After I watched that video again, I suddenly was back there. I started remembering what it was like to be me again. I park only a couple hundred feet from the door of our building, yet everyday I struggled to walk that far. Inside the door we have a bench for customers to sit on, yet countless times I found myself sitting down Aron my way in to catch my breath before I went on in to start work. I was remembering what it was like to try and walk and talk at the same time. I would often stop mid sentence just to catch my breath. I started parking just outside of our front door because I was too sore and too tired to walk from where everyone else parked at our house.I never wanted to go to the mall or anywhere if it involved walking, especially if it was for a long time.
5 months ago I started a journey. One, not only did I want to lose weight, but I wanted to be healthy and active. I started slow. Riding on an elyptical bike for only for a about a minute before I was gasping for air. Within a few weeks, I was riding for twenty minutes with out stopping and eventually rode for 30 minutes without a break. Walking was out of the question though. My size and my knees just wouldn't cooperate. I started lifting weights and started off slow working on my knees. It has been a slow process, but it has been paying off. After the first few weeks, Me and Melody took a trip to Weatherford, OK where we found a cool little walking trail. It was built right in the middle of a bunch of sand plum bushes and it went around for a mike. I made it one whole lap till I had to stop. That had been the farthest I had walked till last week.
Starting Last Monday, I changed up my exercise routine and started exercising early in the morning before I went to work. It was after one such day, Melody wanted to go walk the track at school. I had gotten up early worked out, went to work, the went to my second job, and at 5:30 in the evening, after being on my feet since about 4:30 a.m., found myself walking around our high school track. Me and Melody talked about our day and how it went, and just started talking about other things as walked. Slowly I started to notice that I was talking and wasn't out of breath. I was sore, but it was a from working all day sore, not I'm so out of shape that I want to shoot somebody sore. We kept going. After our 5th lap she stopped, but I kept going. I eventually went 8 total laps or 2 miles till I stopped. The only reason was I was wearing shorts and I was getting cold. I went to the truck and as I sat down, I realized I wasn't out of breath and I was only mildly sore. I was ecstatic!
Last week, I won a free registration for a 5k we have annually here at Wahington. It's a fundraiser to help out local people who are in need. This year, the funds will go to the Stringer family. Matt Stringer, the husband and father of the clan, needs to go to New York for treatment and they are trying to help him. I got and Both of us signed up, so on March 5th, I'm going to be in the Warrior Way 5k!
As practice for this event, this past Sunday, we went out and walked the area where the 5k will take place. It goes out of town just over a mile and a half, and then it comes back finishing at the start line. My goal was to try and get as much as possible done. I would be okay with 2, but I wanted the whole thing. We walked and talked the entire time. Melody counted whiskey bottles, while I looked for dead bodies in the ditches. I saw a couple of shoes and a sock on the side of the road. I thought my chances were good! Needless to say, I didn't find any, but 1:02:30 later we fiished. Not only did I walk a whole hour, but I went 3.12 miles, and I did it without stopping and I didn't need to catch my breath. I was sore afterwards, but it was a good sore. One of those kind of sores where you hurt, but are so happy, you could care less!
I've now officially lost 73.0 lbs in the first 5 months of my new lifestyle. Eating right and exercise have been only 2 of the key ingredients of my success. The rest are the encouragement and prayers, of my family, friends and readers like you! Thank you so much for your everything you've done to help me succeed!
My steps from my FitBit when I went 2 miles.
The most steps I've walked in a day!
5k Practice Selfie.