Scared Fitless!

I just finished 32 weeks of fitness - that's 8 months and so I have 4 months left in this research program on Breast Cancer and the correlation it has to fitness.  I am starting to feel what I call "scared fitless"!  Why you might ask?

I have gone from sitting on the couch with a starting VO2 Max of 27.5 to achieving 31.4 at my 6 month test.  I hope that I am improving but will only know when I have completed my total 12 months at the end of the study when the Beta Breast Cancer study team do my final evaluations.  That is the end of the program for me in their study.  I feel that have gotten somewhere in improving my overall fitness level and want to know to how to continue to keep my level at what I have achieved but am not sure what I should do.

I know I have 4 months left to figure it out so why worry now?  I am a firm believer that if you don't have a success plan ahead of time it will be all to easy to slip back into old habits and make excuses to put off what I am doing 5 days a week.  Granted it hasn't been easy to do this fitness schedule while working full time however somehow I have managed to fit this into my life and have learned to let some things go as a sacrifice for improving my own health while contributing to a scientific study.

I know that this journey has not been easy at times and many times during the day I have said to myself - "Just skip today and do it tomorrow" but no I headed to the gym.  People were counting on me to be there - Dr. Christine Friedenreich, the fitness trainers, the Beta office study team and the other women working hard in the program.  I couldn't let them down.  Who will be counting on me to be at the end of my portion of the study at the end of January 2012.

Who will care if I am working out?  Of course me but some times you need a bit of extra motivation. Where is this going to come from?  Thinking about the end of my program is making me feel a bit nervous and it feels like finishing high school and wondering what is next in life and what should I do.  Wishing someone would just decide for you.  It's like becoming a parent for the first time.  Before the baby arrives you think, yup got all down, I know what to do but then when the little one arrives you think - "help - now what...does the nurse come home with you from the hospital? No nurse - that's not in the book!"  I'm on my own?  Is there a book?  Some how you muddle through and get it right be trail and error and friends and relatives helping you along with friendly encouragement.

I am still not at all sure what I will do at the end of the program.  I have heard that many people in the previous study did not continue to keep up their fitness level.  I know that I am no different that any of the women that have gone before me in this study so am trying to figure out how to keep doing what I have done.

I don't know much about exercise and fitness as you probably already know however I think that really in the grand scheme of things I am about average with most people about knowledge of exercise.  Sometimes a little knowledge can be dangerous and can actually cause injury instead of helping you improve.   This is my dilemma - how to continue and make my schedule interesting without injuring myself or returning to my inactive ways!

I know how to set goals and how to achieve them and my currently goal is to run in the October 2nd Run for the Cure in Calgary.  For me this is a huge achievement since I would never have attempted to run 5 klm in my life for fear of collapse or worse yet - a heart attack.  I know feel that I can do this and will be lacing up my shoes on October 2nd.  I feel that I can set a goal and achieve it if I know enough on how to do it.  My next goal will be to develop some kind of a strategy to continue on my fitness plan so that I can keep healthy.   How....hmmm not sure but I am going to be working this out and have a draft plan in place by the end of November on what February 2012 will look like for me.  I have a couple of vague ideas that I want to incorporate but for now want to apply the SMART goal setting acronym so that I can at least have a plan on how to I am going to do this.  I believe that by writing down my goals and sharing them on this blog that I too can continue along my already improved (what I perceived as successful) fitness .

So what are SMART goals you ask?  They word SMART is an acronym and the S is for specific, the M is for measurable, the A is attainable, the R is for realistic and the T is for timely.   Goals need to be written them down and shared to be successful.   If no one knows what you want to acheive it is easy to not follow through and know one will ever know if you haven't been successful.

I want to slide from the end of my current program into working out on my own and make it a smooth transition so that I don't loose momentum.  Is it possible?  I hope so...more to come in the next weeks as I work toward my goal of having my SMART goals developed by the end of November!  Stay tuned!