Wednesday, June 25, 2008

My outlook at the gym



Today I had a little 'a-ha' moment at the gym.
Determined to push myself I registered for a 5k last week, and it is almost here. I have never been a runner. I never wanted to be a runner, but my little sister Krisi just registered for a half marathon and I figured it was time to be inspired.

In this photo I am with my older sister (and childhood room mate) Lynnae, who has lost over 100 pounds by faithfully following Weight Watchers and doing Jazzercise and...... yes- running. Today at the gym I hopped on the treadmill for a 'short' run, to push my speed a little. I ran a mile faster than I ever had, and kept going. I felt fine. I felt great, actually. Next to me I noticed a woman who ran a bit, then walked, ran, then walked. I have seen her earlier this week doing the same thing. I realized- that was me a month ago. Now I can run 3 miles, and although I am tired, I can do it.

The great thing about running is no matter where you are you see people who are not as good as you, and people who are so much better- there is always room to grow, but improvement happens quickly. As I left the gym I saw a mom pull up, unloading her 3 kids from the mini-van to go in for her morning workout. I felt inspired by her, knowing how hard it is to take care of yourself with little ones around. I felt inspired by the woman running next to me, pushing herself to run, and by my sisters and people around me.
I am going to workout with a new attitude. Gratitude and awe.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for mentioning me in your sweet post.I have fallen behind on my blog and your writing inspires me.
I like what you say about looking around at others for inspiration. I was talking with Jon about motivation this morning and I realize how important it is for me to actively motivate myself.
The topic- I was at the DMV with my daughter yesterday, and for months I've wanted to get a new liscence since losing weight and now I actually weigh a lot less than stated on my liscence. A woman had lost her liscence and it cost her almost $100 to replace it. There went my dream of a new liscence before the expiration date. But when I told Jon how I had wanted to do it he said it was just vanity. I said, "At $100 it is vanity, but at $25 it was just motivation.
So we got into a discussion about motivation and how important it is. He said it's just someone trying to make you do something you don't want to do...which may be the case in a work environment, but for me it is motivation's role to persuade you to do something you WANT to do, but is hard or a sacrifice. So I motivate myself and expect motivation from someone like a weight watchers leader or an aerobics instructor or trainer. But like you I look for motivation and inspiration all around me.
You go girl!

Cathy said...

I LOVE IT! You're blog facelift is so cute. And wow, you guys look good in that pic. I love that Krisi is running a half marathon. I'm so impressed. Aaaw, tell her I said hi. Shoot, tell the rest of the fam too. I miss you guys. Hope you're having fun out there. Summer is always fun :) We'll be out there in August some time for a wedding. I'd love to see you!! I'll let you know when.

Tiffany Fairbanks said...

You rock girlie!! I admire runners so much...I hate it! I have tried and will try again but in the meantime...I just hate running. You amaze me as always!

Ashley Bogard said...

Ramona here is the site I was telling you about, that you can upload your blog into a book. You can do up to like 440 pages for $65 bucks, so much cheaper than making memories.
http://www.blurb.com/create/book/blogbook
I have the link on my blog too.
ASH