One Mile At A Time

I am 31 years old. Today, I ran my first ever mile. At 31 years old.

I just cannot believe it!

I have tried to be fit my entire adult life but I never succeed. I have always thought that being fit was about a number on the scale.

My problem is I can never get the food and the exercise thing going at the same time. I am either eating well and not working out at all or I am eating a lot more because I am exercising which makes me hungry.

I know that I eat when I am bored. I know that I eat when I am emotional. I know, now that I am 31, that I can be aware of these things and make a conscious decision if I am going to eat or not.

I also know, now that I am 31, it is not about a number on the scale. It is about how I feel.

When I eat greasy, fatty food, I feel gross.

When I don’t exercise I feel gross.

I now know what it feels like to feel good. And I know that is how I want to feel all the time.

And I am okay with having taken 31 years to figure this out. I am young enough to do something about it.

I am also now able to set a good example for my daughter. And that’s what really matters to me!

I get a good laugh when we go ice skating and she laps me calling out “Look at you, mom! You look great! Keep it up!”

I love swimming with her and seeing how exhausted she is after an hour in the pool because she worked her hardest the entire time. She really encourages me to keep moving and not just bob around the pool.

She really is my inspiration. In many different ways.

I will not say, that at 31, I have it all figured out. I doubt what is working for me would work for everyone else. But today, I ran my first ever mile. I ran it in just under 12 minutes. And I am damn proud.