Setting goals and breaking habits

(my trusty sneakers and yes, that is my diaper bag in the background)

Wait. It's not the New Year. It's the END of the old New Year. What's wrong with me? I'll tell you what's wrong. It's that dreaded ol' word -- habit. It's such an elephant in the room for me. But I let him stay around because it's too hard to move him. Most of the time. Well, in spite of my human nature, I'm moving that elephant. I've set a new goal. Run a 5k. Are. you. serious? Let me tell you all something. Over the course of the past year, since having our second child, I have occupied myself with various forms of exercise. Staying in shape, or in somewhat shape, is pretty high up on my list of priorities. I enrolled in a cardio class 4 months after having Roma and once that was done, I started walking thirty minutes every morning before David left for work and after that, doing exercises to a work out DVD. Jillian Michaels is. brUtAL. Love it. She helped me shed those last eight pounds in less than thirty days. Being out here, in PA, has been like standing in front of a full length mirror. You see so much more than the little mirror in your bathroom. My idiosyncrasies have come to my attention with a blaring truth and harsh reality. It's embarrassing. So in an effort to better myself, I have set numerous goals to attain while we're here. I enjoy changing up my routine because the days become stale and so predictable, it takes twice as much effort to stay awake. So, I'm setting MORE goals. My infatuation with playing the guitar hasn't faded and I'm aiming to be able to sing and strum in church soon. But that is for a whole other blog. Let's keep to the subject at hand. Running. Running a 5k with the thought of possibly training for a longer run. Be still my aging heart. I CAN do this. The first time I tried jogging a mile I almost puked. It was horrible. We live in a very hilly area and it will knock the wind right out of you. And in my case, the puke. My second and third time weren't so bad. And then I did it -- I changed it up. I moved my course to the opposite side of our block. And when I say 'block' I'm using that term VERY loosely. Our 'blocks' are contingent on how large the farmer's field is. At any rate, I switched my jog to the other side and it was like I grew jogging wings or something. I could run and run and run and it actually felt GOOD! I didn't feel like puking, or dying, or walking. I started to feel inspired instead of extremely tired. And oddly enough, in my life outside of fitness I'm starting to feel inspired because I'm exercising parts of myself that have long since been dormant. We'll see how this thing turns out. One thing for sure, I won't be the same. That would be a crime...