A beginning of sorts...

Today is the first day of the rest of my life.

I keep telling myself that. And yet, somehow I frequently fail to act on it. Habits are hard things to change. I keep telling myself that I need to start exercising more. I keep telling myself I'll start tomorrow. Tomorrow doesn't seem to come.

I have an old high-school friend I've reconnected with on Facebook. She regularly runs 2-3 miles, seemingly every day. Every time I see one of her updates, I think, "I really should start doing that."

Part of the problem is that I tend to think that if I'm going to run, I need to be fast, or be a marathoner, or complete an Ironman. I make myself think that I've got to be "all or nothing." Generally this results in either burnout or an overuse injury in a few months that lands me back on the couch. Trying too hard can be worse than not doing anything at all. Not only can it lead to injury, but the inevitable failure leads to a negative spiral of lower expectations and feelings of ... failure.

In reality, all I need to do is... something. Just do something. Anything. Daily, or at least several times a week. Walk, jog, bike, hike, swim, shop aggressively at Meijer. Whatever gets my heart rate elevated for a while each day. At my level of fitness, it all counts. It's all about getting off my duff and moving.

And I've got to stop using the kids as an excuse. They need to be out there moving, too. It's as important as a healthy meal or their homework. So, whenever I say, "well, I can't go walk because I've got to watch the kids" I'm cheating myself and them.

This week, I started taking a step. Several steps, in fact. Behind our elementary school there's a paved trail about 1/2 mile long. It's a section of what will eventually be a much longer multi-use path system. Almost daily this week, I've tossed the kids in the car, drug them to the trail and walked it while the kids walk or rollerblade. Afterwards, they get to play on the playground while I cool down. Today I jogged short intervals.

It's only a start, and it's very easy for this to slip back into an oblivion of couch-sitting as the stresses of life inevitably intrude. But it is a start.