My So-Called Dive Life
1/22/2007 - Random Thoughts on Inspiration
Randon thoughts on Inspiration I woke up today to gusty winds and I did NOT feel like running.
For those of you that know me, you'll know that up until about the past year and a half, I've been into running as my fitness regimen. After Hayden was born and I BALLOONED up, I started running, and kept that up for several years, throughout all the travels and moving. It was good for me, I felt mentally better, and it keeps my 350 lb. inner Cheeto Freak fron clawing her way out. I can promise I was one of the very few women I ever saw running around San Jose when I lived in Costa Rica. (I did frequently encounter the national soccer team on their training runs, though. That was kinda neat-o.) But for whatever reason: stress, depression, the move, WHATEVER...I slacked off for the past year. And it's has totally shown...I had gained weight, morale is low, just in general have felt like shit.
So around November (that magical 35th birthday approach) I started to try and get back in shape. Rollerblading, walking, riding my bike. It was a start but not enough. At New Years, I made my resolution to start running again. I've gone slowly but have worked my up and I can already tell it's working it's magic. For ME...personally...it is the best exercise. It's my mental and physical fix.
So today, however, facing gusting winds and above normal temps, I just wasn't in the mood. But I put my running ***** on anyway, kicked on some tunes and took off. Immediately I felt like stopping. Then I remembered a conversation that I had with a friend of mine, Leah. She told me about her last marathon, when she was at about the 20 mile mark and really starting to slack off, she looked ahead and saw a man running in front of her. On two prosthetic legs. She said that gave her the motivation she needed...it put her own difficulty in perspective.
I thought that was such a great story....a moment in time when she was personally struggling, and as if on cue, she witnessed something that put it in perspective.
As I continued to pound the pavement in the still gusting winds, this thought continued to evolve. I remembered a time this past fall when I met John Chatterton at the DEMA convention last October. We were discussing the upcoming dives of Matt Johnston, an amazing young man who is vent-dependent due to muscular dystrophy. Matt has made it his goal to scuba dive. Johnn was working on Matt's team to get him in the water that following week. John said, "What an amazing experience. What excuse do the rest of us have? We can strap on tanks and go down anytime we want. This guy is a true inspiration." With the help of John and Richie Kohler, Conch Republic Divers, a crew of medical personal and a hell of a lot guts and determination, Matt did his first reef dive on Hens and Chickens that following week.
So this was MY moment in time...where I found MY inspiration. It's an amazing thing, really. We all have someone or something that helps us see the bigger picture.
So I continued my run, it took a few minutes but I hit my stride and had a great run. I can now face whatever miniscule challenges I may have today. I'm inspired.
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