I'm Going to Pump *Clap* You Up!

No, I'm not heading to the gym with Hans and Franz, I'm pumping up my bike tires. And you can too!

Every year as summer comes around, I think about the delicious Christmas ham and that bird we stuffed and gorged ourselves on in November. I think about the cold-weather climate I live in and how animals store up fat for their long winter hibernation. I also think about how I used to be a runner, and about 40 pounds lighter. To be fair, that was when I left high school - college happened (we all know how that goes), I've gotten married and started raising two kids, and about 15 years have gone by. Never-the-less, every summer I long to get back to fighting shape, but every year, something stands in my way.

• Left-over Easter candy sits in the cupboard
• Rotten weather sours my appetite for outdoor exercise
• Unaccommodating work schedules mix with child-care needs
• Gym memberships are expensive (then you add in child-care costs)
• I'm 30-something and my knees are already starting to go
• That third S'more and Porter at the weekend campfire look really good

Whatever it may be though, I struggle to get out and get healthy. Not this year.

This year I have a bike. And this year I am riding it. To this point, I have been riding for the last three weeks, about four days a week, and averaging about 5 miles a day. In fact, I'm feeling pretty good about it. To make things even better, I got a challenge. Publicly called out to put in 360 miles by the end of the year.

Seeing as I had already started riding, I thought: "What better way to stay committed than by bragging about how far I ride online?!" That's what the internet is for anyway, right? That and trolling... It doesn't take much to get out and work out if you're properly motivated. And right now, I'm motivated. The folks over at Dads Round Table got it started, and I'm committed to finishing it.

360 miles sounds like a lot, and if I trail off come winter, it might not happen.

But it only takes three months for something to become a habit.
That's a fact.
Don't ask me how I know.

Fine, I read it on the internet, but regardless... three months gets me into September, and the weather is still nice in September. As the weather does turn into fall and then winter, I'll be into the rhythm of going out every day, and if I can't ride the bike, I'll be up for a jog around the neighborhood.

Until the point I can't ride due to snow and ice, I'll just have to push myself to get ahead of the curve on mileage. You know, average 25 miles a week instead of 13. Ride five days instead of four. Skip that third s'more... but not the porter. I like my porters, leave them out of this.

Are you motivated? If not, why? What would it take for you to get out and get started? Why not join me in the DadsRT360 challenge?