I run.
I’m not a runner.
Now the preceeding two paragraphs aren’t some sort of riddle or baffling logic challenge, but they are both true. I run, more than fifteen miles a week. I’m also not a runner. A runner, in my mind at least, has a passion for running and runs for enjoyment. While I don’t hate running, it’s not exactly my favorite thing to do. So why run then?
Because it’s necessary.
It’s been over four years since my diagnosis. I wanted to blame it on the sweet potato fries I ate just prior to the appointment, but it takes more than one order of fried starchy vegetable to bring on Type 2 Diabetes. It takes years of second helpings and stops at convenience stores and extra large pops while sitting at my desk to bring on what ultimately is the root cause of my illness – morbid obesity. I one-hundred-sixty pounds over my weight when I graduated from high school – and well on my way to being twice what I weighed then. There’s polite ways to say it, but I will just call it what it is.
I was fat.
Now we could get into the physiological or psychological reasons why I was the way I was, but that would only be pertinent to me. The thing is, I look around at many male friends and family my age I see many of them suffering, more or less, from the same affliction that I, quite frankly, am still suffering from.
Why?
Now, I’m not going to debate whether the Creation story is not, but I will assert that evolution is true. I’ve seen it in my lifetime. Think about it for a minute. Technological advances have so manipulated our personal environments that it takes no effort to live at all. Automated processes – cars, computers, remote controls, and all – do all the work for us and give us a very comfortable existence. At the same time, food is so abundant and plentiful that we can consume until we are well past what we need to live. In other words, lots of energy consumed that we no longer need.
You would have thought the diagnosis would have been the turning point and, for a short while, it was. Soon enough, however, all the short-term gains were gone. I lived another two years that way.
The actual lifelong turning point was twofold. The first part is carrot. My wife started taking better care of herself. I won’t tell her story – it’s hers to tell – but she started making better choices in her life. What’s more important, she stuck to those choices. Soon enough, it began to show real results. To be honest, she has a better story to tell than I do and (not so subtle hint), I wish she would.
Ms. Boss, you have truly been an inspiration.
When I refer to the first part of a carrot, you know what comes next. The stick wasn’t anything dramatic, but for some reason it seared itself into my brain. We have a pool that, because I’m lazy, doesn’t always have the ladder stuck down in it. After swimming one day, I pulled myself over the side an onto the pool deck… and just laid there. Water and fat are an awesome mix – it makes you feel lighter than you are. When buoyancy is taken away and gravity is the lone force acting on your body, it’s a real slap in the face and while I had the strength to get up… eventually, I lacked the will. I decided then and there it was time for a change.
Have you had a similar moment in your life? Think about it. Think about it really hard. If you have, you need to do something about it. If you don’t, your quality of life will start slipping away. If you’re really unlucky…
…you’ll die.
For me, it started with walking and hiking – two things I’ve always enjoyed – combined with dieting. When that didn’t work as effectively as I wanted, I decided to join the ‘couch to 5K’ craze. It was a struggle, but I set my goal and got ran my 5k. Working toward the goal sucked, but the reward was awesome.
While working toward the 5k, I did end up injuring myself. Happy with myself and not wanting to injure myself further, I gave up running… and the results are what you expect – the weight started coming back.
I was never so happy when I realized that ‘shoe choice’ was the reason for my injury, not running.
With the tremendous and constant support of my wife, I ran a half-marathon. It’s something I can’t even believe I did, so I’m repeating the feat this weekend. Ms. Boss, who will also tell you she’s not a runner, is running the first 6.8 miles of my race with me during her own race.
I’m still not a runner. I’m still overweight and will often eat things I shouldn’t which means my weight has barely budged in four months. I often dread my long-mileage Sunday mornings (for the record, not only is Ms. Boss an effective carrot, she can be a pretty good stick as well) because I would much rather sleep in. I acknowledge, however, that they are necessary because I have set my fitness goal as being able to run a half-marathon with two weeks notice.
The time has come. Get up. Get up, right now. Put your phone down this instant and do something for yourself. If you won’t do it for yourself, think of someone to do it for. If you haven’t run in months, years, or decades, go out and walk thirty minutes – that’s the first workout of couch to 5k. If I can do it, barring some health issue, you can do it.
Want to ‘kick it up a notch’? Start eating better. Get rid of the junk food and sugary drinks, eat less of what you do eat. Beer? It is no longer your friend. There will be set backs, forgive yourself and move on from them. Build on this base and take your life back one step at time.
What are you waiting for?