31 Days of Calendar Club + Carnivore Nutritional Plan (PART ONE)

Dude. Love. Homeslice.

First off, let's state the obvious - I'm not entirely sane. Because who in the right mind would want to attempt to do TWO challenges at the same time?!?  Not a sane person, for sure.

In full honesty, I'm also partaking in the 75Hard Challenge with a group of Mastermind folks but the Calendar Club and Carnivore Diet sorta cancels out a few 75Hard Challenge tasks, so it's kinda like a sweet little bonus.

Now that we got that out of the way - let's dive into each one of these things individually (not 75Hard - we will table that for the time being) as well as my experience along with any tips or strategy which helped me accomplish each challenge along with future plans.

CALENDAR CLUB

This is where you run the equivalent of miles for the day of the month.  For example, January 1st, you would run one mile.  January 2nd, you would run two miles and so forth.  This doesn't sound a bit challenging until you get up there in miles and soon you find yourself being an ultra runner by day 27!  

Ultra-runner (n.):  person who runs a distance longer than a marathon (which is 26.2miles).  

Once you add your lifestyle, priorities and time restraints, things can start to look a wee bit daunting to figuring out your mileage and when you are going to tackle things.

Take myself, I'm a homeschooling mama of two who runs a business from home - cooks three meals a day for the twins (the Gillies), manages the chaos caused by our four newfies and ornery feline as well as ubers the Gillies to afternoon appointments, practices and physical therapy while solo-parenting a few nights a week due to the hubster's work schedule.

I tell you this ONLY to share we all have obstacles - you may have even LESS time than I do or even more priorities in this season of your life.  Bless you, friend.  The point is - we all got shiznit to do, so, do your best.

STRATEGY TO CALENDAR CLUB

• Freaking set a plan, but be flexible.  I knew going into these month - the miles would need to be broken up.  There wasn't any way come miles 20 - I would be able to run before my kids woke up OR stay up late and skimp out on sleep.    
  • Day 1-5:  I knew I could tackle five miles in the morning before the Gillies woke up easy.  My goal was to stay consistent with the pace so for those eager to know - 10:30 was my mile pace.  This was a conversational run pace for me which left me energized and not drained 
  • Day 6-10: Kept the pace at 10:30ish/per mile; however, started to run the second batch of miles in the afternoon around 2-4pm pending on afternoon activities.  With this pace, I was clocking 5miles at roughly 54mins.  This also meant these miles were on the treadmill.
  • Day 11-15: Started adding an evening run as well after dinner - yes, I was running three times; however, it was just for 50-55minutes at a time and my energy levels stayed pretty consistent.  My endurance coach also had me doing strength training still at this point three times a week which I would do BEFORE my afternoon run.  
  • Day 16-20:  You most likely guessed it and you were right - I added a mid-morning run.  This was actually easier than I thought.  Why? Because it fit perfectly with our schedule and homeschooling.  My first two batches of miles were fasted (not sure I would recommend this but it works for me), before I would get on the treadmill for my 10/11am run I'd set the Gillies up with a homeschool lesson which I knew would take up about an hour.  There were questions a few times and interruptions while I was running, but overall - it worked!  Then I would cook brunch/brekkie and eat but more on that later.
  • Day 21-25:  I just started tackling more miles in the evening because I wasn't quite ready to add another batch of running.  It was 5am, 11am, 2pm, 8pm run schedule and I knew a 5pm batched run was coming soon and honestly was holding off as long as possible. 
  • Day 26-31:  Finally added that 5th batch of miles at 5pm to make this completed.  With the carnivore nutritional plan, I was also eating around 4pm which felt good to move my body right after I ate... but would make sure to wait at least 30-45minutes before lacing up after a meal just for my gut.  I also walked a few of these miles because I would either talk with a friend or have a friend join me for some walk/run miles

And there you have it!  The strategy I used for my January Calendar Club month.  Was it ideal?  No.  Was it perfect? No.  There was one day, believe it was day 17, where I got really ill and had to walk ALL the miles unable to run.  The point wasn't to push myself into injury but to challenge myself mentally to move my body these amount of miles each day... and I did just that.

