The Finish Line Is Just The Start

Well I did it.  365 days of fitness blogs.  Something written for every day. Some workouts were extreme, like climbing a 14,000 foot peak in snow squalls.  Many others were firsts, like skiing with an Olympian for the first time when I skied with Billy Kidd in Steamboat Springs.  He is the first American man to ever medal in alpine skiing.  From logging miles on trails in Colorado to running through sprinklers in my childhood neighborhood of Greenville, South Carolina, it's been a year of intense workouts, exploring many incredible places, and finding a renewed love of yoga.  It's been a year of a few wipeouts and crashes on bikes and skis and some moments of facing my fear of heights and doing things like rock climbing.

It's been a year of a ton of moments when I just wanted to yell at the top of my lungs, "I am woman, hear me roar."  Sometimes, you've got to be your own cheerleader.  But I also leaned on my fitness coaches.  Yes, I call them coaches because a coach is a trainer, cheerleader, and motivator.  Erin, my Pilates and Kinesis coach at Pura Vida Club, has been with me every single step of the way in this challenge.  I so appreciated it when she told me how proud she was of me for following through with the year-long goal and never giving up.  I started training with Cristina, my intervals and strength training coach, in the last couple of months of this journey.  She is the one who can push me through an 11 mph sprint.  These two, along with my coaches Gregg and Sharon in San Antonio, are not just coaches, they are friends....and yes sometimes my therapists.

This blog started as something for just me.  Yet, it turned into something much greater.  I used it as a fitness journal that was started as a way to hold myself accountable for workouts.  A lot of folks use 40 as a goal to do something fitness related - loose weight, run a marathon.....guess I'm no different.  What I learned along the way is that it wasn't about me becoming the skinniest I've ever been.  Been there, done that, and never want to go through the amount of stress that got me to that point ever again.

What the year became was a year to push myself through some intense workouts to become stronger, faster, and fitter.  One of my favorite stores in Denver, Cry Baby Ranch, carries a t-shirt that says "Strong is the new skinny."  That became my motto for my Workout Warrior Year to 40.

Little did I know when I started the blog that thousands would read it, get inspired by it, and try the workouts and exercises.  I've appreciated the comments on posts.  They've really cheered me on.  I realized it wasn't just about me in this blog anymore.  I just became the vessel to share the workouts, exercises, and lessons learned along the way.  The response to the blog has been incredible.  So much so that I'm trying to figure out how to continue the blog.  It won't be every day - trust me, it's a lot of work and a huge commitment to log something every day.  But the workout video clips, well I'm thinking of continuing those in some fashion.  The blog has also lead to me being a feature writer for NFit, a new fitness magazine in San Antonio, Texas.  I write for magazines and publications on travel and weather, but this my first run as a fitness writer.  Fitting I guess, since fitness has been a huge part of my life from cheerleading in high school, to being a certified aerobics instructor and teaching in Knoxville, Tennessee, and San Antonio, Texas, to running marathons and doing distance bike rides, to my newest fitness passions of hiking mountains, Pilates, and yoga.

For me, the finish line of my 40th birthday is just the start.  Within the next month and a half, I'll be hiking to the highest point (and second highest on the contiguous US) in Colorado hiking Mt. Elbert the last weekend in July and then attempting to hike what is considered by many, the most difficult 14er in Colorado, and climbing Capitol Peak.  My expert mountaineering friends Chris Tomer and Jon Kedrowski talked me in to that one and yes, they'll be pulling me through the whole way.

The finish line is just the start.  I'm running into my 40s and looking forward to the incredible fitness adventures that I'll go on...and wonder what fitness challenge 50 is going to bring!