The Top 10 Things I Learned While Running That Have Nothing To Do With Running

"There is no such thing as a 'self-made' man. We are made up of thousands of others. Everyone who has ever done a kind deed for us, or spoken one word of encouragement to us, has entered into the make-up of our character and of our thoughts, as well as our success."

Well, race day is officially tomorrow!! Hard to think this day would ever come. I didn’t really keep up with the blogging like I had planned but I wanted to wrap it up by saying thank you to everyone who has helped me along the way. My pals at WGVU and the coaches at Gazelle Sports have been instrumental in my success. And of course I could never have made it this far without the support of my friends and family. I never thought I would hear myself say this, but I actually feel ready to take on the race and am really excited! I’ve had so much fun I even publically committed to running a full marathon in October (Yes, I have in fact lost my mind). I do hope to keep up the bogging on behalf of WGVU Engage to keep you updated on the scholarship fund and everything else we are working on.

The scholarship fund is just starting to approach the $12,000 mark which is amazing when you think we were only around $1700 when we started. There are some other events coming up that will help to fund the remaining amount which I will be sure to tell you about in upcoming weeks!

For now I would like to leave with you some of the things I have learned along this journey. . .

The Top 10 Things I Learned While Running That Have Nothing To Do With Running:

10. If it scares the hell out of you, do it. . .whatever it is. Life is too short to be scared.

9. You will never get anywhere if you stay in your comfort zone. How do you expect to learn and grow if you just do what is easy. Life is not meant to be easy, it’s meant to be lived. Although they go fast, God willing, we have a lot of years, why waste them doing what’s easy and normal. Jump out of the box and live a little.

8. Experiences are worth so much more than things. I used think a new shirt or shoes could make me happy. . .and they can. But climbing a mountain, sitting on the beach with a friend, or running along the river can bring me genuine joy. Happiness is good. Deep down, radiating joy is better.

7. Don’t forget the past but don’t dwell in it. Your past is a part of you and as soon as you can accept that, you can move on.

6. Sometimes other people see something in you that you just can’t see yourself. Believe them. And if they give you a compliment, say thank you. We are our own worst enemies and sometimes we really need to see ourselves through someone else’s eyes to gain prospective.

5. Just keep going. When you think you can’t keep going, do it anyways. Cry, scream, yell (hello mile 14) but keep going. What’s at the end is so much more than what you are experiencing in that particular moment.

4. You are the one living your life. You have to deal with your choices on a daily basis. Don’t let what others expect of you to force you into something you don’t want. Maybe your decisions don’t make a lot of sense to the rest of the world. Well, the rest of the world’s decisions don’t always make a lot of sense either.

3. Relax. Seriously, we all need to slow down, take a deep breath and relax a little. Not everything has to happen this minute and the world will not end if you don’t get exactly what you want the minute you want it. In general people are in a hurry, uptight, and cranky. Just relax. So you have to wait an extra minute for your coffee or for a train to go by. Enjoy the sun or start a conversation with the other person waiting. Not everything needs to be a big deal.

2. What you get out of your body is a direct reflection of what you put in it. I don’t think we take nutrition seriously enough. I’m not talking about dieting or counting calories. I’m talking about really knowing what you are putting in your body. It not only affects your physical well being but your mental as well. We are made to eat food, not chemicals or processed junk that resembles food, or pills that are full of who knows what.

1. You cannot get through life alone. I used to think I could do everything myself and I actually had myself fooled that that’s the way I liked it. Well, that’s just not the way it works. If you want to get further and you want to enjoy the journey, you have to let others in. And it needs to be in a genuine, authentic manner. Let people see the worst of you, let them see the best, and let them help. People aren’t as judgemental as you think and if you are willing, they can better you in a way you never imagined.

OK so maybe I have 11 things. My final, and what I think is most important, thing is to really live life with a purpose. Between talking about why the scholarship is so important to me and training for the run, I have really learned to make each moment count. We can float around day to day doing whatever is needed or we can set out to do something great. Everyone should be passionate about something. Passion makes the days worth waking up for and purpose makes the tedious worth doing. Our passions and purposes might change day to day, year to year but those are two things that can really make everything  else worthwhile.

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.