Let me begin with a little true life story:
"3:45 AM my phone starts playing a very quiet soft melody to nudge me out of bed to start moving my joints and stretching. Forward bend to the Cello Concerto that is my body playing its mournful tune. The Drums begin to speed up the morning song that is my bouncing unbalanced body during the Quad Stretches. In comes the high pitched whine of the Violins as I lean forward in Calf Stretches.
4:00 AM Amy’s vibrating alarm begins stirring her to ask why I get up so much earlier that 4 as she puts on her shoes. The morning symphony that is my body waking up begins to calm as I pull on my base layer and dress up for our Arizona frigid 50 degree run. (Yes that is cold to me)
4:20 AM walking around the track to warm up my body the yawns come out in force. Lap two starts and so begins the pounding of my feet. Around the 1st curve I feel my feet slam to the ground and my body screams at me in pain “what the hell are you doing big boy!” I keep moving. Through the 2nd lap my lungs start crying for air “hey man calm down we need to breathe.” Around the 3rd lap things calm down.
The 4th lap is coming to an end and the body start celebrating as we are doing something we have never done in our 38 years together. Into the 5th lap and I am jumping up and down holy smokes look at me I am a runner!"
That is how my mornings are. Seriously, I am turning myself into a runner. Some veteran runners may laugh, some people that never try may scorn, but, I am doing it.
Last week I ran my first ever uninterrupted mile. That is right you are reading correctly at 38 years old I have never been able to run straight through one mile. I still have to run on a track because my big body needs the cushioned surface, but I did it, and like in my little drama above literally started screaming out in joy on my 5th lap at 4:30 in the morning.
Today I ran a mile and half without having to take a walk break. As I was winding my morning run down I began thinking about my journey. In January when I began walking laps with my wife and decided it was boring so I would jog a bit, I could not even jog one straight away, thinking to myself at that time what the heck are you doing this for. However, when I was done that first time pushing myself through a couple of slow, ugly and painful 100 meter jogs, I felt fantastic and decide to start pushing myself to more each and every morning. By the second day of that I was hooked.
Do I want to run a 5k, yep I do. However, unlike most people I am not going to sign up for one and make it my goal. I am going to first ensure I can run 3 straight miles without having to walk, at that point I will sign up for a 5k then train for and run in my very first race, ever!
Is this an eloquent blog post? Not even close. However, it is a victory in my life and this journey to me changing the person I was to the man I want to become. In my eyes if I could at the 320 odd pounds I was when I started run one straight away, then work to lose 30 pounds, and run 1.5 miles in a 2 month period… anyone can! It is literally just as simple as putting one foot in front of the other and telling yourself each time, okay next foot.
My name is Travis and I am fat. I am here to heal myself.