WEVerb11: Thrive

For the month of December, I’ll be participating in #WEverb11. Each day gives a new prompt, each of which is a chance to reflect and look forward.

#12: Thrive.  What was your healthiest habit of 2011? What would you like to change or do differently in 2012?

Contributed by Tonya [life-accomplished.com]

This one is tough for me mostly because I didn't really start or change any healthy habits in 2011.  I started most of my current "healthy habits" several years ago.  I'd say I got into running and exercise in 2003 or 2004, and then I got into cross training in 2007, and then I cleaned up my eating a lot in 2008.  Some of the people I run with are people I've run with since about 2006.  Lots of my best friends are running buddies.  Heck, one of my bridesmaids was someone I met while running and with whom I would say I still spend the majority of our time together while running. 

So I guess to answer this question, I'm going to have to say my healthiest habit of 2011 was the month of yoga.  I'd never made such a serious yoga committment before.  And while I said yoga probably wasn't a sustainable habit for me (working out for a minimum of 2.5 hours per day seemed to leave little time for anything else, including meaningful conversations with my husband or later nights at work), it was certainly a healthy habit while I did it.  I came home to eat dinner (usually alone) but after 90 minutes at 105 degrees, I wanted something light and healthy for dinner, and I certainly had no interest in alcohol.  I ate lots of quiche and salads in November. 

But my healthiest habit in general is definitely running!  Having my friends to meet ensures that I get up well before the crack of dawn, get out there and get it done, push myself when I sometimes want to quit.  And then doing all that running usually helps me worry less about eating crap and just generally feel more balanced and happier. 

In terms of change in 2012, I guess I want to run less with my running buddies!  Haha.  I know running weighted will slow me down (though I actually had two pretty solid miles yesterday), which will mean I won't be able to keep up with my friends.  But I can make new friends at my new pace, whatever that may be.  And maybe my former running buddies can just be my drinking buddies for 2012 (at least the first half, hopefully I'll be back strong after Bataan).  I'd also like to do another month of yoga.  Not sure what else I'd like to do differently next year.  I guess those two things are good enough!