Happy National Running Day 2012!
Who would have thought I would EVER have cared about National Running Day?!? When you live so many years of your life sedentary, National Running Day is NOT a holiday to be celebrated. It is a holiday to say, “Running?!? That’s for crazies!”
Well…I have officially become one of the “crazies.”
I can remember back to when I was in high school. My friend Heidi and I were out walking around her parent’s neighborhood and I wasn’t extremely obese, I think I probably weighed in the 180′s so I WAS overweight but not obese.
We had been on a nice long walk chatting and on our way back, a car full of boys yelled something out the window at us. I can’t remember WHAT they said. It doesn’t really matter. All I know is it was a negative comment and it was geared toward me (Heidi was much smaller than me so it was pretty obvious who they were jeering.) I can still remember the feeling I felt that day and to this day, it haunts me.
The pain of that memory has receded as time has gone by. It used to be more prominent when I was heavier. Instead of the boys in the car saying negative things to me, it was myself. ”Why are you running?!? Can’t you feel your fat flying all over the place? People are staring. You look ridiculous!” My negative self talk used to be out-of-control.
I had two choices. I could stop because I THOUGHT I looked ridiculous or I could keep moving. You know what I did?
I kept moving. I continued to walk/jog no matter what my head was telling me. No matter what negative thoughts were being said about myself to myself. I just kept moving.
Moving led to 5k’s.
Jen running in ItSuxToBeFat’s First 5k.
Moving led to 10k’s.
Before the Gobble Jog!
Moving led to feeling like a runner.
Brrr…an ice bath after a long run!
Moving led to running a half-marathon.
I am a half-marathoner!
Moving led to 25 pounds lost, then 50 and then a 100 pound weight loss!
Jacynta and Kyle…two of Weight Watchers finest!
JUST-KEEP-MOVING
In honor of this day, I am asking you to do SOMETHING active. You don’t need to run, you don’t need to hop, skip or jump. Just do SOMETHING. Take the dog for a walk, do some gardening, mow the lawn, get the mail, ANYTHING you don’t normally do to be active. Just put one foot in front of the other. You just might amaze yourself at what you can do!
Just Start
