Step One

“If you want to become the best runner you can be, start now. Don’t spend the rest of your life wondering if you can do it.” ~Priscilla Welch, former Masters Marathon World Record Holder

What I need here is a goal. Yes I’ve got a goal to lose weight. Who doesn’t? But I need something bigger to aim for, but not quite as big as hiking to the base camp of Mt. Everest. I need a smaller goal, something that’s still a stretch, but that’s doable. So, I’ve done it. I’ve signed up for a half marathon at the end of October.

It’s the perfect goal. I know I can do it because I’ve done it before. Granted my two half marathons were 8 and 22 years ago respectively, but I know what to expect, so I know I can do this.

So, right now I can run approximately three miles without stopping. But I’ve signed up anyway. I’ve made the commitment so it will be harder to back out. I now have thirteen weeks to get myself together and there’s no time like the present to get started.

If you happen to be in Healdsburg, CA on October 31st, look out for me. I’ll be the one with the “What the hell was I thinking?” look on my face.

What is Fabulous?

Fab-u-lous adj resembling a fable: of an incredible, astonishing or exaggerated nature WONDERFUL, MARVELOUS

So what is it going to take to be fabulous by 40? What is fabulous? I guess it’s different for everyone, but for me it has nothing to do with Botox, or a little nip and tuck, or a complete makeover. All that’s fine, but it’s superficial stuff and it means nothing if you still feel miserable, old, and crummy on the inside. For me, being fabulous means being healthy (not just thin, but healthy), being strong physically and mentally, having a clear direction in life and pointing firmly and determinedly in that direction.

I think I’m pretty healthy, no major ailments, but I am overweight by about 20 pounds and I know that’s taking a toll on my body. So that’s going to have to go. I think I’m mentally pulled together. I deal with life’s issues pretty well and take the rough with the smooth without having frequent meltdowns. My physical strength could do with a boost, so we’ll work on that too. As for my direction, I have one. I want to be a writer of books, fiction and non-fiction. There, I’ve said it. So, one of my big obstacles will be focus. I need to keep my eye on the ball and not run off in another direction every time something new and shiny comes up. This will be the hardest thing, because I love new ideas, I have lots, and let’s face it, the new shiny ideas are much more fun that the old ones we’ve been slogging away at for eons.

So, it’s time to get serious—about my work, my health, and my fitness--but not so serious that I lose my sense of humor! (Phew! This aging business is a lot of work. Better than the alternative, though, I suppose.)

A Subtle Hint

You know it’s time to get yourself into shape when someone (who is not a stranger) asks you if you’re pregnant.

Yeah, I know.

So, let’s not even get into good manners or decorum here. I really don’t want to get started on why on Earth anyone in their right mind would think it’s okay to ask someone this very personal question without first surreptitiously pre-verifying with someone else in the know. Never mind that this particular person knows a little of my history (for more information see my former blog www.AdoptingAdela.blogspot.com). No, there’s definitely no need to get into all that.

The fact is that I am sufficiently out of shape that someone assumed I couldn’t possibly be that fat and therefore must be pregnant. I wasn’t especially looking for additional fuel for my Fab by 40 fire, but if I was, this definitely would be it!

In the Beginning I was 39

The best years of a woman's life - the ten years between 39 and 40 ~ Anon

It all started when an old school friend mentioned her plans to fly from our hometown in England to celebrate her 40th birthday in Las Vegas. Her birthday is next April, just a few days before mine, and Vegas is a short hop from my home, so I said I’d meet her there for a celebratory cocktail. But it got me thinking about how I want to celebrate my own birthday. I really don’t want spend it getting plastered on cheap cocktails in a dingy casino. It’s something about that whole “Life begins at 40” thing that makes me want to do something, accomplish something, be able to tell people I did something amazing.

But what? I compiled a list of all the things I want to do-- see the pyramids at Giza, gaze at the Taj Mahal, etc. They’re good ideas, but I want a goal, something to aim for, something I’d be proud to tell people I’ve accomplished.

The thing I really want to do most of all is to trek to the Base Camp of Mount Everest. I can imagine scrambling out of my tent on my birthday morning to the sight of the mountain glistening in the distance. The trouble is, I don’t want my 40th birthday to be my last, nor do I want my 40th birthday to be my husband’s last. The truth of the matter is that neither of us is in good enough physical shape to take on a challenge like that.

It’s a sobering thought. I ought to be fit enough to make that climb, but I’m not, and there’s no good reason I shouldn’t be. I’m healthy and have no injuries or conditions, I’m just a little too heavy, a little too lazy, a little too inconsistent with exercising.

So, it’s time to take stock of my life. I’ve got 9 months to pull myself together and get in shape. Maybe I won’t get to see Everest this birthday, but I want to do something I can be proud to tell people I did in celebration of turning 40.