I'm trying something new

I have a confession to make. I'm not an early morning runner.

It's not that I'm not a morning person. I actually enjoy waking up early and watching the sunrise, coffee in hand. But I don't like to actually get out of my bed early. The best mornings are the three days a week when my husband Chris is off or goes into work a little later. He will bring my coffee to me in bed, so I never even have to put my feet on the cold floor or leave my fluffy pillows and blankets.

If I had my choice, I'd exercise between 10:00am and noon every day. But that isn't always possible, and it is almost never convenient. Many days, I end up skipping my run, or I take something else off of my agenda so that I can sweat for 45 minutes or so.

Three to four days a week, my husband leaves for work at 3:30am. On these days, it is impossible for me to get in an early morning workout. I have to wait and get my kids ready for school and out the door, or get a babysitter in the wee hours of the morning.

That still leaves most Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays to get up and out early. This is one of my goals for next year. I want to run or workout early (before 7:00am) at least once a week on a regular basis. This gives me tons of flexibility with my work schedule, which is often erratic.

I'm going to try to start practicing early and go out tomorrow. It's supposed to be chilly, which makes it that much harder to get out of my warm bed. But, I have my running clothes out and ready, my shoes untied and by the door. My schedule is jam-packed tomorrow, so I know that this will be my only opportunity to run. I'm visualizing myself doing it.

Most important, now I've stated my goal publicly. Every reader knows my plan and will be counting on me to stick with it. And if that isn't inspiring, I'm not sure what is.

In the beginning...

Here I go. After years of reading and enjoying the blogs of friends and family, and after 23 months of writing a professional blog, I'm stepping into the world of personal blogging.

Truthfully, I've been writing this in my head for years, it just took me until now to get the courage up to actually do it. Why, you ask? What's the big deal? I guess I worry that no one will read what I write. Or maybe I worry that people will read what I write. What if they don't like it? And do I really have anything important to say? What will I write about?

I titled my blog "Miles to Go." I'm a runner, so that meaning is obvious. I will always have miles to go in my running, my training, and my journey as an adult-onset athlete. I'm also the mom of two special-needs boys, both on the autism spectrum but vastly different from one another in their development, needs, and personalities. I will always have miles to go as a mom, and in dealing with the ever-changing demands of autism.

I hope to have miles to go in my life, in my marriage, and in my career. I look forward to those journeys and hope you will join me as I meander along this road of life, documenting my thoughts and observations along the way.

Cheers!