One Day, or Day One?

 In the middle of a pandemic I decided it was time to change my life. To be a better version of me. 

I chose day one.

In the early morning hours I started my journey. I strapped my then one year old son into the running stroller and we took off. Well not like a fighter jet or a dog chasing after a squirrel. 

But I started.

One foot in front of the other.

It was painful.

My lungs were burning. 

That morning I barely made it to 2kms.

I really had no idea how far I would get. What I was capable of. 

The next morning I woke up again and repeated the process. Each day I was able to get a little farther. And  pretty soon I was getting to 5kms. Not running the whole time, but I got to the distance I wanted to. Before I knew it I was walking less and running more. I was completing 5kms faster. My pace was coming down, and also my weight.

I had my route down. I ran the same one every morning. I can only imagine what people were thinking as I ran past them. And one morning I found out exactly what one person was thinking. As I trudged up the hill with my son in tow, which to put into perspective he weighed about 25lbs at the time and the stroller itself was about 20lbs. Im in my own world while running, unless I cross paths with another runner I usually look up give a little smile and carry on. I was coming up to a lady running and I do my usual look up and little smile and she looks at me and says "good job Mama, keep going." A complete stranger was encouraging me to keep going. 

Just keep going. 

And I did.

Each day I showed up. I put in the hard work. I challenged myself. I knew that regret would follow very harshly if I threw in the towel. I needed to do this. For myself. For my kids. A couple of years ago we went to Canada's Wonderland. I spent the whole day not wanting to go on the rides with my kids because I wasn't sure if I exceeded the weight limits and I didn't want to find out. I missed out on a whole day of fun because of the life choices I was making. Next time we go I want to be able to ride every single ride with them. I want to be part of the fun and not just on the sidelines watching. 

Show up.

It's simple, but difficult at the same time. You have to hold yourself accountable. You have to want it bad enough. I'm  telling you hard work does pay off. The change doesn't happen all at once, it's a process and yes it does take time, and you have to trust that process.

2020 has been a year of the books. So much has happened and is still happening. But this past year has shown be how much I have grown. What I'm capable of. What happens when you are consistent. What hard work does. 

2020 has shown me how strong I am. 

This isn't where I stop. I'm not done. 

Keep going.

Show up.

Trust the process. 

I'm cheering you all on. 

Great job, keep going!

Goodbye 2020.

Goodbye 57lbs!!

Hello 2021!