I have a confession.

I have a confession to make.

I have NOT been following the Clean Food Challenge. Not even for a single meal. That’s why I haven’t blogged for a few days.

The truth is that a) it’s hard and b) I didn’t prepare for it when I went grocery shopping for the week. I bought the ingredients for pot roast and pizza and sandwiches.  All not a part of the Clean Food Challenge diet.

However, if you’re interested in following someone who IS following the challenge, check out One Mom in Maine or Ichigone. They’ve had some good posts this week.

I’d like to do the challenge … eventually. With a better mindset. Lets plan for the first week of the year. There. It’s on the calendar.

I have a second confession to make.

I went to the gym this morning to do weight training circuits, something that I know I should do more often but … haven’t in the past month.

Last year, following the Biggest Loser plan, I focused mostly on weight training, and used cardio exercise to supplement. When I stopped I was able to do  3 sets of 30 sit-ups at the 3rd difficulty level on the ab bench. Today, I could only do 2 sets of 20 sit-ups on the first difficulty level today, even though I feel like I should be more fit now than I was then.

I lost more weight on that plan, and I have 7 pounds to lose before I return to the weight I was at in November of 2009. So that gets me thinking — what’s my next goal? To lose weight? Or to be a better (faster, longer) runner?

If I want to lose weight, a faster course to weight loss would be to cut back on the running and spend more time in the gym doing circuits. But if I want to be a better runner, I need to focus on running (and throw some circuits in there for cross-training and good measure)

I started running because I wanted to lose enough weight to get to a normal BMI (165 pounds). But now, what I really want to do is run a marathon by next fall.

The two goals aren’t mutually exclusive, for sure.  It’s all a matter of focus.

So today I did 20 minutes of weight training and a 30-minute run. My new goal: maintain 20-plus mile weeks and do at least 20 minutes of weight training two days a week.

Pattie Reaves

About Pattie Reaves

I'm a new mom and renegade fitness blogger at After the Couch. I live in Brewer with my husband, Tony, our daughter Felicity, and our two pugs, Georgia and Scoop.