Every Trip Starts with a Dream

Do you go on vacations? Sure you do! How does the process generally work?

For me, it works kind of like this: If I want to go somewhere sunny, I say, "Hmm, I think I'd like to go to Atlantis." I spend days daydreaming about it, creating Pinterest boards about it. I imagine myself playing in the surf or napping on the sand.

Eventually, I'm ready to actually start planning the trip. I work on saving money, making reservations and pet-sitting arrangements, and creating a travel and vacation itinerary.

Once all the hard work is done, and once I've reached my destination, I close my eyes, wiggle my toes in the sand, and enjoy the sun on my face. I revel in the warm splash of salty ocean spray, and the cooling, brief, beach rains. I live the original dream.

Our fitness journey is the same. The middle planning step is the healthy eating and the exercise plan. The part at the end is when we achieve our goals and reach our destination. But that part at the beginning - the daydreaming, the destination you want to travel to - is what sets us on the journey in the first place.

The 12-Week Shape-Up! goals are fitness and health goals we to achieve during the challenge, but we should also share our real goals. We're almost halfway through the challenge, and the second half of the program, starting next Monday, is a chance to up the intensity, or get back on track. The best way to do that is to take a few minutes this week to reflect on why you wanted to do the 12WSU! in the first place.

So what are your fitness destinations? Where do you dream of being in a month, a year, five years with your health?

Here are my goals, the destinations I've daydreamed about:

• Ride roller coasters again.
• Ride horses again.
• Fly without being uncomfortable.
• Bike the entirety of the Great Miami River Trail.
• Hike Mt. LeConte and spend the night at LeConte Lodge.
• Wear single-digit clothing sizes.
• Finish an Olympic-length triathlon.
• Not have plantar fasciitis pain any more.
• Weigh less than I did in 6th grade.
• Do the Mammoth Cave Wild Cave Tour.
• Complete a Spartan Beast race.
• Complete a century ride.

And I'll add to this as I think of things, but these are the destinations I've dreamed about for a long time. Now it's time to get there!