Food & Body: The Motivational Power of New Shoes

Unlike most folks this time of year, I've been putting off going to the gym. This was a conscious decision, made before January even got here, mainly because I hate lines. I barely squeeze out enough time to get in a good workout as it is, without having to wait in line for a locker, for a treadmill, for an empty lane in the pool, for a shower... you get the picture. In January, all of these things have lines.

The trouble with putting off your quest to get back in shape and eliminate the evidence of eggnog and Christmas fudge from your derriere until February, when most New Year's Resolution-makers are losing their resolve ...is that it's February, and resolutions are losing their resolve. The year is already losing that New Year smell, and with it it's clean slate and all of the shiny new motivation it carried.

This is why it's a good thing I didn't wait to buy new gym shoes. Between a Kohl's Christmas gift card burning a hole in my wallet and a perfectly-timed super-sale on athletic shoes, I got myself a brand new pair of running shoes for Christmas (thanks, Mom!). Of course, with the $0.99 shipping option they took forever to get here, but here they are, all pristine and serious-looking and just begging for their first date with a treadmill. A recent trip to the thrift store also scored me several cute new (to me) workout outfits, and now suddenly I can't wait to haul my butt to the gym.

Of course, I wouldn't need any of that if I stuck with my preferred workout of last year, which was swimming. But I'm not about to strip down to my bathing suit in front of actual people until I've done a few weeks on the treadmill. Not really--at least, I like to think that I have more self-confidence than that, and that the real reason is, well, have you ever tried swimming laps after weeks and weeks of not working out at all? Two. That's the number of laps I can swim before I feel like I'm going to die. Wheezing while your face is in the water? Really not fun. And it's not even that big of a pool, y'all.

So my new serious running shoes and my cute workout clothes will be sticking to the treadmill, and the weights, and the floor for pilates for a few weeks before I get back in the pool. Hopefully by then the water aerobics folks will have dwindled down enough to make room for me.