Fitness Goals

Getting old is no fun on my metabolism. A few years ago I bought a basic baby treadmill for the sole purpose of walking inside whilst surrounded by my bouncing babies. I started out super slow. It's amazing how little speed still got me sweating. But gradually I found myself walking a little faster and eventually I outgrew my baby treadmill (it currently puts off an alarming heat and smell when I try to overtax it). Thankfully my neighbors were throwing away their perfectly good one so Matthew and I saved it from the curb and adopted it for our own.

Last year I had a goal to work out for at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. And I mostly made it. I would say I was successful at my goal more than 90% of the year. And I was even running enough to merit buying running shoes. For a girl who ran in high school and swore never to do it again,and for the most part kept her promise to herself ever since, this is a big deal.

This year my goal is to run 10 miles at one time. Currently I am up to 4 miles. 10 miles still feels like a long, scary way away, but hopefully I can slowly but surely make it. And as for the darned, aging metabolism, I'm hoping that focusing on this fitness goal will be a healthier and more satisfying goal than just focusing on losing the pounds currently irritating me. Here's hoping.

On another very entertaining and endearing note, I have loved having my children watch their parents exercise. I have been so anti exercising for so long that I am glad that these new resolved parents are the examples they will remember as they grow. Matthew is also working towards his own fitness goals and is running and weight training. As such the babes are doing their own form of exercising. Most days Boy Howdy uses "exercising" as an excuse to wear shorts and short sleeves in the middle of winter. He turns on the treadmill for a few seconds and then claims he is done, yet conviently doesn't change back into his normal clothes. Other days, he joins his father in his pull ups and push ups, mimicking his father in the most adorable way possible. Yesterday Boy Howdy, upped his endearing level by changing into exercise clothes and running laps around our kitchen and family room followed by retrieving the chair from his bedroom so he could "pump" it into the air. It still wasn't a long workout, but his earnestness and creativity won him major points. I love this boy.