5 Ways to Start Your Joggling New Year

The end of the fall marathons is always a tough time for a runner or competitive joggler.  You spend all summer training and looking forward to your marathon.  Then one day…it’s over.  Without future plans you could easily slip out of running mode and lose all the health progress you made.

To combat this natural tendency, I’ve decided to make November 11 my New Year.  It’s a good time, right before the craziness of the holidays but after running season.  The typical New Year (January 1) is just too far away.  You don’t want to go direction-less for 2 months.  Make 11/11 your New Year by doing the following things.

Joggling New Year Action Items

1. Set some speed goals.  If getting faster is important to you then now is a great time to reflect on the races you’ve done and times you’ve achieved.  First, write down your best times at all the race distances (5K, 10K, 10 mile,  Half marathon, Marathon, Ultra marathon).  You should keep a list of all your races anyway.  Then decide how much faster you want to run.  Remember, just setting new PRs is a laudable enough goal.  Also, you might want to set age PRs too.  As a joggler, setting a “no drop” goal is another option.

2. Set some weight goals. To live longer and joggle faster, you have to weigh less.  There is a lower limit, but unless you have a medical issue, you’re probably carrying more weight than you need.  See this healthy weight tool to find your limits.  Target a BMI on the lower end of the normal range.

At 188 pounds, I’m in the healthy weight range now.  But it would be much better if I was around 160-165.

3. Plan your racing calendar.  Now is an excellent time to plan your races for the coming year.  If you wait until January, you’ll miss out on some key training for a spring marathon.  Check out Runner’s World Race Finder tool.  You simply put in your desired location and it spits out all the races you could do.  I’d highly recommend this site except it’s incredibly slow.

4. Find a charity.  To help give your joggling more meaning, it’s a good idea to start trying to raise money for charity.  There are some great causes out there.  But give some thought as to what you want to support.  I’m a card carrying member of NPR and have also raised money for Global Business Assist (a micro loan charity).  Check out the Charity Watch website to see how the organizations you want to get involved with rank.  Not all charities are as worthwhile as their cause.

5. Find new juggling tricks to learn.  As a runner, you can always get faster.  As a juggler, you can always learn some new tricks.  Take this time to make a list of all the tricks you can’t do yet but would like to.  Watch juggler videos on YouTube for inspiration.  Here’s a great juggling tutorial with a ton of tricks and video explanations.

PS.  Sorry about the lack of posts recently.  I’ve been bogged down with projects like the Beauty Brains, SCC talks, etc.  I’ll be back on a more regular schedule now.