This photo represents a span of twenty years. Quite mind-blowing to me. The photo on the left I believe was my very first race. I was in my mid-thirties. It was shortly after my divorce. Prior to my divorce I was starting to workout but was not running. It was actually my co-worker at the time that inspired me to run. She was in her fifties, ironically around the age I currently am, and she and her husband were running races regularly. She ran the half-marathon and her husband ran the marathon. I remember they traveled all over running races and I was intrigued.
For someone who never ran and wasn’t overly active in any type of sport, I was inspired by them. Since I was already on a fitness journey, I thought it might be fun to add running to my repertoire. So, I asked her how she does it. I told her I didn’t think I could even run one lap around the track let alone run a race. She told me to just get out there and start.
And I did, slowly but surely and eventually my stamina increased and I signed up for my fist 5K race. Which you can see represented in the below photo. I remember this race vividly, because my mother was there. I didn’t intend to have her there, as this running thing was kind of my thing and I kept it quiet. But somehow or another, as mothers do, she found out about it and chided me for not letting her know I was doing this, as she wanted to be there to cheer me on. After it was all said and done, I was happy she came and even more so because I received a trophy!!! After that, I was bit by the running bug and went on to run several more races.
There were a few years along the way that I fell off the “wagon” and let my running slide. Since I was newly single, after nearly sixteen years of marriage, I tended to party too much, wine and vodka were my go-to drinks, not always eating the right things and even smoked cigarettes occasionally. Let’s just say, since I was married at 20 and had my daughter just shy of 21, I missed the quote, unquote, college party years. I made up for it, and suffered from it, in my forties.
My wake-up call came in two forms. The first one was when I realized that when I looked in the mirror, I did not like the person looking back at me. I had fallen so far off of my trajectory of personal growth and health journey, it was unbelievable. The second came when we moved away from my hometown and away from my parents, who I used to see on a fairly regular basis. Being far away from home and not seeing them regularly, it seemed like they literally aged overnight. That realization also kicked me in the butt and made me determined to get back on track.
So fast forward, twenty years after that initial race and I am proud to say that I am back on the road again and running races, which is evidenced by the photo on the right. And on track to run the longest race yet, a ten miler here in Pittsburgh in November. If all goes well, I may even be inspired to run the ½ marathon in the spring next year. Which was on my bucket list all those years ago.
I showed this picture to my partner, Gary and he said “you are ageing well babe”, what a great compliment. I would have to agree, now that I have made the conscious effort to switch gears and start taking mindful action in my personal growth and health journey, I am feeling great and looking pretty darn good too if I say so myself.
This is a testament to the fact that its never too late to start again. As long as you are above ground, you can begin again. You just need to choose you!
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