Great Post FlintLand! Hey Fat Girl

Below is a great motivational post by another blogger: http://flintland.blogspot.com/

Please visit his site and leave a comment, but I absolutely loved this!

Hey Fat Girl….

Yes, you. The one feigning to not see me when we cross paths on the running track. The one not even wearing sports gear, breathing heavy. You’re slow, you breathe hard and your efforts at moving forward make you cringe.

You cling shyly to the furthest corridor, sometimes making larger loops on the gravel ring by the track just so you’re not on it. You sweat so much that your hair is all wet. You rarely stay for more than 20 minutes at a time, and you look exhausted when you leave to go back home.  You never talk to anyone. I’ve got something I’d like to say to you.

You are awesome.

If you’d look me in the eye only for an instant, you would notice the reverence and respect I have for you. The adventure you have started is tremendous; it leads to a better health, to renewed confidence and to a brand new kind of freedom. The gifts you will receive from running will far exceed the gigantic effort it takes you to show up here, to face your fears and to bravely set yourself in motion, in front of others.You have already begun your transformation. You no longer accept this physical state of numbness and passivity. You have taken a difficult decision, but one that holds so much promise. Every hard breath you take is actually a tad easier than the one before, and every step is ever so slightly lighter. Each push forward leaves the former person you were in your wake, creating room for an improved version, one that is stronger, healthier and forward-looking, one who knows that anything is possible.

You’re a hero to me. And, if you’d take off the blaring headphones and put your head up for more than a second or two, you would notice that the other runners you cross, the ones that probably make you feel so inadequate, stare in awe at your determination. They, of all people, know best where you are coming from. They heard the resolutions of so many others, who vowed to pick up running and improve their health, “starting next week”. Yet, it is YOU who runs alongside, who digs from deep inside to find the strength to come here, and to come back again.

You are a runner, and no one can take that away from you. You are relentlessly moving forward. You are stronger than even you think, and you are about to be amazed by what you can do. One day, very soon, maybe tomorrow, you’ll step outside and marvel at your capabilities. You will not believe your own body, you will realize that you can do this. And a new horizon will open up for you. You are a true inspiration.

I bow to you.

The Fear of Running While Fat

Today made a post to my MYFITNESSPAL blog and I can not believe the response I received.  It overwhelmingly made my day. I’m reposting it here.

I’ve been struggling emotionally lately trying to express what trying to lose over 100lbs feels like and I think that sharing my journey with words may be exactly what I need, and hopefully inspire others.

So welcome! Read on for my first steps.

So I’ve read all I can about running.  I woke up this morning and it was drizzling, for a split second I thought about going back to bed but I had spent half of my night reading blogs about being a plus side runner and looking for information on how to overcome my fear. I got dressed.  Black tee, Black leggings–because god forbid I run in a pair of shorts, and then a hoodie.

I stretched, put on my Pandora workout station and started in for my first six minutes of walking and when the time came I…….kept walking. I wanted to lift my legs and become a “penguin” ( a penguin is the name for slow runners). This went on for 25 minutes, I was really enjoying the walk itself, the music was perfect, but cars kept driving by or people were on the street and I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.

But then I saw a mom and daughter walking to the bus stop. The girl looked like she was maybe a high school teen, and she was pretty large, dare I even say my size?? And I could tell that the short walk she was taking was really difficult for her. For some reason that was all I needed.

That was the moment, I knew right then and there it didn’t matter what anybody thought the reason I was doing this is because I don’t want to struggle to breath when I walk to the bus stop, because darn’t  I have the strength to run, so I should run! Because I need to do SOMETHING to control my emotions and find a release.  I NEED TO RUN!So I cut through an alley, walked it halfway and then ran the rest.

I couldn’t believe it!  I had just ran, and then I ran a little more, and then my fear of all fears happened. A car literally stopped in the middle of the street and watched me. I stopped in my tracks, but engaged full power walk status. I was a little mortified but I’m happy it happened because I lived through it AND  I didn’t die. I did a rest walk and tried again, and I’ll  keep doing it tommorow!!

I cannot explain the range of emotions that I had this morning, and though I probably only ran for a total of maybe 2 minutes. I ran, and I ran outside and in front of people darnit and I feel great!