Motivate Yourself!

All our BootCampers did a fun project at the end of class yesterday. If you were absent, we'd love to have you do the project as well. (Just ask Nar or Elaine for the postcards.) Here's what we did:

We gave each member two postcards to address to themselves, and then do the following:

1. Postcard #1: Date it for one month from today. Write down your short-term fitness & nutrition goals. (See below for tips on goal-writing.) Then, write a motivational message to yourself, such as , "Good job on eating 5 servings of vegetables every day for the past month. I knew you could do it!"

2. Postcard #2: Date this one for any day in 2009. Choose a day that you know you'll want and need a little extra motivational boost, such as before a special event (a wedding, your birthday, etc.), before a summer vacation, or around the the holiday season. Then, write down your longer-term goal that you plan to achieve by that date. And, again, write yourself a fun, uplifting message.

Turn your cards in to Narina & Elaine and they will mail them to you throughout the year. (By the way, you are welcome to take more than two postcards if you'd like to receive additional motivational messages from yourself throughout the year!)

SMART GOALS
To make sure your goals are effective, they need to be SMART!

SPECIFIC
MEASURABLE
ACTION-BASED
REALISTIC
TIME-ANCHORED

A goal such as "I will eat healthier," is too vague. There is no way to measure whether or not you accomplished your goal. Better goals are more specific such as:

"I will eat 5 servings of vegetables, 5 days a week, for the next 4 weeks." OR
"I will attend BootCamp a minimum of 4 times a week for the next 12 weeks."

Good luck with your goals, and may 2009 be your best, healthiest and most joyful year ever!

Downtown Dash 5K Training Program

We are very excited to be hosting the official Training Program for the 2nd Annual Glendale Downtown Dash 5K. All fitness levels are welcome! We'll help beginners feel confident that they'll be able to finish the race feeling great. We'll help experienced runners run their best 5K ever!

This 8-week training program begins this Sunday, January 11 at 8:00 am. We'll meet at the Chess Park in downtown Glendale (227 N. Brand Blvd). This is a really cute little park in an alley way on Brand between California Avenue and Wilson Avenue.

We'll start with a warmup and stretch and then we'll review proper running form and do a few running drills before heading out on a 15-minute run or walk. Each week, our run/walks will get longer to help you build up your stamina safely and effectively.

We'll have 4 pace groups:

Run Group: The first day, it will be a nice easy jog.
Run/Walk Group: This group will jog 3 minutes and walk 2 minutes.
Walk/Run Group: This group will jog 2 minutes and walk 3 minutes.
Walk Group: This group will walk the whole time.

We are also pleased to announce that after this Sunday's session, Joe from A Runner's Circle will give a guest lecture about how to find the perfect shoe for your feet!

To register, just go to www.glendaledowntowndash.com. Click on "Dash Training Program" and download the registration form. Just bring the completed registration form with you this Sunday along with a check for $20 made out to the Healthcare Foundation at GAMC. (All the fees are part of the fundraising efforts of the Glendale Downtown Dash, benefiting the Stroke Services Center at Glendale Adventist Medical Center.)

See you there!

Much love,
Elaine & Narina