend.
She's just excellent.
She's a very successfulbusinesswoman.
She's a successful real estatebusiness.
I know she's branching off intoother things and she coaches
and mentors others and reallygreat philosophy about how she
(18:39):
manages her life and herbusiness, and one of the things
that she said that I absolutelyuse all the time is erase and
replace.
And the principle behind this is, you know, scheduling your
activities is recommended, whichI know you know it's not for
everybody.
Not everybody likes to havekind of that strict plan and
(19:01):
something on the calendar andI've always got something going
on.
But it's really going to helpyou organize your life and make
sure that the most importantthings in your life are on your
calendar and they get done,because if it's on your calendar
there's going to be thatreminder that it's there and
that block of time for whateverthat activity is, but it doesn't
(19:23):
have to be so strict.
So her point was well, if youhave your workout at six in the
morning but you have familyobligations and your son or
daughter was up all night andyou know six o'clock is just not
going to work right that day,then move it to six o'clock in
the evening, erase and replace.
(19:45):
But because it was on yourcalendar in the first place,
you're like you know what Ican't do the six o'clock in the
morning, I'm going to move it tosix o'clock in the evening and
I'm just going to kind ofshuffle things around to make
sure I get the proper sleep andI can support my family and I
can do all the other things thatI can do.
Now, if it's not in yourcalendar, it's very easy to say,
yeah, I was supposed to workout at some point today and that
(20:08):
point never comes, and then theday comes and goes.
So it's really important toschedule the most important
things in your life.
Whether you know, calendar iswhat I use, so for me, that kind
of resonated with me.
Kind of I feel like my calendarruns my life, however, it is
that you plan your week or yourday, whatever that looks like.
(20:29):
That principle still applies.
If it's on there, then it'seasy to adjust if needed and you
can just erase and replaceEpisode 58, boost your mental
fitness to live a better, andyou can just erase and replace
Episode 58,.
Boost your Mental Fitness toLive a Better Life with Amina
Blake-Vorman.
Check it out.
The next one is rest andrecovery.
So we were just talking aboutgetting that appropriate rest,
(20:51):
and sometimes it's hard to dobecause we have a lot of
obligations, we have a lot ofthings going on in life.
So rest and recovery is reallyimportant and it's something
that we need to prioritize, andI'll say that I did that in 2024
.
I absolutely feel like, interms of rest and recovery, this
was a priority for me and Ithink I did a pretty darn good
(21:12):
job in 2024 that I'm reallyproud of, and it's something
that I'll just build on in 2025.
And one of the things that I didis I bought an Oura ring, I
want to say, the year before,and it's been so helpful because
it's given me so much data thattells me how I'm sleeping and
(21:32):
then helps me figure out well,what's really getting in the way
of getting good rest.
So it's not just about thenumber of hours which is
important, it's about thequality of sleep.
So one day, if you get reallygood sleep, you can reflect and
say, oh well, it's probablybecause of this.
Or if you get really poor sleep, oh well, it's probably because
of that.
(21:52):
So what the Oura Ring does itallows you to, it gives you all
that data.
Your resting heart rate tellsyou how much sleep is is optimal
for you.
It gives you a whole lot ofdata points and then you can
reflect it was a good night,that's great.
Here's what I did, I'll keepdoing.
If it was not a good night,here's probably what I did and
(22:14):
I'll stop doing, and then youcould just see how that works
over time.
So that's really what helped me.
With the rest part of it Now,the recovery, I would talk a
little bit more about kind ofthe aches and pains and minor
injuries that I've had.
And one of the ones that I'vehad this year that's really been
kind of bugging me is my knee,my right knee.
(22:36):
And one of the products thatI've used that's really helped
me this year, other than goingto PT for a little while is I
use IncrediWear sleeves and Italk about this on episode 88,
how to master recovery and reachyour full potential as a runner
with Gina Myers, who is anengineer for IncrediWear.
(22:56):
She was so gracious enough tocome on the show and talk about
why recovery is important andalso talk about the technology
behind IncrediWeare, which isit's.
It's pretty incredible.
I know I love technology.
I've been in technology rolesfor, you know, all my career
(23:17):
I've worked with technologyproducts.
