Motivation

I’ve been maybe kinda sorta thinking about getting back into real shape.

I don’t just mean slimming back down so that all of my favorite clothes fit comfortably again.  Truth be told, with only about a month of the fast food ban & shortened commute, I’m pretty much there.

No, I’m thinking abs.  I’m thinking arm muscles.  I’m thinking running actual distances.  Even more importantly, I’m thinking a lifestyle structured around fitness.

I’ve never really thought much about structuring my life around being fit.  I walked home from school for most of high school, which helped.  I walked all over campus at Notre Dame, and played a few sports (soccer, Quidditch, frisbee, whatever).

See? Fitness!

I ran regularly the summer after I graduated, but there were all kinds of extenuating circumstances.  Pittsburgh saw walking as my main form of transportation, and probably the most health-conscious eating in which I have ever participated.

Then, I moved to Milwaukee, got a job where I sat on my butt after an hour commute, and started relying on fast food & mac ‘n’ cheese.  It didn’t take long for there to be a problem.

So, let’s look back on Summer 2010 and examine those extenuating circumstances, shall we?

I wasn’t necessarily intentional about the fitness, but I was motivated.  Oh, how I was motivated.

See? Motivated!

Yes, in June 2010, I ran the Warrior Dash 5K/obstacle course thing.  I was challenged by a cousin who was 14 at the time.  I in turn challenged the guy I had a crush on.  We started training together.  I didn’t want to look like a loser at the Dash, so I was motivated.  Even after the Dash, I still got to keep running every other morning with the guy who became my boyfriend.  I had a whole carrot/stick system going that whole summer!

I should also point out that it was the last summer where I lived at my parents’ place and didn’t have a job.  I had the time to run three miles every morning.  And while my boyfriend will still agree to go running with me pretty much any time I ask, the novelty has worn off, and he’ll hang out with me even if we don’t go running.

So where’s my motivation now?

I’m struggling.  I’m trying to find something inside myself.  I feel healthier and more content when I’m in shape.  I look better, physically.  If I get down to the weight I want to be, I get a dress from Mod Cloth.  And then there’s this:

Cari Donaldson, Motivator Extraordinaire & the Virtual 5K

All the cool kids are gonna be doing it.

So, on September 29, I will run 5K… in under half an hour.  It’s a tight goal, based on where I am now, but I can do it.  And then I will keep going.  I will keep running and lifting and stretching… and who knows?  Maybe next spring I’ll be onto the Holy Half?  My boyfriend is talking about the Pittsburgh marathon.  I don’t know about such things myself.  My friend Laura runs marathons, and I do not begin to have her focus and discipline.

But maybe all I need is a little motivation.

Where should I look to motivate my running regimen?