I don’t have much “free time” these days. For those of you who may not know, I have a 3 month old who demands I hold them all day. Since I can’t sit down to read a book, I’ve been spending my “commute” driving to my parents’ house or doctors’ appointments re-reading “The 12 Week Year.”

The 12 Week Year

A traditional “year” of 52 weeks, or 12 months, is too long. Twelve weeks, on the other hand, is short enough to feel like continuously moving towards a goal for that period is possible, but at the same time, long enough to actually accomplish something. No need to wait for January 1st to arrive. This is the premise of “the 12 week year” (I highly recommend you read the book if you’re interested in getting something done in 3 months).

I wondered what I could try to accomplish in 12 weeks. Could be learning something, making something, doing something… Could be baby related, but I already devote most of my waking hours thinking about and interacting with the baby. What’s something “for me,” but also benefits the family as a whole?

The obvious answer was my health. There are so many things I want to do and accomplish, but without energy and physical health, doing anything is difficult. I want to be present and available to the baby and be emotionally and physically “there” for their milestones. I need to be healthy enough to have energy to do that.

“Health” and I have a fairly turbulent relationship. In 2 weeks, I’ll celebrate the 12th anniversary of my brain surgery to remove vascular tumors (Arteriovenous Malformation) from my brain. February will mark my 2nd anniversary of getting into remission from Rheumatoid Arthritis. All throughout my life, I’ve battled with chronic fatigue and myriads of other issues. I’ve also had self-image issues, which was agitated by giving birth (oh boy).

12 Week Exercise Plan

For a lack of better plan, I decided to make my 12 week goal: Run 3 miles in a row from zero. To do that, I will walk, do planks, ride stationary bike, and run.

• Week 1: 0.25mi run x 2 / Stationary bike x 3 | Blog Post
• Week 2: 0.5mi run x 2 / Stationary bike x 3 | Blog Post
• Week 3: 0.5mi run / 0.75mi run x 2 / Stationary bike x 3 | Blog Post
• Week 4: 0.75mi run / 1mi run x 2 / Stationary bike x 3 | Blog Post
• Week 5: 1mi run / 1.25mi run x 2 / Stationary bike x 3 | Blog Post
• Week 6: 1.25mi run / 1.5mi run x 2 / Stationary bike x 3 | Blog Post
• Week 7: 1.5mi run / 1.75mi run x 2 / Stationary bike x 3 | Blog Post
• Week 8: 1.75mi run / 2mi run x 2 / Stationary bike x 3 | Blog Post
• Week 9: 2mi run / 2.25mi run x 2 / Stationary bike x 3 | Blog Post
• Week 10: 2.25mi run / 2.5mi run x 2 / Stationary bike x 3 | Blog Post
• Week 11: 2.5mi run / 2.75mi run x 2 / Stationary bike x 3 | Blog Post
• Week 12: 2.75mi run / 3mi run x 2 / Stationary bike x 3 | Blog Post

Everyday: plank, walk (the baby requires multiple walks a day)

I think for the most part, I will try to chunk them all in the morning, when I have the most motivation and the least number of distractions. And I began the challenge on 11/21/2022 (no need to wait for New Year!).

It’s pretty cold, but I figure a few months from now, I’ll have wished I’d started today… So here we go!

12 weeks, new me? ?

Challenge Completion

I completed this challenge on 2/13/2023! In total, I ran 83.4 miles, walked 262 miles, and pedaled my stationary bike for 11 hours and 27 minutes over the course of 12 weeks!

Monthly Stats

November Stats

December Stats

January Stats