Well, I did it! Back on Sunday, April 11, I ran the Big D (and I DO mean Dallas) Marathon. All it took was a little over 5 hours, a slight conversion experience along the road, and at least two pints of nipple blood.
A little background (that I've probably shared with you before). When I first started Weight Watchers--back in December of 2008--I weighed in at just under 400 pounds. I was, as they say in the medical profession, "very, VERY fat". Weight Watchers is the best of the best as far as weight loss plans go in many ways but among the top is the fact that it is possible for a very large person to lose significant amounts of weight simply by following the eating plan. That being said, once you taste a bit of what Weight Watchers has to offer, it is impossible for the serious member to ignore all other aspects of the lifestyle--a key component of which is "moving more".
After losing quite a bit of weight, I decided that it was time to do just that. At the time Jacqui and I were babysitting a treadmill for some good friends. It was time to dust that bad boy off, ignore it's 275 pound weight limit, and give it a try. At a zero incline, I commenced to walk for 2 minutes at a 2.5 mph pace. I did not set out to walk for 2 minutes--my goal was to walk for 30--but it was near the two minute mark when it felt that I had shattered both knee caps, collapsed a lung, and began having palpitations. I honestly thought I was dying and was so out of breath after such a short workout that I couldn't even call Jacqui into the room for help.
That was a little more than a year ago. Three weeks ago, I ran a friggin' marathon!
The takeaway? Decide that you want to do something extraordinary, start where you are, push yourself a little further each and every day, and achieve that goal. After all, the only thing between you and that goal is you--you settling for the ordinary...you occaisionally getting motivated to change your life but growing discouraged and giving up the moment that you realize that you're not already where you were hoping to be the instant that you decided that you wanted to change your life...you refusing to push yourself because the familiar is WAY more comfortable (but is it really?!!??!?).
Go ahead and scroll back to the top of this post--that guy...the one in the first picture...should not have been crossing a marathon finishing line in April 2010. That guy should have been dead by now or, at the very least, in a wheel chair/stroke rehab center.
Oftentimes, people will say to me, "I wish I had your motivation." In my pride I could gloat over such comments. But I can't...I can't because I have a memory. And that memory reminds me that at one point I was the least motivated creature on the planet. One does not balloon up to 393.2 pounds as a result of being motivated...the only way to get there is down the path of directionless self-loathing. In other words, if anyone lacked motivation, it was me...
If you're one who covets my motivation, you'll never reach your goals. You will, however, be better off tomorrow than you are today if you'll do the long hard work of reaching down deep inside yourself, finding whatever spark of your own motivation that remains, and fan it into flame one moment...one action...one decision at a time.
This post makes me want to be an achiever even more. I love you, brother!
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