Why did I start this whole weightloss and going to the gym thing? I was tired of always being the biggest of my friends. I have always been chubby and my friends have always been smaller than me. My grammar school friends - tiny, my best friend in high school was a size zero for crap sake. I know we shouldnt compare ourselves to others, but as an American female, that is what we do. I dont like the fact that my nieces and nephews have never seen a healthy weight aunt. I have always been the fat aunt who can now finally ride amusement park rides. I have never been an athlete, nor will I ever be one. I still cant catch a ball or frizbee and the idea of anything flying at my face freaks me out. My instinct is to put my hands in front of my face and duck,not stand there with open arms and say,throw it again. I also cant hit anything, whether it be with a bat, club, racket, etc. You want me to be able to perfectly time a swing with an object in my hand so that what you are throwing or hitting in my direction doesnt smack me in the face? Not gonna happen. The idea of putting anything on my feet that will make me move more quickly on ice or snow just brings to mind pictures of horrific falls where at least one of my bones get broken. Again, not gonna happen. Why am I like this? In school we are made to take P.E. I cant tell you the number of times I broke or sprained something because I was made to participate in sports. I question myself every day as to why I have now ( at 49 ) decided to start exercising and participating in sports. I have finally started to eating better and walking. The walking part started as a simple dare. I had been going to the health club for a little while and my dear sweet Daniel Hamilton asked me if I could walk a 5k. I asked him what that was and when he told me it was 3.1 miles, i hesitated. That was long enough for him to bet me that I couldnt do it. He knew how I hated being told I cant do something. I went to the health club that day and came almost 1 1/2 hours later and proudly told him I had done it. That set me in motion. I soon started working with my first trainer Kyle ( may he rest in peace ), and he soon had me confident enough to start doing 5k races on a regular basis. I was getting stronger and less clumsy. Then there was the freak accident that messed up my knee pretty bad, but I continued working with Kyle on my upper body until i could walk again without my brace and I was soon back doing 5ks. So far the best moments from these has come when my nieces and nephews have come with me. My oldest nephew Austin Haak was with me for my first 5k race and by the third year of that race I had all his siblings and his mom with me. I was asked last year by a friend, Jacki Carugati McHale, after watching her and her husband do the Warrior Dash, if this year Daniel Hamilton and I wanted to do the race too. I just smiled and shook my head. I have been seriously thinking about it, and when I casually mentioned it to someone, they looked at me like I was crazy and told me I could never do that. If we have learned anything from this story, it is DONT tell me I CANT do something. I immediately started to go back to the health club and signed a yearlong contract with a new trainer for twice a week sessions to get my in good enough shape so that I can complete the Warrior Dash. The Warrior Dash for those of you who dont know what it is; is a 5k filled with obstacles, mud, water, and fire. Danny and I will be participating this year on Fathers Day June 15th at 12:45pm ( our scheduled time, we may try to get into an earlier wave) at Dollingers Farm, right by our house. I made a promise to myself that my nieces and nephews will soon see a healthier aunt. I plan on being around to see them all get married and have kids. So thank you to all of you for your continued support in my craziness, and for telling me that I inspire you, when it is my friends and family that inspire me and encourage me to be a better me.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 17:46:33 +0000
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