It’s December 10, 2021. 21 days left in the month and year. There’s a lot on my schedule:
- grade a whole lot of papers and logic exams;
- carefully attend end-of-year gatherings with friends and their dogs and cats;
- assess holiday gift situation and purchase or make and wrap gifts;
- drive a long way to see my family for the holidays;
- do 10 more workouts to complete my 221 workouts in 2021.
I’ll say this, which is a surprise to no one who’s met me: I’m a just-in-time delivery gal. I tend to get things done, but they’re often done at the last minute. This pattern has carried through to my posted workouts in the Facebook group I’ve been a part of for several years. The methods I’ve used to count workouts have varied– some years I count everything done in one day as one, and other years specific workouts get to count on their own (e.g. swimming and cycling this year).
But no matter the details of my life, physical health, or schedule, I tend to slide into mid-December with a bunch of workouts left to do. So here I am, on December 10, 2021, with 10 workouts to go.
Is this a bad thing? No, not at all. I’m realizing: this is my pattern. I’ve got the data to show it. Another thing I’m realizing: I kind of like the relatively modest-to-me number of workouts. It feels doable. It’s been doable. I have do-ed it! I’m doing it this year.
A bunch of folks on the 221 in 2021 group have done way more than 221 workouts by now. Many are in the 300-range, and some have broken 400. I say, yay FB workout folks!
What I’m seeing in my workout patterns over the years is a series of speed-ups and slowdowns in my physical activity. They’re caused by a bunch of life events. Vacations tend to increase my workout logging, and illness or bad weather slow it down. I also have noticed that I’ve adjusted what counts as a workout in accordance with those events, lumping a days’ worth of fun under one workout sometimes, and other times, counting 10 minutes of stretching on my yoga mat as a workout.
This seems fine to me. I know I’ve not been consistent over the year in terms of criteria for workouts. But what counts as a workout isn’t consistent FOR ME in any given year. Things happen, and I like having the power to adjust what counts as movement in response.
Of course, numbers are numbers (I have no idea what that means, but…) I am feeling the motivation to push to move 10 more times this year. I’m sure I will. What will it look like? Depends on the weather, on how my grading goes, how I feel after my Moderna booster this weekend, and on other as-yet unknown future events.
But come December 31 (hopefully before), I’ll join my 221 workout in 2021 Facebook pals in celebrating. Remember, from my previous post, DFL is better than DNF is better than DNS! Keep this in mind as the year ends, my friends!
Readers, what goals are you homing in on as the year ends? Are you making adjustments? Are you rejigging? Are you walking away? Have you roared past the,? I’d love to hear from you.
