"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start." ~ John "The Penguin" Bingham.
I just love that quote! When I was in school growing up, I dreaded the timed mile in gym class. To be honest with you I hated gym class period! I never felt comfortable "trying" to be an athlete. I actually got a D in gym class one year when I was in high school because I missed too many classes! I can't believe I just admitted that over the world wide web...
Then came college....and became part of the freshman 15 club....but instead gaining 15lbs, I gained 30. I was miserable...I started going to the gym to try and get the weight off. I lifted weights, did hours and hours cardio exercise and thousands of crunches. Nothing was happening..an no inches were coming off.
Then I came up with this brilliant idea to take my workouts outside and see if I could run. I stuck with it for a couple of weeks and suddenly started to see the weight come off. I started getting hooked. I was running every day. There was a hill on my college campus that was supposedly the highest point in the county and I was determined to conquer it before I graduated....I tried for weeks and could not do it. Finally a few weeks before graduation I conquered it!!! And the rest is history! I have been running ever since. I have a couple of 5K's, 10K's, half marathons and full marathons under my belt now!
So what my point in telling you all of this? Well a couple of things.
- We all start at the same place....at the beginning
- It takes determination and motivation to achieve what you may think is impossible
- You can achieve much more than you think you can
Now, I'm not saying that if you go out and start running you will lose weight. There was more involved when it came to my weight loss. What I am saying is I found something that I enjoyed, stuck with it, created goals for myself and got bigger awards than I could ever imagine. I got to know what the feeling of accomplishment was like!
I decided to create this blog to show people what I have learned and what has worked for me in hopes that it will help someone else. But I need your help! Tell me what your biggest issues are and I will tell you what has worked and what has not worked for me. Let me be your virtual running coach!
Best wishes to all and Happy Running!
Michelle
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3 comments:
Hey, Michelle! I just read your announcement on Twitter (IronMountaineer) about your new blog.
I think if the rest of your posts are like your first one, you're gonna have yourself a great blog and some pretty inspired people!
Last year, I couldn't run a quarter mile without wanting to die. Now, I've completed 2 Sprint triathlons and my longest run in training has been 5 miles.
I hated gym class, too, and I actually think I got an F one year. Hated anything athletic and now I'm training for a Half-Ironman.
For some reason, something I used to hate has become something I love. Life is so ironic.
I'll add your blog to my Favorites. I look forward to reading more. Have an awesome day, Michelle!
- Lora
You got a D in gym? Wow! Couldn't tell it now though. Nice start to your blog. Remember to talk about stretching like we did at Success in Lakeland!
You go girl!!! I could never get into running. I was pretty well convinced I didn't have the build for it... You never know. I think you actually have to try to get a "D" in gym.
Keep it up!
Dawn
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