Dedicated to Graeme

So let's be totally real - I was never in shape. I am by far the laziest person ever when it comes to anything physical. I like walking and hikes and stuff, but sports? PE class (Praise God for no more of those)? Running? 

HAHAHAHAHA no.

Honestly, despite my lack of physical activity God has smiled down on me and though I am not the thinnest, God is magical and has blessed me abundantly. Being a chubby kid when I was younger, I can truly appreciate the fact that growing up really does work wonders and that puberty really is the most awkward time of any kid.

Today, about two and a half weeks before grad, I decided that I would begin a new regiment to work out, not just to look good for grad (but let's face it - two and a half weeks won't do that much), but also to begin exercising. There was no more rain or cold for me to hide behind, and hey, it was now or never.

And I did it.

And elementary school me came back to haunt me.

Having not run for a few months, I could only manage one lap before feeling my legs collapse from underneath me, my lungs giving out and I began panting, wanting to give up. It was then that I began my walk, which would have probably been what I had continued to do if it was not for the mystery running man.

As I was halfway through my walking lap, a man that I had saw running pulled up in front of me. It's not a contest, I told myself. He has his pace and I have mine. But for whatever reason, I saw that he began to slow down. "Run, girl. Run!" he called out to me.

I laughed to myself. Nah, not now. Maybe later.

The man did not stop running to call after me. Looking behind him, he called out to me again. "Come on, girl! Let's run!"

For whatever reason, I did. And I didn't stop.

As we ran together, he introduced himself as Graeme, an ex-tennis player from Fiji. He was maybe about 50 something years old and in impeccable shape. He never once stopped running, and together, we ran straight for nearly half an hour.

To put things into perspective:
- my best time for the mile run was 9:47. That's actually really sad.
- the beep test is my mortal enemy, and my best level was may 5-6. (my lowest was 3-1)
- I was asked to do the 800 m run once. I gave up half way.
- I was asked to do the 800 m run again (didn't they learn their lesson?). I threw up after the race.
- I think that the most running that I have ever done straight recently was two and a half laps, tops.
- The fastest I've ever seen myself run was in a mall because I was late meeting someone. That and the sales.

So you can see my downfall here.

The fact that I was running for that length of time without stopping made me realize what I was capable of. But why me, I asked Graeme. Why are you motivating me and not another runner?

"Let me tell you something. I ran for 5 laps and then I was ready to give up. To pack up and begin walking. But then I saw you walking, and it made me realize that maybe, you wanted to run too. Maybe you would run eventually, but maybe you wouldn't. I needed motivation. You needed motivation. So I encouraged you to run, and encouraging you to run made me push myself. We all have our own paces, but how will you know if you don't push yourself?"

Solid.

So even though I am in no way on my way to becoming an Olympic athlete or a marathon runner, I am ready to do whatever it takes to push myself when it comes to staying in shape and exercising. To quote Graeme (who probably quoted Nike), "Don't just try to do it, just do it."

I'll keep you all posted on how that goes.

Until next time, keep fit, stay healthy, and spill some ink while you're at it.