Month In Review: December

I still need to figure out some January goals, but thought I'd post this in the mean time.

Dec 1: Two 1-minute planks; 50 crunches
Dec 2: 1 hour Bootcamp
Dec 3: 2.56 mi run w/hubs (avg HR 155)
Dec 4: Rest
Dec 5: 5.54 mi run (avg HR 163)

Dec 6: 1 hour Spinning
Dec 7: 45 min Kickboxing, 1.3 mi run on treadmill (didn't wear Garmin)
Dec 8: Rest
Dec 9: 1 hour Bootcamp
Dec 10: Rest
Dec 11: 4.66 mi run (avg HR 167)
Dec 12: 3.38 mi run (avg HR 163)

Dec 13: 1 hour Spinning
Dec 14: Rest
Dec 15: 100 crunches
Dec 16: 6.15 mi run (avg HR 171)
Dec 17: 2.09 mi run w/hubs (avg HR 145)
Dec 18: 1.73 mi dog walk
Dec 19: 6.15 mi run (avg HR 169)

Dec 20: 45 min Spinning
Dec 21: ~33 min of OnDemand workouts + 1 min plank
Dec 22: 3.07 mi run (avg HR158)
Dec 23: Rest (aka Work 6 hours + Drive 6.5 hours)
Dec 24: 2.39 mi run (avg HR 173)
Dec 25: 50-minute walk + 30 tricep dips
Dec 26: 15 minutes of various crunches + 1 min plank

Dec 27: 1.55 mi run (didn't wear Garmin)
Dec 28: 1 hour 20 min hike, .75 mi walk later on
Dec 29: 3 hours of downhill skiing
Dec 30: Rest (aka Drive 6.5 hours, Fell asleep)
Dec 31: Rest (aka Super-Gross cough and chest/nasal congestion)

December Totals:
38.84 miles of running
2 hours Bootcamp classes
45 minutes of Kickboxing class
2 hours 45 minutes of Spin classes
3 hours of skiing

While my running mileage was lower again, I did add 6 group classes in to the mix, and we were out of town for a week.  My Garmin software still shows I exercised 4-4.5 hours a week every week except the week of the 20th, which is an accomplishment for me!  I haven't done that since this summer when I was training for my September half marathon.  I'm hoping that doing more for the rest of my body will help me with running too.

Back to my goals. My December goals were listed here. 

I was good about exercising 5x/week for at least 30 minutes for the first three weeks of December.  I came up one day short the week of the 20th, and well, this week was messed up by me getting sick.  I would have loved to run on the 31st in the glorious 40-something temperatures, but I didn't even leave the house yesterday.  I couldn't even laugh without starting to cough!

And regarding heart rate... I thought that was going to be easier to measure than it was.  I'm feeling lazy right now and COULD replay all my runs and note when my HR was within or out of the range I had hoped, but that would take a while. A really long time actually.  I did list my average HRs for all my runs.  I'm pleased that they are generally under 170 (that is an improvement from previous months), and because I was trying to be more conscious of my heart rate, I rarely let it get above low 180s- even when trying to push it at some point during the run.  Once my HR hit 180, I'd slow down my running or walk until it was back toward the lower end of the 3rd zone on my watch (151-165).

I liked shooting for 5 days of exercise a week, instead of 4ish.  I told myself that even if I wasn't going to run, I could probably do something else (i.e. a group class, OnDemand workout, crunches in the living room, some stretching, pick up my hand weights and do a couple reps, etc).  And once I'm over this cough and cold and start running again, I will continue to focus on keeping my heart rate in a better zone!

How is your fitness routine or your fitness goals holding up in the colder weather??  
What are your goals for 2011 or for January?