I know, I know, it has been awhile since I have written a blog post. I will spare you the excuses and get down to business.
The second week of February I started running. Well, at first it was more like walking with occasional bursts of speed that made me feel like I was going to die, but we called it running.
It all started the first week of February when I mentioned to one of the girls in the ward my desire to lose weight. She suggested we walk together. There is a trail behind my house and she lived near by. This seemed like a win- win situation for both of us. What she neglected to mention when we struck this bargain was that she was a former state champion runner, who went to collage on a running scholarship.
The first morning was truly pitiful. We went to a park nearby and we ran laps. I made it through two before I started crying. Undeterred, she kept running and encouraging me to run. Eventually, I was able to do 3 passes before I just quit and walked off. I ended that morning, sore, upset, and embarrassed, with a firm determination to never run again. I thanked her for her time and we parted company.
I had resigned myself to my fate, I would die the same way that my mom did from a heart attack and there was nothing I could do about it.
Imagine my surprise when my doorbell rang the next day at the same time and there she was dressed to run. I was too stunned to protest so I put my shoes on and followed her. As we walked she laid out her plan to help me attain a basic level of fitness. She wanted me to run and lift weights 3 times a week. My goal was to run 20 minutes non-stop and we would start this new program the next day.
I thought she was crazy and I told her so. We agreed to meet at 6:30 the next morning. (I'm still not sure why I agreed to this.) We lifted weights and then we ran the trail behind her house. The weights went smoothly, the run did not. Again, I complained, I cried, and I negotiated, it did not faze her one bit.
Morning after morning of crying, whining, and complaining, all cheerfully endured. We ran in the snow in Utah, we ran in the rain in San Diego, we ran in the misty darkness of morning, we ran in the bright sunshine. We ran in the company of birds, squirrels, rabbits, snails, lizards, and on particularly terrifying day we crossed paths with a baby rattlesnake.
While we ran we talked about the gospel, and the things going on in our lives and we became friends.
She went through my kitchen and told me what to throw out. She took me shopping, and showed me what to buy and what not to buy, and then showed me how to make healthy easy nutritious meals.
And then a miracle occurred. On April 31, I ran 20 minutes, non-stop and it did not kill me.
She is not the first friend that I have ever had, and she won't be the last.
But she may be the one that saved my life.
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