When my dear friend Alison (whom I’ve known for well over two decades and affectionately refer to as Bug) needs an extra dose of motivation, she channels her inner Beatrix Kiddo. You know, Uma Thurman’s kick-butt character in the Kill Bill movies. I admit that as I get older, I find I have less and less of a stomach for violent movies, but I don’t think I could ever break up with my beloved Quentin Tarantino. So I’m taking a cue from my pal and calling on my own inner Beatrix.

Beatrix Kiddo, you're my hero.

On our recent travels, it became painfully aware that I am, how shall we say, woefully out of shape. I (mostly) eat well, and I’m somewhat flexible from the yoga, but when it comes to cardiovascular fitness, I pity my heart and lungs. And quite frankly, at 26 years old, that’s just sad. The good news is, all the hiking and biking we did, though it left me winded and with sore legs, reminded me that I actually enjoy working up a sweat outdoors. (Though I enjoy weight lifting and yoga inside, trying to power through cardio in a gym makes me miserable, so…I don’t.)

Halfway up Jirisan

I have spent so much time and energy in the past few years trying to figure out how to get healthy, how to get my body to work with me instead of against me. The phenomenal news is, I think I finally have figured it out. I know what fuels my body and what poisons it,* and I know just how important adequate sleep and regular yoga are to my well-being.

At the top of Jirisan. With a stone I can't read.

Then, on our vacation, I had what, to me, seemed like a radical thought: Now that my body works, I wonder what this puppy can do?! Could I do distance runs like Brigit and Jen? Could I finally tackle the pesky push-up goal? (For the record, my current push-up count brings me to a lifetime total of…zero. Yikes.) Could I bike a metric century? Could I do yoga every day for a hundred days a la Mel?

Wine in a can, handsome fiance, and the bikes we rode all over Gyeongju. I love the color of mine, but hated the seat.

The more I started thinking about the possibilities, the more excited I got. I reflected on what I know about myself and exercise, and started making a plan of attack. First: exercise for the sake of exercise or vanity=boring. Training=awesome. Second: I’m a competitive little bugger. (Please see any board game I have ever played for reference.) Third: research and metrics and knowledge get me pumped. Fourth: I’m not good at doing things half way.

All this led to the logical conclusion that I would 1) train for a 10k this fall, 2) train to bike a metric century before I leave Seoul at the end of August, and 3) train to do 25 push-ups in a row by September. If Mel (yogini and web genius) designs a 100 day yoga training, I’ll do that, too.

Clearly, the operative word here is training. I need goals. I need to know what I’ve accomplished so I can either stop contentedly or push on for more. If I’m training for something, I can’t miss a workout; it would screw up my entire training schedule, which would drive me nuts.

Loving the big sky at the top of the mountain

It’s also important to note that I’m not doing this in a vacuum. Michael’s training for the 10k with me, and I’m already loving running together. Friends are answering my endless questions about form and schedules. I even embraced my full inner dork/athlete and joined dailymile.com on the advice of the Holistic Health Junkie, and I’m mildly obsessed. By the way–if you’re on there, or you want to join and get started, go ahead and friend me so we can cheer each other on!

I know my goals are ambitious, and with the crazy summer schedule (13 hour days M-F, and another 9 or 10 hours on Sat, not counting prep work) coming up, I might fall short. But if nothing else, I think this training, coupled with what I know about giving my body the fuel it needs, will give me the stamina to get through the end of August, health intact. Stay tuned for details and updates, and goal revisions as I enter this latest phase of getting to know this body I’ve been given.

I leave you with this image of an absolutely glorious and enormous field of yellow flowers. I couldn't wait to go stand and revel in it.

*Nothing earth shattering here, folks. Good: plant-based protein, green smoothies, my magic enzyme powder, super foods. Poison: gluten, sugar, processed “foods”, animal products. This isn’t to say I never put the poison in, but it’s far less, and I understand the consequences.