Fat Girl Running

Fat Girl Running

Well, here I am, a little fat girl. I’m thirty (ugh!) and a new mom. I used to be very athletic, but the past tense is apparent every time I put on my not-so-skinny jeans. I have wanted to get back into shape for some time now, but as some of you know, it’s REALLY hard to get motivated when you have a brand new baby at home. You just want to cuddle, snuggle, and dress them up, but time is passing so quickly and I want to be able to run around and keep up with my kids. So I was on a mission to get back in shape, be healthy, and be a good example for my kids. I was tossing around all these ideas of how to go about doing that, when I opened up my mailbox and there it was a little purple postcard that said Team in Training. I was thinking, “That looks interesting, but I could never run a marathon”. So I was walking toward the trashcan to throw away the postcard when one word jumped out at me, leukemia. Suddenly I had the answer that I had been looking for, I would run a marathon. I felt like I as in one of those silly computer software commercials where the people have the epiphany and are all glowy.

So let me tell you why it suddenly became so clear. This past year I had two good friends lose their little boy to leukemia. As I watched them go through the process, I couldn’t help but think that they were experiencing what has to be every parent’s worst nightmare. You hear of things like that, you see the advertisements for certain charities or fundraisers, but you never actually know anyone who has been through something like that. Yet I have watched my friends handle their tragedy with such poise and grace that I couldn’t help but be inspired by them. So there I was thinking of their little boy with a postcard in my hand, asking myself could I really run a marathon. When in walks my wonderful, loving, amazingly supportive husband, and asks me what I’m doing. I showed him the card and asked him, “What do you think of this? Do you think that I could do this?” This brilliant man looked me in the face and said, “You can do anything.” And then he read the postcard. LOL! After reading it, he still thought it was a good idea. So I went online and signed up for a meeting. Unbeknownst to me, my sister had signed up for the exact same meeting. When I found out that she had decided to do the marathon too, I decided it was kismet. So that one word on that purple postcard was the prompt I needed to start to change my life and if I’m lucky, the life of someone else.

Now I will be the first to admit that my name and the word marathon have NEVER been used in the same sentence before. Even when I was in shape, running and I were not friends. So in the course of my training, I suspect that there will be tears, screams, cramps, shin splints, and perhaps even a little vomit, but if my friends can survive what they have been through then I can survive a few measly little miles. I will train and hope that you follow my journey through this blog. I want to raise some money and some awareness for a disease that affects more people than I ever realized, and maybe, just maybe I can make a difference. My hope is that one day no other parents, friends, or families have to go through what my friends have gone through. I will be running in memory of Jamison Watters. So, Jamison, this one’s for you.