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Don't let your fitness goals trap you
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Arianne Brown set a goal to run a race on New Year's Eve but instead did a workout in a hotel gym with her husband. - photo by Arianne Brown
It was Dec 30, 2016, and like many of you, I had a resolve to get up the next morning and do something spectacular to start the new year off right. With New Year's Day being on a Sunday, I figured that rather than waiting until Jan. 2 to begin my fitness goals, I would choose New Year's Eve as my starting date.

The plan was to run the annual New Years Revolution Run that takes place at the Olympic Oval. In years past, I have been able to complete the marathon distance, or close to it. Doing so has been a phenomenal way to start my year, and I look forward to it every year.

This year, I wanted to go bigger and had set a goal to see how many miles I could complete in the allotted five-hour time frame, hoping to run somewhere in the 35-mile range.

There was only one problem: I was in a hotel in Las Vegas with my family. After visiting my sister in Arizona, we had decided it wasn't a wise decision to complete the 14-hour drive home all at once and stopped in Las Vegas.

Not only was I not going to run my race, but I was stuck in a hotel that was not in an area where I felt comfortable running alone.

I was disappointed. I wanted to start the new year off right by accomplishing something great, and now all I had was a treadmill in the hotel fitness room and I loathe the dreadmill I mean, treadmill.

I felt trapped and frustrated. But just as I was going to give in to defeat, my husband stepped in and asked if he could run me through an exercise routine in the fitness room before we left the next morning.

I reluctantly agreed because I was still upset.

The next morning, however, I spent the first hour of my day doing things I didn't know I could do. My husband had me doing combinations of body weight, speed and agility exercises that left me extremely sore, tired and even more inspired.

I may not have been able to reach my fitness goal I had set, but I was able to replace it with something different and dare I say, better.

Sometimes goals are not reached, but that doesn't mean that there isn't something just as good or better waiting for you especially if you don't let your fitness goals trap you like I nearly did.
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