Bad habits and my marathon countdown goals...

I was reading this post by Runner's World today about 10 bad habits of runners and found that I was guilty of a few too many, and here they are (plus a couple that I am actually good at)...

I think this is quite true and relative to running (source)

Ignoring your core: 
I have been rather terrible at strength training this time around, particularly my core. It is really important for runners to have strong cores, and this should especially be an area of focus after having a baby. I have never had the strongest core before a baby and now, even 7 months later, there is still way too much weakness and jiggle going on around my mid section. It's not pretty!

Starting a race too fast:
This was one of my mistakes from last weekend's race. I get all ambitious and excited at the start and instead of trying to set my own pace, I just follow the crowd. Oops! GPS watches are great for helping if you tend to have this problem too - another reason I need one NOW! 
 
Being your own doctor:
Totally guilty!! Doctor Google and Doctor Rachel are frequent collaborators in running injuries (as well as other things!).
"Runners tend to be hyperaware of their bodies, self-medicating with ice or ibuprofen to treat aches and pains. But minor injuries could turn into serious ones. Instead, see a doctor sooner rather than later. If the pain has lingered for three days, schedule an appointment."

Fixing it all: 

"There's plenty of advice on how to become a better runner, but try to focus on what's manageable." I really need to remember this one! I often can become guilty of trying to fix everything in my running instead of focussing on one thing at a time, thus the reason for the below goals.

Habits I actually am not that bad at:
Skipping stretching:
Thankfully I am quite good at stretching now... Most of the time. This is a really important thing that you want to make a GOOD habit.

Not getting enough zzzz's.  

Well this is pretty much just par for the course when you have a new baby but thankfully we have an awesome sleeper so if it does become a problem for me, it's either my own fault or just a wee phase Fletch is going through. I definitely need lots of sleep though so tend to feel it if I haven't had enough.

So because there are only 5.5 weeks (38 days to be exact!) until my marathon I thought I should set some goals for these last few weeks. It's never too late right??

Goals:

1. Work on my core - It's not like I don't know that I need to do this, or how to do it, it's just that I am lazy... Time to stop and time to get my abs working. Aaargh! Goodbye Mummy tummy!

2. Keep stretching - You can never stretch too much... Can you? 

3. Be wise with fuelling and resting - Make sure I have a good balance of carbs and protein to reful after runs, as well as gels during long runs. Rest, well you don't need to remind me twice about that one!

That's about all I can think of for now, so now it's time for me to go and work my core! Yikes!

Which of these are your bad habits? Which are your good ones?

Are you good at working your core? 

What's your favourite post race fuel?

Mine is a green smoothie - a good mix of carbs and protein.