So it was really cool andinteresting to hear the
background behind this and I cantell you that the IncrediWare
sleeve, you know, among otherthings, has really worked well
for me.
So I'm also excited to say thatI'm an affiliate for
IncrediWear.
So, you know, check out in theshow notes I'll put a link there
(23:38):
if you're interested.
Whether it's your knee or yourelbow or you know other areas
that you have aches and pains, Iwould recommend that you check
out IncrediWear and see whatthey have in store for you that
can help you.
So that's tip number six.
Tip number seven is communityfinding community.
So I'm grateful and happy thatyou're here as part of the
(24:00):
Inspire to Run community.
So I want you to be able toreally capitalize and embrace
Inspire to Run community.
Tag us on Instagram.
You can come to Inspire to Runpodcast on Instagram.
Tag us there.
We'll share your stories, we'llshare your posts and that's one
way of kind of buildingcommunity and kind of sharing
(24:21):
your successes and let'scelebrate your successes
together.
Another opportunity here is youknow, find an accountability
partner.
If you don't have one or arunning club, you know, just
really find that community,whether it's a virtual one like
Inspire to Run or that local,you know accountability partner
or running club that can giveyou kind of that local community
(24:43):
and feel that you know somepeople like.
So that's tip number seven.
Tip number eight is giveyourself some grace.
And what do I mean by that?
Give yourself a break.
Workouts don't have to beperfect.
I had on a great interview sometime ago where the guest talked
(25:05):
about you know, if you had justB-level workouts, it's going to
be so much better than heythinking like I can't get an A
workout today, therefore I'm notgoing to do my workout at all.
So remember that workouts don'thave to be perfect, and I'll
share with you something that Iheard.
(25:25):
I heard a speech by amotivational speaker I'm sure
you've heard of him, eric ThomasET, and he talked about one of
his speeches, about like theeffort that you give and, you
know, really think about it,even if you don't necessarily
get the results that you wantduring your workouts or during
your races or your events.
You know what he talked aboutwas like making sure that you
(25:48):
put in the effort you know.
You know he's, he's pushinglike high level elite athletes
and he's talking about they canalways put in 110% effort, right
and at a minimum.
That's what you could do.
So I always think about thatLike as long as you're putting
in your max effort, no matterwhat it looks like for that day
again, even if it's not the maxthat you could do, but it's what
(26:10):
you could do that day.
It's better than nothing and italso just adds and builds to
your overall plan, because youneed to be consistent at pretty
much anything that you do, butespecially with fitness, it's
really important to beconsistent.
So that's tip number eight.
Give yourself some grace.
Tip number nine is celebrateevery single win.
(26:36):
I used to joke around about this, you know, a couple of years
ago.
So I really like tequila and,for whatever reason I don't know
if I heard it or if I just madeit up, but you know, I was just
like you know what.
I'm really just going tocelebrate this with tacos and
tequila, and it just became athing that I always joked about.
So I don't really drink a lot,you know, maybe occasionally,
(26:59):
but definitely not leading up toa race and sometimes not during
a specific training block.
But there was a race that I itwasn't a race, it was a virtual
race that I did, I don't know,maybe like three or four years
ago, where I did my firstvirtual half marathon.
So it was during a time whereraces were canceled and I still
(27:19):
went ahead and did my first halfmarathon on a running trail.
That's kind of near where Ilive.
So I was really kind of jokingaround like gosh, if I'm able to
do this thing, I'm going tocelebrate with tacos and tequila
.
So I was really kind of jokingaround like gosh, if I'm able to
do this thing, I'm going tocelebrate with tacos and tequila
.
So the funny thing is, I don'tremember if we had the tacos,
but we definitely had thetequila and it's just been one
of those things that I jokeabout.
(27:40):
But, all jokes aside, reallyjust celebrate every single win,
because if you get to that goal, you get to that milestone, you
get to that small thing that isreally important to you during
the year and you just kind ofmove on and you forget about it.
Then it's all just going tofeel like work and so really
just kind of take the time tocelebrate.
(28:00):
And this is something I've beenthinking about for myself, like
how do I celebrate and how do Ireally kind of acknowledge the
work that I've done throughoutthe year?
So here are some ideas, notnecessarily maybe ideas that
I've used in the past or youknow, but things that I consider
.
But you know having a favoritemeal.
