Deciding on a Fitness Plan

In January, I set a goal to complete a fitness challenge of running/walking 1,000 miles in 2017 through ilovetorun.org. At about 3.1 miles every single day, the task would force me to step out of my home office where sedentary days were too frequent. It was a chance to see what the impact of increased activity would do for my mood and sleep. The routine helped me to remain mindful that daily self-care through fitness was as important as brushing my teeth and eating that day. I seriously just need to get UP and OUT! Charging up my Fitbit, I laced up my new sneakers and channeled my inner Forest Gump.

Roadblocks and Progress

I had a setback in March with three broken toes, then again in late April when I rebroke two of them which put me 121 miles behind pace. I considered quitting but instead made a plan to make up the miles up slowly throughout the year. The challenge was not easy. There were days that I didn’t want to do it since everyone in my group had quit by summer. I sacrificed hours that I would rather have been reading to be on the treadmill. (Later, an Audible subscription helped me take my books on the road.) My sister and closest friends were amazing in their support, offering to go the long way or walk instead of Uber to help me get my daily active minutes and miles. I finished the challenge on Christmas Eve with a huge sense of accomplishment and a good dose of relief.

Crossing the Finish Line

Will I do it again? Not a chance, LOL! It took much more time than I anticipated and since I have no plans for a marathon I’m ready to try something new. But, I’m glad I did and I’ve never felt better. 2018’s fitness goal is to keep the movement going with two activities I used to love but haven’t practiced in ages–belly dancing and boxing. I’m officially joining a local non-sparing boxing club tonight and I’ve already done a few classes at the dance studio. I’ll still be using my Fitbit for diet and activity monitoring, so please feel free to friend me if you want to connect: //www.fitbit.com/user/263X94. I can’t wait to shimmy, shake, and strike in 2018!