Corinne Ellison

Today is my 6 month anniversary since my heart surgery. Amongst the Christmas preparations, I have taken time to consider what has happened in the last year and what I would like to achieve in the next few months.

The challenges of 2011, starting with the London marathon and ending with a half Ironman distance race in September (Vitruvian) give me targets to aim for and the motivation to get out and exercise on ‘off’ days.  Heart surgery has taken away a little of my faith in my body as I am afraid to push boundaries to the extent I was before. However, I have so much more determination than I did pre-surgery as I feel I have something to prove to myself – that I can achieve the times and distances I believe I can do. The realisation of what I have physically overcome this year plays on my mind.

Striking a balance between commitment to work, financial income and business development as opposed to fitness training will be a challenge, but one I welcome. I am a firm believer in the fact that more you do, the more you are capable of. This month has been the busiest ever with events so my December fitness goals fell behind. I am not beating myself up as I have continued to exercise whenever I could. January brings a time to organise and orchestrate the rest of the year and reflect on what I am grateful for. I have a list on my desk which I look at regularly, and this helps me focus.

A few words about my scar, 6 months on. Over the cold winter months, it hasn’t been an issue in terms of people starring. A few times, I have felt a twinge of envy seeing a woman with cleavage out! The support I have had online has been incredible, as well as my friends and family. My scar is my story and of both of these, I am very proud.

Merry Christmas everyone and an extremely healthy, active and prosperous 2011!

Two and a bit weeks since my last post, my excuse? Life, work, stress… all reasons that prevent us from taking action towards important goals. I guess I have felt overwhelmed with urgent tasks involved with my business which resulted in November being largely unsuccessful. Yes I have earnt money, run a few times, been to the gym, seen a friend, written an article…. Ok, maybe unsuccessful is an unfair assessment. Urgent tasks persuade us away from the difficult jobs, such as finding time to write blogs, speak to that person or work towards a short term goal.

My lack of a November goal has had a huge impact on my exercise. I have lacked motivation to get out running regularly. My knees have started complaining when I did go out and I am seeing a chiropractor to get the aches nipped in the bud.

Business is so busy, I am working at least 12 hours a day when in the office and around 16 hour days when out at events (3 times a week). I am now very behind in my ‘to do’ list!

All in all, I just can’t wait until Christmas when I can stop and take stock. A recent email from a correspondent in the US made me stop my complaining and consider all that has gone well recently. Thanksgiving in America sounds a great idea to me. In the UK, we love to moan about the weather, the economy, the recession and anything else that depresses us. The power of gratitude is overwhelming. Comparing my life to others less fortunate, less healthy, really helped me gain perspective on my perceived problems.

Already, I am finding excuses about committing to a December goal. I am tempted to fall into the common trap of delaying action, until next month ‘when things have settled down’ or ‘when I am more financially stable’. Learning from November, I refuse to go goal-less again.

My December goals will be:

To complete my first module of reading for my coaching course

To get to the gym for core / strength training at least once a week

Complete a turbo trainer session at least once a week