Stepping Outside the Comfort Zone

So a new year and a new resolution to be present here more often! I love this space and this community, but unfortunately, I let the day fly by and don’t visit often enough.

I find it hard to find things to write about when I’m not specifically training for something myself, and despite running a PB Marathon, a PB Half Marathon and starting to coach for TNT Halifax in 2011 (whew! It’s been a physically fitness kind of year!), the last few months of 2011 left me feeling like I was floundering.

I shipped the kids off to school today, went to the gym and then the grocery store where I bought a cart full of healthy and delicious food (cliche, much?).

As I lifted weights at the gym for the first time in a long time, I kind of felt self conscious. Mostly about the narrow-arm push-ups I ended up having to do on my knees and the fact that I think I may have peed myself a little while I was jumping rope.

Running is my thing. I do it, I love it, I will continue to do it. Eventually I’ll buckle down and train for another marathon and eventually I’ll buckle down and train my ass off for a new half PB. It’s not a question of me running, I won’t stop. It keeps me sane, it keeps me feeling good about myself, it keeps my soul thankful. Weight training is a different story. I don’t overly care for it, I always feel like I’m doing it wrong and to be honest, I’d rather be running. Or Biking. Or, well, you get the idea.

So I’ve started this new weight training program that’s 12 weeks. And after I left the gym today, trembling arms and all, I realized that it’s probably good for me to step outside of my comfort zone like this.

Looking back at pictures from the last year, I realized that my body changed quite a bit. I leaned out and gained some more muscle mass. It can be really hard to see progress when it’s veeeerrrryyy slow and steady, but twelve months later, the pictures don’t lie. Since I won’t be marathon training this year winter**, I’m looking forward to something equally challenging.

What about you? Tell me about your New Years Resolutions! And is your gym as crazy busy as mine?!

(I’m still kind of toying with the idea of PEI Marathon 2012.)
(But I have commitment issues.)