Once on the Sidelines, Now a Part of the Race

There was this summer when I was in high school, that my youth group went to Estes Park, Colorado.  It was absolutely beautiful, and I had never been anywhere like it.  I was so enamored by the beauty around us and never wanted to leave that magical place.  One of the days there the whole group went hiking.  I wish I know the details of the altitude and the exact trails that we walked, but I don't remember that stuff.  I just remember how hard it was and how everyone was having a good time but me.  I couldn't ever catch my breath and my whole body hurt, as I walked up and up and up.  There was one girl though that was concerned and checked on me every once in a while.  Crazy thing is, she would hike up to the next point, come down to check on me, and then race back to catch up to the group.  And did I mention she had asthma.  Yeah being held back by my weight was something I determined was never going to happen again!  I struggled the rest of the way through high school, and finally decided to get the weight off once and for all once I reached college.  I did pretty good, all but two times.  And this past year was one of those times.  But on this whole journey...even being bigger,  I never wanted my weight to stop me from doing anything.  

Last Thanksgiving we were out in Sacramento visiting some friends.  They told us they were running the Turkey Trot Thanksgiving Day and encouraged us to participate.  I was pretty excited because I had never been a part of something like that before.  We were more than willing to sign up!

Aside from loosing them for like an hour after the race amongst the 30,000 people who participated, I had a blast!  I caught the running bug.  Even though I didn't run the whole entire time, I knew this was something I wanted to do again.

I think my time was something like 37:34.  And I told myself, next time it was going to be better.

Fast forward to March.  My Dad was turning 50 and to celebrate we ran a 5k together.

I was several months into working out, and eating right, and I really wanted my time to be better than it was in November.  I pushed myself as hard as I could.

I had two goals that day.  Run the whole thing, and beat my previous time.  My Dad finished and came back to where I was in the race to finish with me.  I was so glad to see him at the point and needed him to help me finish.  I was in pain and as they snapped my picture, I just knew you were gonna see it all over my face.

I was pretty mortified when I saw these pics.  But I was proud of what I had accomplished, and that's what really mattered.  I ran the whole time, and my time was 33:27!

In June we joined my parents and some of their friends (who are now our friends) on a camping/biking trip.

We rode for 2 days along the Raccoon River Valley Trail in Iowa.  I found my new love riding bikes.

And it was during this trip that exercise became fun, and no longer seemed like work.

In two days I rode 94 miles.  I can't even explain to you how good I felt after that trip.  It really made me feel alive.  And I finally began to realize I was much stronger than I gave myself credit for and I could do anything I set my mind to and worked at. (You can read the full recap here.) 

That's when I signed up to run a 1/2 Marathon. 

I had the biggest pit in my stomach and felt like I was going to throw up, but I was determined to do it.  16 weeks.  That's what I had to focus on and take it day by day.  Being on the road all of the time could have been a hindrance if I looked at it that way, but I saw it as an opportunity to run in so many different cities.  (To see everywhere I ran, go here.)  My Dad also ran the half with me.

It was the best feeling being out there on the road.  My feet pounding the pavement step by step to the finish line.  And this time I destined I was gonna look good when they snapped my picture. 

My official time was 2:26:45.  I did it! (See the break down of the race here.)

So maybe you're sitting there at the point where I was several years ago, no longer wanting to be left behind, or maybe you're just starting out wondering how you're ever gonna make it, or maybe you're an athlete and you just need to find the inspiration to keep going...whatever it is get out there and do something. Live your life!  We were not made to just sit idly by.  Know that the sacrifices and the discipline is all worth it!  YOU CAN DO IT!!