Another Reason to Run

I'm a little late posting this week but I have a good excuse. . .I've been running! I even ran in the snow the other evening!! Never in a million years would I think I would be the crazy person outside running in the snow. Surprisingly it really wasn't that bad. Guess we'll see how I feel when there is real snow and ice on the ground!

In my last post I talked about LZ Michigan and I will come back to that in future posts but I wanted to share the second big reason I'm doing this run. Like I mentioned before, the Engage Committee has 5 areas of focus and this run really impacts all 5 areas. One of our focuses is Health and it really is the second half of why I'm running. Now to learn more about me than you ever wanted to know. . . . .

For the most part, I have always been overweight. I was the fat kid in school who couldn't run a mile. It wasn't that I was completely unhealthy, we always ate well at home, I just didn't love physical activity and was naturally larger then the average kid. Unfortunately when you're a an overweight kid, other kids like to make fun of you. I can remember wanting to lose weight as early as 2nd grade and not a single day has gone by since then that I haven't thought about my weight. It's been an up and down struggle my whole life. I've tried every diet, program, and even some pills and nothing ever seemed to work. I learned not to take everything other people said to heart, but adults are often crueler than kids and it's really hard to not let them get to you. 

I managed to lose a decent amount of weight in college and keep most of it off for a few years. About 6 years ago it started creeping back on and a laundry list of other health issues starting popping up too. It wasn't all at once so it took a while before I realized there was something really wrong with me. I was working out and actually training to run my first 5K but I kept gaining weight. Along with that, I was constantly exhausted and had some very severe stomach issues. Looking back I can definitely say I was suffering from some sort of mild depression as well, and I think any of my close friends and family would agree with that. After a few years, a lot of doctors appointments, and what felt like hundreds of little tubes of blood being drawn I was finally diagnosed with Celiac Disease. Celiac is an auto-immune disorder which affects your intestine. There's no cure, and not a lot of solid information on why it can suddenly appear when you've had no previous symptoms, but it's easily manageable by eliminating gluten from your diet. Now I'm not sharing this with you because I'm promoting a gluten free diet, in fact it's not an effective diet if you're simply trying to lose weight, but because this is when I realized how important healthy eating is and when I decided I wanted to change my life around. Once you stop eating chips and fast food, you start realizing how amazing a salad or piece of fruit can taste and how much better you can feel. And once you start feeling better on the inside, you want your outside to match.

As I started feeling better I got back into working out and lost a small amount of weight. Somewhere along the way I had an epiphany that I really don't need to lose the weight. I am healthy according to every cholesterol and blood pressure test there is, but I think losing the weight would be a big step in my journey. It's something I have wanted to do for over 20 years, the only difference is this time I want to do it for myself.  I knew signing up for the 25K would force me to incorporate exercise into my every day life and that's what I want. I no longer want to lose weight and be done. I want to live a healthy, active life style until the day I die. When I have kids, I want them to learn early on how to be healthy and active and happy. I want to be a role model for others like me who have never been able to get away from that inner fat kid and don't think they can do it. If you are healthy, I promise that you will live a happier, more fulfilling life. You will want to, and be able to, participate in life instead of sitting on the sidelines. You don't need to be thin to be healthy but you need to feel good about yourself and take care of your body. We only get one chance at this, why waste it? 

With obesity, particularly in children, becoming such an epidemic now is the time to start having these conversations and getting out there to set an example. The goal of our Health Committee is to educate people and provide opportunities for families to learn how to eat well and get active. I'm letting the community in to follow my training for this run because I want people to see anyone can do it. I don't want praise, I don't want to be called an inspiration, in fact I absolutely hate being in the lime light. BUT, I want you to see that if this fat kid can do it, so can you.

What is LZ Michigan?

Week 2 already?? Yikes, this run is going to come up quicker than I would like to think! I had the privilege of meeting two wonderful women from Gazelle Sports this evening who have graciously volunteered to help me out with training and learning the ropes of how to be a runner. We started chatting and one of the first questions they asked was what is the Engage Committee and what was LZ Michigan? I've been so excited about the number of people who have volunteered to help with this undertaking that it never occurred to me that some of these people might not even know who we are or why we're doing what we're doing! So here are the basics:

The mission of the WGVU Engage Committee is to extend the outreach of WGVU through local events and programs in an effort to better serve the community. You can learn more at our website (http://www.wgvu.org/engage/) but more or less we look for ways to be actively involved in the community through a variety of events.

