I’ve had a little shift in perspective about time this week. I’ve spent years telling myself I don’t have time to exercise or that it’s too hard to squeeze into an already busy day, but then I started thinking about how much time these things actually take.
Fifteen or 20 minutes on the treadmill can somehow feel like a major commitment, and I can question whether I really have 40 minutes to walk the dogs or three minutes every hour to get away from my desk and move. Yet I’ve certainly found two hours to fall down the Reels rabbit hole watching laughing babies, people scaring their spouses and recipes I know damn well I’ll never make, and I’ve managed to binge several episodes of a show on Netflix without worrying too much about where I found the time.
When I look at it that way, is 15 minutes on the treadmill really asking too much out of the 24 hours I get every day? Is a 40-minute dog walk really that insurmountable? Are three-minute movement breaks during my workday really that difficult to fit in?
No. I have the time.
And becoming more aware of how little time some of these things actually require has changed the way I look at fitting them into my day.
It also helps that I made a commitment to come back here every Sunday and spill the tea on how I’m actually doing. I’ll admit, starting this week five miles behind had me wishing I hadn’t announced this whole 90-mile challenge publicly. 
Because if I hadn’t told all of you, nobody would know if I quietly decided 79 miles sounded like a perfectly respectable number.
But I did put it out there.
One night I was sitting at 2.3 miles for the day, and I could have called it good, but I got my ass off the couch and went out to finish the last .7 mile.
And that’s how a walk I really didn’t feel like taking became one of my favorite moments of the week.
I left my phone behind and just walked and talked to God. I stopped at one of the memorial swings along the lakefront, watched the sunset, and walked home with a few tears running down my cheeks.
I went out because I needed .7 mile, but it turns out I needed the moment too.
Strength for Life
My hourly movement alarms didn’t go quite as well this week, but I still managed to hit about 75% of them.
I’m also starting to notice a difference in something besides the number of miles. My two dog walks used to take me about 50 minutes, and lately I’ve been getting the actual walking part done in around 37 without deliberately trying to walk faster. My pace has just picked up.
Now, this does not include the approximately 20-minute pre-walk production required to get everybody into harnesses and collars, load the stroller, put on my shoes, locate Josey’s ball and get the entire traveling circus out the door.
There has been no measurable improvement in that department.
Between all the walking and the squats, heel raises, counter planks and other little strength movements I’ve been doing, I can tell I’m using muscles that haven’t been getting enough attention. None of it is particularly strenuous; I’m just moving more and adding little bits of strength work throughout my day.
And I’m feeling it—mostly in my glutes.
So after two weeks of Earned Miles, Earned Moments, I can officially report that this whole getting-healthier thing has become a literal pain in the ass.
The Scoreboard
Miles this week: 25.15 
September total: 35.15 / 90
Miles remaining: 54.85
Average this week: 3.59 miles a day
Behind pace: .85 mile
Looking Ahead…
Last week I was five miles behind, and this week I got some extra miles in on three days, so now I’m only .85 mile behind.
Much better.
I’m going to keep doing what I’ve been doing, and two weeks in, I’m pretty happy with where I’m at.
More than anything, I’m realizing that those 15 or 20 minutes I’ve been so reluctant to give up really aren’t asking that much of my day, and they give me something back. This week, it was a little faster pace, some quiet moments with God, and some beautiful river sunrises with my dogs (and a river bunny 
).
Anyone else discovering that something you’ve been telling yourself you don’t have time for not only takes less time than you thought, but gives you something back too?
Like and follow my page if you want to come along as I keep figuring out what happens when I make a little more time for the life I want to be living.
Anyway—off we go 
© 2026 Erica Shoemaker. All rights reserved.
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