BIGGEST TAKEAWAY FROM THE CALENDAR CLUB

We have so much more time than we think in a day to get shiznit done.  Honestly, when I was working as an emergency/critical care veterinarian - I thought I was busy at the time.  Then I became a mom of twins and realized just how much time I had to get things done when I was not taking care of two wee little things. It truly baffles my mind... how busy I felt at those times, but because of life and priorities I am capable of tackling additional things at different seasons.  You know?  I'm sure you have felt this at one point of your life as well. 

This challenge made me realize if something is a priority to you - you will find the time.  

Even doing Calendar Club, I still lived my life:

• I did not miss one morning snuggle fest with the Gillies.
• I still cooked them three (sometimes four) meals a day
• I still joined family movie nights
• I still homeschooled like a boss (or tried to!)
• I still tackled work for clients and delivered projects on time
• I still made time for the hubster.
• I never skimped out on sleep.
• Plus, if you know me, I'm an AVID reader - like book obsessed. Calendar Club didn't hinder my reading as I read 21 books in the month of January. 

It was fascinating to me JUST how efficient one can use their time when there is a limit. My work became more efficient.  Homeschooling even picked up which may be because mama wasn't hovering as much 😉.  Also, the Gillies witnessed mama reaching a goal even though they were not as impressed or impressed at all.

PLANS MOVING FORWARD WITH CALENDAR CLUB

This is an excellent question, so glad you asked. On the last day on mile 16, I was cruising along when my brain went back to a conversation in a mastermind I'm a part of --- what is your definition of impossible? 

The speaker mentioned how we think something is impossible simply because we have never heard of it before or seen it done.  And if you know me, I like to rock the boat (most times) and don't entirely agree with his way of thought (which is fine! It's brilliant to have your own perspective, you may not agree with me or him).  

Anywho. I don't think things are IMPOSSIBLE because we haven't seen them done or read about it being accomplished.  Maybe it's my scientific brain.  Maybe it's being entirely stupid in thinking nearly everything is possible.  Or maybe it's being acutely aware of what I most likely can do as well as what I will not be able to do.  It's probably a combination of all three.

I think most things are truly possible for you based on your mental strength, your determination (discipline/grit/strategy) and the abilities God blessed you with.  What I mean by the latter is --- God did NOT gift me with the ability to sing like Adele - it's more like a cat in heat with a sore throat.  I am sure with determination and mental fortitude, I would be a good singer... just not blessed with the ability to be great.  Make sense?

What does this mean to my Calendar Club and mile 16 on the last day, well, it means I was pondering what I felt like was impossible or at least challenging and I thought: I know I have a Last Man Standing on the docket later this year, but I've done that before... and that's like 1-2 days or more depending how strong your race is, but what would it be like to challenge myself for the ENTIRE year.  Would that be possible? 

So, I texted my mastermind coach:

ME:  Thinking of doing the calendar club for the entire year... 

HIM:  Wow, that's incredible.  I love it.  We are behind you 100%.

And like that, we shall see what's possible.  

ENDING NOTES

Will I make Calendar Club the entire year?  Who the f- knows.  God is probably in heaven laughing at my plans as only He knows what lies ahead.  But, I'm excited to see what comes up - excited to hear who (if any) this inspires to take action towards what they feel is impossible - excited to see what IS POSSIBLE... 

And, most importantly, I'm eager to see the version of myself that awaits when I tackle Calendar Club for the entire year... she just gots to be a bad-sassarina.

Discover Your Possible.

Grit + Gumption.

ALG 

NOTE:  I realize we didn't tackle Carnivore Nutritional Plan... that'll be PART TWO as this was already getting pretty lengthy.

ANOTHER NOTE:  If you would love to follow along IRL as I tackle Calendar Club, I'll be sharing in my stories each day the miles... it'll look a wee bit different as my endurance coach is adding strength training on the docket so mama can hit some personal goals set for July.  FOLLOW HERE:  @dr.amberlangleygill