Well folks, this isn’t a how to post, but a post about change.

I ran a 1/4 mile at the gym today, and it was hard. And it was a first, and so, a change….

I have been working on myself the last few months, worked up from 4 minutes on the elliptical, to 4 miles in an hour – lost almost 30 lbs – doing ok!  But there is still a long way to go.

I was watching a recap of some of the past seasons Biggest Loser contestants last night, and one, Matt Hoover, lost 157 pounds on the show.  More than that, just as every normal person can, he gained some, maybe 40 lbs, But is determined, and wanted to show, that even a chubby guy, could push himself.  He was I am guessing 220 when he ran, and finished in 17 hours and 3 min, the Kona Iron Man Triathalon this year.  That is a 2 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, THEN a Marathon.  He finished, 3 min past the official cutoff.

He said this in his blog:

Support from family, friends, and coaches can help you achieve seemingly impossible goals. It is not selfish to lean on someone who has offered to be a part of your support team. It is selfish to not let them be there for you because you think you can do it all on your own.

Sometimes the victory really is in the journey. I was not an official finisher of the Ford Ironman World Championship. Although I didn’t get a medal or the title I learned more about myself in those 17 hours and 3 minutes than I ever would have sitting at my desk reading books and writing my bucket list. I learned that if you never attempt anything that may seem impossible to you, you will never have the satisfaction of knowing you gave it your best shot.

For the first time in my life I finally appreciate that it isn’t always about winning or losing. It’s about putting everything you have into acheiving your goal and being ok with the outcome. It’s about finishing what you start!

Our bodies are amazing machines. They are capable of doing what our minds ask and are capable of doing much more than many of us ever imagine. That night out on the loneliest stretch of road I have ever been on, I realized that my body has been good to me and I need to return the favor.

I love this part:

I learned that if you never attempt anything that may seem impossible to you, you will never have the satisfaction of knowing you gave it your best shot.

Change isn’t always going to be easy, but if you are changing for the right reasons, it is going to be worth it -

And to top it off, you might not “win” but that is ok too – but you will know without a doubt you gave it your best shot.

Thank you Matt – you have inspired me to challenge my body more – you inspired me to move from the now comfortable elliptical machine to something that wasn’t comfortable – and to run, just one measly lap- and it was hard, but someday, soon too – I will be able to run 2 – and then even a mile – which in my 44 years, I have never done.