So, this past month, I tried to be more consistent with my fitness by joining the Spartan 30 Miles in 30 Days challenge. And what I found out was actually pretty interesting.
First of all, let me state that I was not successful in doing a mile every day for 30 days. So, in a black and white, binary world, I failed. Actually, I only missed 4 days in 30, which comes out to an 86%, or a solid B (I can’t help it, it’s the student in me). And you know what? I’m ok with that. I’m ok with a B coming out the gate after almost a year or more of doing nothing consistently.
The problem is that a lot of people take their fitness journey as an all-or-nothing, perfect-or-not good enough deal. It’s why people yo-yo or crash diet — they go crazy for a few months and achieve incredible results that they are unable to sustain because there are very few people on this earth that can eat extremely restricted diets voluntarily on purpose for a very long time. It’s all about finding something that you can do consistently, as a habit, when it comes to sustaining a successful weight loss goal. 
All in all, I actually think that I made a good start. Not only did I find it easy to do one mile where I normally would have convinced myself I had no time, I found myself thinking of ways to get my mile in that weren’t strictly in the gym. The easiest solution so far is parking on the other side of campus from my classes — free parking in Westwood AND walking a mile+ uphill? Yes please. Goal done, two miles down — better than nothing!
I also learned, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, that I actually look FORWARD to running. I didn’t (and really, still don’t) consider myself a good runner, and it’s true that the only way to get better at something is to do it more (well, kind of true. You know what I mean). I started taking foam rolling very seriously and learned that when I spent 10 minutes prior to running making sure my calves weren’t made out of steel, running was actually quite pleasant. I learned to love the interval — 5 minutes jogging, 5 minutes walking. I found myself making my rest periods shorter just because I felt like I could run more, and I usually did. I’ll never quite believe that I caught myself daydreaming of what route I should take for my run when I got home, because duh and/or hello, I am not a runner!
Except maybe now, I am.
So too long; didn’t read version of this post? I wasn’t 100% consistent but I improved my consistency like crazy and feel great about exercising more regularly now. I’m adding some group fitness classes and semi-private training because I know I can fit it in. But it’s a new month, so stay tuned for a new fitness keyword for February, just in time for the Shred.
