I’m writing to you after completing a pregnancy fitness goal of mine, which was to run 20 miles a week for six weeks in a row. I set the goal in the middle of the second trimester, when my motivation to run started to wane. The timing coincided with the two months of the year I dread the most, January and February, when cold and darkness zap all joy from my body and running is necessary for my mental health.
My overarching goal with exercise during pregnancy so far is to maintain the habit of running most days of the week. As I wrote in a previous newsletter, the shift from performance- to discipline-based running has been a challenge for me, but working towards this new goal has made my routine more consistent than ever. When I’m not pregnant, my training volume and intensity varies each week, but for the first time, I’ve done the same thing week in and week out. It hasn’t been as boring as I expected it to be, largely because as my belly grows, it’s become more challenging. I’m pushing a lot more weight over here!
Anyway, in today’s newsletter I want to share insights from what I’ve learned while setting goals and forming habits that I think anyone can take a lesson from.
Make sure your goal is specific enough that you will feel rewarded if you reach it.
On the surface, my goal was to run most days of the week. But let’s say I did that and ran one mile a day; I could run four miles in a week and reach my goal. If I did just that, I wouldn’t really be satisfied, because I also wanted to hit a level of mileage that would make me feel like I was maintaining my aerobic capacity. So, I had to get more granular, which brings me to the next point…
Strike a balance between challenging and achievable.
A lot of people don’t hit their goals because they’re unachievable! In the first trimester, my goal was to run at least 30 miles per week, but given the rollercoaster of fatigue, emotions, and bodily fluids that is the first 13 weeks of pregnancy, I didn’t hit it. I needed a more realistic goal to keep me motivated in the second trimester. Twenty miles is around half my weekly mileage when not pregnant, but given my downward fitness trajectory, it felt like a volume that would be challenging to hit many weeks in a row.
Know your weaknesses.
Something I’ve learned about myself is that when I don’t address my own limiting factors, I have trouble staying consistent. Some of them are literal weaknesses, like if I run too much, I’ll get pain in my adductors that will relegate me to the bike. Others are more mental, like the concept of some foods being “off limits,” to take an example from beyond running. I’ve learned that if I deprive myself of pretty much any food, I’ll think about it constantly and overcompensate by eating more of something less satisfying. Now, instead of overdoing it on something meh, I’ll just have a small portion of what I wanted. You’re probably thinking, “duh,” but working that kind of self-awareness into a goal will make you more successful.
Don’t overdo it.
If you’re on track to hit your goal, just keep doing what you’re doing, DON’T OVERDO IT! In running, this leads to injury and more generally, burnout. There were a few weeks where I felt like I could run more than 20, but I tried to bottle up that momentum and use it to motivate me during weeks when the goal felt harder to achieve.
Accept when things don’t go as planned, then pivot and persevere!!
Wow, I really had the worst run at 25 weeks. I had to pee so many times, my belly band was uncomfortable, and I was overdressed. So I stopped, cried (lol), went home and sat on the couch for an hour, then got on the treadmill and ran a 15 minute mile. It took up SO much mental energy but you gotta do what you gotta do.
This newsletter is beginning to feel like a tech bro life hack post on Medium, so I’ll stop there. I’m sure some people reading this think I’m cuckoo and Type A and you know what, I am. But I also hope this helps others who want to form a running habit, or just any consistency-based goal.
Be back in your inboxes sometime soon,
Elaheh
Oooooo #2 resonates with me. Love that feedback.
Great issue, Elahaeh — and sent at a truly optimized time!