100 Steps to...

Happy New Year Everyone!

Welcome to my fitness blog, 100 Steps. I decided that I wanted to begin 2013 with a goal that made me focus on, well, me. I am a recent graduate from the wildly wonderful University of Puget Sound and have recently left the Pacific Northwest to settle down in Chicago, my hometown. 2012 brought a lot of change into my life, some good, some bad, but mostly just INTENSE. I wrote a thesis about ultramarathon running, graduated college, spent the summer backpacking and WWOOFing through Europe, moved into a groovy pad in Lakeview, and took on a full time office job; whew. Sometimes, I felt like Gumby girl being pulled in a million different directions and it was STRESSFUL. 2013 is bringing in an exciting wave of crazy and this time I'm prepared. Starting January 7, I will officially be a full time employee during the day and a student at night- wish me luck! With a schedule like that, it's going to be way too easy to stop taking care of myself and to start losing my marbles. Life can sometimes feel like it's moving at warp speed and that makes me feel out of control. I've found, as so many others have, that fitness shuts up my negative side and helps me to deal with the everyday trials of life. I currently attend 4 yoga classes a work and try to jog once or twice a week too. However, too often, when I'm tiiiiired or it's colddd out, I'll let my workout fall to the wayside and my mood definitely pays for it later. I hope that by keeping a blog I'll be able to hold myself accountable during the next 100 days. Yes, I'm finally getting to the point. My goal is to exercise for 100 days ( January 2- April 11). If you were wondering where I got the idea...http://365daysofsweat.wordpress.com/ . Because my days will be busier than ever, I think it's important to make special time for myself every day; even if that special time is at 5:00AM. Of course, I'm not going to hate the physical changes that my body may go through ( bye bye beer belly?!), but this goal focuses much more on my mental, emotional, and spirtual state and isn't really about weight loss. However, just for fun, here's a before pic:

Hmmm...now that I've posted that, maybe I don't want my friends, let alone strangers, reading this...JUST KIDDING! Got to get motivated somehow! This wacky dream of mine won't be easy, especially with the dark,cold Windy City winter rolling in, but I know how good I'm going to feel on April 11. 

So thanks for stopping by and maybe I'll run into you at Corepower sometime :)

Peace, Love, Sweat xoxo SR