New Beginnings and Old Relics

“I am only an average man, but, by George, I work harder at it than the average man.”    -TEDDY ROOSEVELT  

Recently my brother came across a document that reminded me where all of this training business began. It is a document that takes me back to the Winter of 2002-2003, when my life changed. I had been in college for one full year and one semester. My physical activity, except to walk to class, was limited. I did not exercise, and I was nearly 230 Lbs. at the height of 5′ 7″. My diet was as poor as poor can be, and I was miserable. I had become very isolated and rarely ventured outside my dorm room except to eat and go to class. I still had a good set of friends, but I often  turned down social opportunities.

Then something changed within me. Even now I can’t pinpoint what happened. Maybe it was brief experiences with exercise that made me feel better, or maybe it was just a desire to return to my life. I’m not sure. I started running right before the end of the first semester (or light jogging is more appropriate). I could not even run one lap around the track when I began. Over the holidays and the extended break my school offered I began to devote most of my energy to exercise and fitness.

When I got back to school in late January, I had only lost 5 Lbs, but I was a different creature. I had been running up a hill by my house that must have been a 30% grade–it felt like it at least. I ate up the track that had once been daunting, and I began running around campus. I was probably really obnoxious to other student’s because I was always running, but I didn’t care. I also began lifting.

Anyway, back to the document my brother discovered. It is a running mileage and weight loss tracking chart that follows me from 214 Lbs. on February 4 to 185 Lbs. on May 1. People around me and at home couldn’t believe the metamorphosis. I couldn’t believe it myself completely. All I knew was that I had been granted a new chance at life, a new vision, and a new passion.  Now I know that it is my duty to help others have the same opportunity. It is a good thing to discover relics of the past. They often return you to old thoughts, feelings, and memories. They also re-energize your life and keep you true to yourself in the present. I look back on that time fondly, and I realize that even as intensely devoted to fitness as I am now, my devotion will never be quite so pure as it was then.