My 30-day challenge

I've just set myself a 30-day challenge to get into some good habits and I thought I'd write about it as it may help me to stick to what I've set out to do. I think the word "challenge" has got something to do with it - give me something to work towards or something to achieve and I do it. Doing just for the sake of doing never seems to work for me.

I've realised this recently. When I wrote my post about the psychology of running and how I felt like I could run beyond 5k for the first time ever, not only did I write about it, I also told anyone who would listen. When I told my friend Nikki she said "want to do a 10k race in the middle of May then?" It was four weeks away and although I felt like I could run beyond 5k, I hadn't actually done it. But I agreed to the race, it sounded like fun as we had to dress up as Super Heroes and it meant a day down in Brighton raising money to help build schools in Africa via a wonderful grassroots charity called Passing It On. Once I'd agreed to do the race I told a few people because if I know I say to others I'm going to do something, that's what will happen.

A couple of days after agreeing to do the run, I got up early to start training. I felt awful and didn't want to get out of bed but I thought I was just being wimpy so I hauled myself out, got ready and went down to Peckham Rye and did a 40-minute run. I didn't have quite the same euphoria as I'd had the day I'd written my running post but I ran for the time without stopping and it was the first time I'd run beyond half an hour. Afterwards I went to work and as the day progressed, I felt worse and worse. I had been coming down with some sort of sneezy/coldy/flu thing and that's why I'd felt dreadful when I'd woken up but I thought I was just trying to get out of running and stay in bed a bit longer and so I'd forced myself. When the illness fully took hold I couldn't run at all and lost about 10 days in my training schedule. The thought did cross my mind about not doing the race as I wasn't sure I could get up to 10k in the time now but I decided that I had said I would do it and I would be my word and just get on with it. I also set two other criteria for myself - I wanted to run the whole race (no walking for me then but Super Heroes don't walk!) and I wanted to complete it in an hour. I carried on running, working my way up to running for 50 minutes and then an hour. We did the race last weekend, it was great fun and I ran the whole 10k, finishing a few minutes after an hour so very pleased with myself. We've now said we're going to do a half marathon in the autumn. I also realised that I'd got up to running 10k a lot quicker than if I'd been just working my way up to it without any kind of goal or challenge to work towards and that's why I've set myself this 30-day challenge.

The things I have to do or not do for the next 30 days are things I've been trying to get into the habit of doing on and off since the start of the year. They aren't difficult, they don't take up much time and can easily be incorporated into your daily routine and they are all things that are good for me and will help sort out my energy levels amongst other things. However I've realised that daily disciplines just don't seem to be my thing. I can take a massive leap of faith and do things that would send most people scurrying away in alarm but doing little things consistently, day in, day out, well this kind of discipline is something that is new to me and I'm learning now. I realised that one of the reasons that my good intentions drift away after a few days is that I had no way of charting progress or any system that would bring me back on track if I missed out on something for a day or two. I've lost count of the number of times I've tried to get into the habit of drinking 2 litres of water a day. I'd do it for a few days, maybe a week or two and then something would happen and I'd forget to drink any water or I'd be out all day without my 2L with me. One day would turn into two days and before I knew it, I wouldn't be drinking any water at all, sometimes for a few days at a time. This is just one example but there are many similar ones. And why is it so easy to get into the habit of doing bad things every day so easily? I could drink a can of coke every day even though I know it's not good for me and the sugar will make my teeth fall out and surges of sugar make me very up and down. I always thought it was wonky hormones that caused this but I wouldn't be surprised if it was actually coca cola!

To help myself I've started using charts this year where I can tick off things as I do them on a daily basis and to remind me of the things still outstanding. Interesting tactics but they work for me to some extent and I need some kind of record as my list of things to do or not do currently stands at 19 things a day and I need some sort of chart just to remember if I've done something or not. Even with my chart I could be a bit haphazard with sticking to what I was meant to be doing. But with no chart at all I noticed I slipped quickly and easily into old bad habits so the chart is back and it's here to stay. Doing the 10k race made me realise that I can do things beyond what I thought if I feel like there's some sort of challenge or I'm working towards something. Even publicly declaring my intention to do something makes it easier for me to stick to my word as I've never been one of those people who talks a lot but does little. I tend to say what I'm going to do and then do it.

Here are the daily things in my 30-day challenge (they are in the order that they happen from morning to night)

1. Hot water and lemon
2. 3 sun salutations A and B
3. Dry brushing
4. Flax seed
5. Fresh juice
6. Daily yoghurt
7. Toning exercises
8. Supplements
9. 2L water
10. No coffee/caffeine
11. No dairy (but I can have goats or sheep products)
12. No sugar
13. No wheat
14. No fizzy drinks
15. No junk food
16. No peanuts
17. No alcohol
18. Meditation
19. Night-time routine

All the things I'm not supposed to have are things recommended to me by the kinesiologist last year. When I was first told to give these things up as much as possible, I practically cried. All I could think about was how difficult it would be to give things up. But this year although I haven't followed all my points all the time, I have had periods of time where I've been very good (longest period being 3 weeks) and my shopping habits and taste buds have changed vastly, so much so I don't even miss the things I thought I couldn't live without. I haven't bought butter once this year. I never thought that day would come as I love butter. As a child I would cut the corner off a block of Anchor butter and pop it into my mouth and happily wait for it to dissolve. Now I do without and I don't seem to miss it. Cutting out dairy has not been as difficult as I imagined. I've switched to rice milk for porridge, have goat's yoghurt instead of Greek yoghurt and have fun discovering all the different goats and ewe's cheeses that are available. The one thing I won't give up even when I'm being very good is ice cream but even then I find that I don't actually want it that often and when I do, I can't eat that much.

So, over time it's gotten easier to give things up but getting into a daily routine is the area where I really struggle. None of the things I'm supposed to do or not do make any immediate impact on me. I don't have allergies to the foods I'm not supposed to have, they don't make me ill but they do affect my energy levels. I read a book recently "The Slight Edge" by Jeff Olsen and it really resonated with me. It talked about the importance of doing little things every day and how difficult it can be to do them as it doesn't make any difference on your life today if you do them or you don't to them. They're easy to do and they're easy not to do. But these little things over time do add up to big things and you want the little things you do every day to be good things, not bad things. I have to admit, the book did scare me a little as I know I'm nowhere near good as I should be. I can eat badly and get away with it as I don't really put on weight but a bad diet affects my mood enormously and I do need to pay attention to this. As daily discipline doesn't seem to be my thing, I've had to wrap it up in something I do understand - a challenge and see how I get on with that. I'll come back and write up my progress, ideally on a weekly basis. It'll be good to capture how I'm getting on and more importantly how I'm feeling as I think that will all help to keep me on track.

Progress so far as today is the end of day 2. So far so good. I've got a long line of ticks on my chart for yesterday and today. More of the same tomorrow then!