The Fun Begins:-)

In 2012, I would like to get fit....again. It seems to be the story of my life. My lifelong friends are used to my New Year's plans of health, balance, and fitness.  I usually do okay for the first few months focusing on eating right and exercising. Then somehow, with work or something, I get busy and I quit. I usually quit slowly and I don't mean to quit, but I quit.  And every time I start up, I am a little older and a little more overweight. And it gets harder and harder to get back to exercise routine.

This week, I wrote a piece (Running-Nerdy) for the Nerdy Book Club blog . I compared my wanting to be part of this "runners' club" just as some of our students want to be part of the reader club.  As I was writing, I realized that I wasn't really taking my joining this club seriously.  I wasn't doing all I could or should to actually become a runner. To get past the phases of coming in and out of fitness... I also realized how many posts like this I've written. Being in and out of shape has definitely helped me understand kids who struggle in our classroom as I explained a few years ago in an article for Choice Literacy (Fitness Boot Camp Helps Me Understand Struggling Readers).

However, it is time to really get serious. Thus the blog.  I feel like I need to journal and track my progress for myself--to help me reflect and be a bit more successful. Blogging/writing/sharing has worked for me in all other areas of my life so I am thinking it will work here too.

I think teachers have a hard time having a balanced life. Maybe no more than other people, but it seems like there is always something to do--as a teacher, I am never caught up.  So, sometimes I feel guilty taking care of myself when I could be reading a book that might hook that one reader, or looking at work to figure out what a child needs next.  It is work that I love so it is always easy for me to put work before fitness.

I decided that if I want to become part of this "running club", I had to really jump in.  But it is interesting how few blogs/resources are easy to find for women like me--working moms over 40 trying to get started with running. There is Couch to 5K, etc. but the running club does not seem to be filled with too many women like me.  But I've also discovered these runners' habits are not so different from my habits as a reader. Runners set goals, have fun, track progress, and share with others.  I know for a person to become a reader, the most important thing to do is to give them time every day to read. I imagine it's the same for running. How can I not become a runner if I give myself time every day to exercise/run?

Over the past year, I have loved the Follow This Mother series in which I've learned stories of why women run. I've also appreciated blogs like PRIOR FAT GIRL and MY NEW ENDING--people who have made public their struggles for health, fitness and balance.

So, 2012 is the year for me to join the club. And hopefully this blog will help me do that.
As I don't have much time to commit to this and I don't want to write about fitness instead of actually get fit:-), I will be posting once a week on this blog, sharing my journey.

Here goes...