Ever had a problem that you decided to face head on? It looks huge right? Weight loss, debt, savings, marital issues, car repairs…no matter what the problem the mountain seems massive. “Oh I’ll never get ___________ .” “How can I possibly ________!” We have all said it…we’ve all thought it.
My goal to run the Peachtree Road Race happened while I was just shy of 300lbs. About 7lbs away to be exact. “You can never run that race. You’re too big!” “You can barely climb the stairs let alone run a race.” (That last one was a valid point) What a mountain to climb! Not only was I aspiring to run the race, but who was to say I would actually make it? When I found out about the switch to the lottery system, I was even wearier. “You’ll never get picked.” March came, I registered, and I made it in. Whew…mission accomplished—mountain morphed into a hill, but now I have another mission to complete—another problem if you will—and it seemed like a huge mountain as well until I actually said something out loud.
When I first started thinking about losing weight, like seriously thought about it, I had over 87lbs to lose before I hit 199. Of course, I don’t want to stop there (175 is more like it) but I haven’t been under 200lbs for 13 years. Do you know what can happen in 13 years? That’s almost half of the time for someone to pay off their home; it’s a child’s entire scholastic career (K-12) before heading to college; it’s about half of the time the Oprah Show has been on air! For 13 years (for 2 of those years I was breeding—so we’ll subtract 2)—for 11 years I have been carrying about a lot of extra jiggley baggage.
One night I was putting the dishes in the dishwasher while having a conversation with the husband about fitness and what not. Without thinking I said, “I only have 62 more pounds to go before I get below 200lbs—I can do that hands down.” Immediately I stopped in my tracks and let what I said sink in. That 87 pound massive mountain I was staring at did not seem so frightening after all. Don’t get me wrong, 62lbs is a lot. My daughter weighs about 65lbs—so essentially I’m attempting to lose an 8 year old—but the fact that I can not be phased by a goal so big is amazing.
I went back to doing the dishes, smiling at myself. I took the step towards my mountain(s) and the closer I get—the smaller it seems. It has not been easy and I’m sure the rest of the journey won’t be a piece of cake (mmmmm…cake), but knowing that the big looming jagged rock ahead will eventually become a pebble is making it all worth while.
The Runner
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