Welcome to Wednesday Word, a weekly linkup for everyone, not just health and fitness bloggers. Each Wednesday you will have a single word prompt to write about.  Let your imagination run free and share with your readers your interpretation of that word, or simply use it as inspiration for your post. Today’s word is focus……  I’d love to have you link up, and if you do, please remember to follow my six simple rules.

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Focus – a subject that is being discussed or studied;
the subject on which people’s attention is focused;
a main purpose or interest
~ Merriam-Webster

 

 

With Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, emails, texts, TV, etc., how’s a girl supposed to stay focused?

When sitting and doing paperwork, writing blog posts, or following up on emails I am so easily distracted.  I’ve never had any lack of focus with larger tasks such as gardening and running.   Especially running – it’s my passion, and it’s hard not to focus on something you love. 

Even though small distractions have come and gone, for the most part I’ve never strayed from running for very long.  My running focus has; however, changed many times over the years…

 

  • High School / Track – In high school I focused on the shorter distances on our track team. I ran the 400, the 800, and both distances on a couple of relay teams.    
  • College / Weight Management – During my college years my running focus waned and I ran off and on, mainly to battle the freshman fifteen.  It didn’t work.
  • Twenties / Fitness – Once I graduated from college, I started running regularly for fitness until we purchased our first house and I switched my focus and energy to house projects.  By my late twenties I picked up running again and even entered a few 8K’s and  10K’s.
  • Thirties / Recreational – After J and D were born, my running mostly consisted of running after them, and running when time allowed; and without a running stroller, it was quite the challenge. For a while, I met a friend after Bill got home from work and we’d put the boys down for the night.  As the boys got older, I’d either run super early in the morning, or wear my running clothes to their sports practices and run while they practiced.
  • Forties / Marathons – I ran my first marathon two weeks before I turned 40, and proceeded to run 31 of my 40 marathons during my forties.   I started coaching runners during that time frame as well, and my work focus shifted very much to training runners of all distances and levels.
  • Fifties / Racing – Marathoning came to an unexpected end in February 2011, and I had no choice but to shift my focus to halves and shorter distances.  I surprised myself by falling in love with the 5K and decided to focus on training harder.  During the last few years I’ve started running more races and at my age I’ve found that I can be pretty competitive if I train smart.

 

So how have I stayed running focused for so many years?  Here are my tips:

  • Take a break if running becomes a chore and stops being fun
  • Set short-term attainable goals
  • Run first thing in the morning so you don’t skip it, or…
  • Set aside a specific time to run and put it on your calendar
  • Log your progress
  • Visualize yourself successfully crossing the finish line

 

What is your current life focus?  What is your fitness focus?

 

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Deb Runs


Next Wednesday’s Word:  Ambitious