LZ Michigan was an event that actually took place prior to the creation of the Engage Committee. Not an easy event to describe but directly from the LZ Michigan website: 

This summer, WGVU TV will broadcast Vietnam War Stories, a 3-part documentary produced by Wisconsin Public Television. While recording more than 100 interviews for the series, producers kept hearing the same comment from many of the veterans: they weren't welcomed home after grueling tours of duty 40 years ago in Southeast Asia.

On Saturday, July 3, 2010, they finally got that "Welcome Home," when WGVU, Grand Valley State University, and the West Michigan Whitecaps, in conjunction with the broadcast of Vietnam War Stories, presented LZ Michigan. (LZ is an abbreviation for "Landing Zone," military slang for a helicopter clearing where supplies or troops are landed.)

The LZ Michigan event at Fifth Third Ballpark honored and welcomed home Michigan's Vietnam War Veterans. This statewide effort culminated in a day of recognition and celebration of their service and sacrifice, for veterans, their families and the public. The event was not political or military. It was the community's expression of thanks, support and welcome for the men and women who served in Vietnam.

The July 3, 2010 event, LZ Michigan, featured a special evening celebration inside Grand Rapids Fifth Third Ballpark, which honored and thanked our community's Vietnam Veterans.

The ceremony honored those who were killed in action, those still missing and unaccounted for and the surviving vets, many of whom continue to suffer from injuries incurred in Southeast Asia.

The event featured speakers, recognition, musical entertainment and videos from the premiere of the Vietnam War Stories documentary, and closed with fireworks.

Any profits from LZ Michigan were to go into an endowment fund that would provide a scholarship to a Veteran or Veteran's dependent to assist with the cost of attending Grand Valley State University. Like I mentioned in the last post, we were far from making enough money to start this endowment fund. 

Now the fun part, where do I come into all this??

I learned of the LZ Michigan event because a family member worked for Fifth Third Ballpark at the time. My dad is a Vietnam Veteran so it seemed like a fitting event for me to volunteer to help with. I went to a few committee meetings and was completely blown away by the passion these people had for this event and for supporting our Veterans in general. I really didn't know anything about WGVU. I knew what PBS was (who doesn't love Sesame Street?!) and that they had something to do with radio but that really was it. I wasn't too concerned with any of that anyways, I was here to help with LZ Michigan. I'm really not even sure how to put in words how amazing the planning of LZ Michigan was, let alone the actual event. As time went on, our volunteer committee grew and grew. I truly couldn't believe how many people were willing to give of their time and resources to make this happen and they were doing it for families like mine. 

The day of the event came and it was mind blowing. We had the big map out where Veterans could write their name of where they served in Vietnam,. We had the traveling wall where they could find the names of fallen comrades. We had the Patriot Guard Riders. We had military vehicles, food, music, fireworks, and we had hundreds of Veterans who finally got the Welcome Home they were denied so many years ago. It's really hard to explain an event like this but to see men in their 50's, 60's and older in tears because they had been waiting for a moment like this their whole lives is something you will never forget. 

The war was not something we ever really talked about in my family. My dad fought in Vietnam but that's pretty much all I knew. I knew there were plenty of emotional scars from that time but like so many others it was something that was buried away and easier to not deal with. LZ Michigan offered these men and women a day to talk freely to one another and to their families and to realize that none of them are alone. It allowed conversations to take place and wounds to be heeled. It was something that you really can't completely grasp if you weren't witness to it, but trust me when I say it was life changing for a lot of people and it's something that, as a community, we can not let die. 

This is why I am running. We need to keep this event alive, and as a committee we want to expand LZ Michigan to include all Veterans. We want to continue to put on events and find ways to reach out to our Veterans and give something back to them. This weekend is Veterans Day and I would encourage you to do something to say thanks. The Grand Rapids parade is Saturday morning starting at 10am downtown. It's the perfect opportunity to show appreciation and respect for our soldiers. My personal challenge to you is to find a Veteran or active member of the Military and have a conversation. You would be amazed at the impact a complete stranger can have on your life if you take the time to listen.