Last night, I got home from work; got permission from my wife to go buy an extra pair of running shoes, one for outdoors in the rain and snow, and one pair for when we hit the gym.  Luckily I caught a “But One get One for a Dollar Sale,” and got home a changed and went for an after dinner run.

My how much things change.  I was out there looking like a  Strong Safety or Linebacker of a football team, but running like a Defensive Linemen who got cut for showing up to camp out of shape.  My lungs we burning in 30 seconds, my body was aching in the first minute.  I had a choice to make, give up or keep going.

I was just out for a run around our apartment complex.  I used to run, I used to jog; now I trot, I trudge, I lumber, I rumble, bumble and stumble… but I kept going.  I jogged a lap, I walked a lap and I found I was feeling better because I stayed out there in the cold, my body was slowly adjusting. Run a lap, walk a lap, run two laps, walk a lap; you get the picture.

I hit the gym on a regular basis, and I circuit train at what I think is a pretty intense level.  I also hit the treadmill and the stationary bikes on a regular basis when I travel for work, but nothing and I mean nothing is like getting out doors and running, in the cold.

I made up my mind not to wait to New Years to get out and get back in shape for a couple of reasons:

1:  Why wait to change when you know you want to change?

2:  It will only get colder as we get deeper into the winter.

3:  I will only be more frustrated the longer I wait, and time is not waiting for me.

So I went for a run a few weeks ago and it opened my eyes to how much things have changed since my college days.  Yeah I hung around my college a good ten years, working there when I was not taking classes until I finally got me degree, and man was I in shape, by my own standards.  I am no where close to my college days, or ten years after college.  I used to work on my feet more; and I used to be out DJ’ing on the weekends, even more time on my feet, loading and unloading lots of speakers and lights.

Now, I am less stressed out, but I am hungry.  The mind is welling, the heart is willing, but the body is a little more stubborn.  Nothing is like getting out and running, jogging or walking in the cold, in the rain, in the wind.  So instead of waiting for the holidays to be over, I am challenging myself to change now.  Last week I hit the Treadmill on Thanksgiving, got out and ran in the wind the day after, and hit the gym pretty hard on Saturday and Sunday… Change now.  Monday and Tuesday came and I had too many excuses before and after work, Wednesday, it was time to make up my mind, eliminate the excuses or give into the them.  I could feel it slipping away, so instead I went out and did something about it.

Yeah, I got a long journey ahead, but I will take it one step at a time, one day at a time, one mile at a time.  The mind is willing, the heart is willing; the body is able, it just needs to be pushed a little.