I WANT To Run!!!

Not something I would normally say. I hate running...at least, I used to. Lately I have been craving it. Feet pounding on the treadmill, sweat pouring into my eyes, legs burning.......OK, so I don't know what it is that makes me want to do this to myself but I am ready for my next run already!!

7 years ago...(OMG I cant believe it was that long ago).. I joined the Army. Well, I tried anyway. I weighed 196 lbs back then. When my recruiter weighed me he said I have to lose 21 lbs to qualify. So I started going to the gym and walking on the treadmill, bicycling, weight lifting... on my own for 6 weeks. I didn't lose a single pound. The recruiter decided to take it into his own hands. At 5 a.m. every morning he would pick me up, drive to the local park and make me run with him. Not just 1 mile... not even just 2... but 3, sometimes 4, miles!! I was not a good runner and he would get impatient with me... but after two weeks you could see a huge change in me. For one thing, I could keep up with him running for at least the first mile!!... the other change was kind of a funny one for me to notice... but my thighs quit rubbing together. I remember waking up one morning and walking to the kitchen and realized that there was air down there!! LOL ... So a month of that and my recruiter was positive that I had lost the weight and was ready to go.

He weighed me at his office... 191....yeah... only 5 lbs. I almost started to cry but the recruiter said it must be all muscle and that he was sending me to MEPS anyway. I don't remember what MEPS stands for, but it is where they do all the medical testing and paperwork to get you shipped off in the service.

The next day I was in the city standing in front of a huge building down town. I had my bag packed and I had said goodbye to my family. I was excited and scared to death. They had all the girls together for testing. I passed it all....until we got to the last station. The nurse weighed me...frowned...looked at me and asked me to step aside. She called over a couple of other nurses and they started to attack me with measuring tapes. According to my measurements I was a measly 1/2 a pound heavy...(I guess this was their way of figuring body fat)......now, there were two choices. One was to go home and come back the next week, the other choice was to have the medical director sign a waiver that sent me to boot camp anyway. I opted for the waiver.... For hours I sat in the waiting room. Finally, my recruiter showed up and said that the medical director had been called out and that they decided to have me come back the next week.

The drive home was 4 hours long... and the entire way home I could not believe that a measly 1/2 pound had kept me from shipping out. I started to think that this may have been a sign... I mean, what else could it have been?? A half pound , the medical director being 'called away'... So, I decided God had something else in store for me and I told my recruiter I would not be returning. The next week the US went to war with Iraq....

My point to this story is ..... at 191 lbs I had body fat equal to someone at 175.5 pounds.... I am hoping that that is what is going on right now! I am still aiming for 175 pounds on the scale.. but as soon as my thighs quit touching I know I will be on my way!!

(In case you are wondering, there was a reason God did not send me away.... but that story is for another day)

Today's Plan:
Run
Shoulders & Arms

Focus:
Water