(28:21):
So for me, I absolutely loveburgers.
It's one of my favorite mealsand it's something that I really
look forward to after a race.
So if I'm doing a really hard5k or a half marathon or
whatever the case might be, Ifeel like definitely that day
(28:42):
I'm going to have a burger.
So for me that's kind of alittle bit of celebration.
Some people may not be into thiswhole celebrate with food and
all of celebration.
You know some people may not beinto this whole like celebrate
with food and all of that.
They may have differentphilosophies.
So if you know that's kind ofyour thoughts, like I don't want
to really do that with food oralcohol or anything like that.
You know there's plenty ofother things in the world that
(29:03):
you could do that you know,whatever it is that's important
to you.
So whether it's getting amassage or some kind of
self-care, whether it's having aparty which is a lot of fun and
it really kind of brings yourfamily and friends together to
celebrate and support you, maybeit's taking a trip, maybe
you're going to run a race.
That's kind of a destinationrace.
(29:24):
Right, you have to travel forMake a trip out of it.
We were just in Florida forSpartan Deco World Championships
and a number of people tookthat opportunity to bring their
family and go to Disney and dothe things that you could do
kind of in that area.
So there's lots of things thatyou could do, but the important
thing is to be intentional andthink about, like, what are the
(29:45):
ways that you could celebrateand give yourself something to
look forward to, kind of afterthat event or after you
accomplish what you're lookingto accomplish?
And then this leads me into thefinal tip.
Tip number 10 is just have fun.
If you don't enjoy it, you'renot going to want to do it.
(30:05):
And, honestly, there's a lot ofthings that we start that are
really hard and it's a bit of agrind and we're probably not
going to enjoy to do it.
And, honestly, there's a lot ofthings that we start that are
really hard and it's a bit of agrind and we're probably not
going to enjoy it at first.
So think about number one.
You're going to get to a pointwhere you get better and you
start to see results.
You're going to start enjoyingit.
But leading up to that point,what are those things that you
(30:26):
could do to make it moreenjoyable?
So if we're talking aboutrunning which I love to talk
about.
Maybe it's having headphonesand bringing music along with
you.
I love to use Shox headphones.
If I run outdoors I have Shoxheadphones.
That allows me to hear what'sgoing on around me, kind of a
safety feature, but they workreally really well.
(30:48):
It's something I really love todo.
I listen to music, I listen toaudio books, which I mentioned a
couple of times and if I'mdoing like a really hard run, I
don't listen to anything becauseI need to really really really
focus on that run.
But if I'm doing a long run ormaybe some shorter runs that are
just kind of at an easier pace,then certain types of music or
(31:11):
audiobooks work really reallywell for me and I really enjoy
that time.
Or even podcasts how about that?
You can listen to Inspired toRun podcasts on your runs and
that'll help you enjoy it somemore.
You could do group runs.
So maybe you don't want musicin your ears but maybe you like
to socialize, so you could dogroup runs, like with a running
(31:32):
group.
Beyond your training runs, youcould run themed races, and
themed races are a lot of funbecause you can dress up.
In some races race whether it's, you know, beer at the end of
the race or activities or otherthings.
So that's something that youcould do that brings a little
(31:53):
bit of fun and enjoyment to whatyou're doing.
So that's tip number 10 is toreally look for ways to have fun
.
So those are the 10 tips.
I really appreciate you stickingwith me today and listening to
these 10 tips and I really hopethat they help you, because a
number of these have helped meand I really wanted to share
that with you as you're thinkingabout 2025, to help you have
(32:16):
your best year ever in healthand fitness, and these apply in
a lot of areas in life, so I'msure that you could apply these
to other things that you'relooking to do outside of health
and fitness.
So, again, if any of theseresonated with you, or if
there's something that's not onmy list that you want to share
with me, go to the episode shownotes, click on.
(32:37):
Send us a text.
I'd love to hear from you.
So do that today.
Love to hear from you and I'llshare it in a future episode and
on social media.
So with that, in a futureepisode and on social media.
So with that, I want to wishyou a healthy and prosperous and
successful 2025.
And really looking forward tosharing more interviews, sharing
(33:03):
my own personal journey andalso hearing from you as we go
throughout the year.
So thanks for listening andhave a great day.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!