TIA LEVINGS

I don’t want to run for 100 days. I don’t think I wanted to be happy for 100 days either though. Not really. I like a little anger and sadness once in awhile the same way sweet frosting requires a dash of salt. From the surface, being happy for 100 days sounds like a syrup glistened crust over an authentic life, right? All that happy-clappy sunshine masking over the realities of how things truly are? Only, that’s not how it went once I actually tried it.

It turns out that happiness is the inclusion of every emotion, the way light with shadows creates form. It also turns out that 100 day goals and projects are good for the way my brain works.

Today is an ideal Day 1 for something. I just turned 42 on Friday and am still savoring the party. I love my birthday. I’m grateful for the privilege of getting to be on the planet for 42 pretty great years.  I love the milestone of a birthday and the permission we get to celebrate our lives. My goal had been to climb trees by my birthday and I spent a much of May trying to hoist myself up the oak and magnolia branches in our yard.

Around the first of the month some autoimmune symptoms I live with resurged, laying me flat for a few weeks. I’d already stopped exercising to the point of exertion back when my dog started confinement for heartworm treatment in April. Here’s some uncomfortable math: bloating + loafing +wine and birthday cake = double digit weight gain within a month.

True, a lot of it is water. But I know how the story goes if I don’t intervene. I know plenty of women who hit their mid-40’s, got some hormone and autoimmune complications thrown into the stew pot, kept their focus on taking care of everyone else, and ended up borderline obese and to sore for even a short walk. If I don’t do anything, that will be me, guaranteed.

If I do something, that could still be me. But it also might not. There’s at least a window of a chance I can stay athletic, keep moving, keep some body definition and toning– I know plenty of women in their 50’s like that too.

So my go-to is a goal. #100runningdays. Here’s the run down:

• get up 100 days in a row, at some point in the day, and run/walk for at least 2 miles; try working up to 5
• take the dog when I’m home based
• finish with 100 crunches because I love them
• 22 pushups for veteran suicide awareness. Pray for them while I count
• 25 squats
• side stretches and yoga to cool down

I have two immediate obstacles. Here they are with my proposed solutions:

PROBLEM: I’m utterly bored with my neighborhood loop. I’ve been running past these suburban houses and calling it “training” for over 5 years and I’m sick of them.

SOLUTION: So I need to drive to some better paths but it can’t be far or I’ll quit. I know myself. Jacksonville friends who see this: please send me suggestions.

PROBLEM: I’ve gained so much that my running clothes are tight and constricting. There’s no budget for new ones and I resist buying “fat” running clothes that I’m hoping to shrink out of quickly anyway!

SOLUTION: I’m going to try to push through the embarrassing discomfort for a few weeks. If I’m not feeling some slack by the end of July AND if I’ve been consistent with my #100runningdays to that point, I’ll treat myself to new work out clothes.

If anyone wants to join me, I’ll be posting on Facebook, Instagram, and here occasionally, using the hashtag.

Getting started on Day of #100runningdays

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