December 2013 Fitness Goal, a Jump Start of Sorts

written by Catherine December 4, 2013

It’s been a bit of an up and down year for me. In the last year I went from running 0 miles a week to running 20 to 25 miles a week to running like 2 miles a week. To say I fell off the wagon is accurate. I ran my second half marathon in August right as school was starting. I finished so strong and I was thrilled, but then school was starting and life was busier, and Delaney wouldn’t go to the gym daycare and I didn’t have a training goal or plan or idea at all. I floundered.

I couldn’t seem to get my head in the game. Honestly- and very simply put- I was struggling a lot. So about a month ago Luke decided to get a treadmill. I love that guy. He knew I needed to run.He knew I was having trouble finding time outside of my duties as a mom. He knew I was slowly losing my mind. Or maybe now so slowly. So now I have a treadmill and the options to run have increaded tenfold. I’ve been heading the basement to get my me time and work on getting my stamina and distance back up. I’ve needed a jump-start though. I’ve looked at races for next year as one way to get going again, but I needed something more.

Over Thanksgiving while in Salt Lake City visiting family I came across Runners World’s Holiday Running Streak. Sadly, I didn’t have my running shoes or I might have jumped on board and started running everyday from Thanksgiving through New Years Day with all the other runners joining in. By the time we got home on Saturday afternoon I had a different idea. It’s a very busy time of year but I knew I needed to implement a December fitness challenge for myself. Here’s what I’m doing. Everyday for the month of December I will be getting at least 30 minutes of exercise in. Of course I will still be doing my slightly longer workouts as normal but I’m adding in more days. As in, all the days. Some days it will be a long run, some days a shorter run, some days Zumba or weight lifting at the gym, I might even throw in some workout videos or body weight workouts. This is my jump-start. I don’t need January 1st to roll around to get myself back on track, because by January 1st I intend to be firmly back into a running and exercise groove.

So far I’m four days in and three workouts down. On the first I hit the gym for my usual Sunday morning Zumba. Monday I started breaking in my new running shoes with a mid-paced jog on the treadmill during naptime. A fast paced walk and some toning exercises like squats, lunges, planks and dips yesterday and I’m about to head to the basement to run a few miles now.

It feels good to have a goal again.

It also feels good to have a new pair of running shoes. It’s the little things right?

Catherine

Catherine, The Evolving Mommy, is the mom behind the Evolving Motherhood. As the mom to two young girls, Catherine spends a good deal of her time feeding her family, cleaning up after feeding her family and planning the next meal she will feed her family. When she isn't feeding people, cleaning, running errands or volunteering in her daughter's school, she enjoys running, reading, writing, and cooking for fun. Motherhood is a jungle so we have to keep evolving and learning from the everyday.