I Am Not "Just A Walker" -- My Story

Three years ago, at the age of 46, my journey began.  I was an overweight, inactive work-at-home mom of three.  While I had always wanted to be thinner and physically fit, I never wanted it bad enough to do anything about it.  I had resigned myself to be fat and out of shape for the rest of my life.

Until one day .... My youngest son his autistic.  He was following in my footsteps of being overweight and inactive.  One day, after discussing with this therapist my desire to see my son more active, he said the words that changed my life.  He said, "He'll never lose weight and be more active unless he sees you model it for him."

That day was the beginning of a new life for me.  A mother's love for her children is much greater than her love for herself, and so while I was never motivated to adopt a healthy lifestyle for myself, I was extremely motivated to do it for my son.

I began to count calories and make better food choices.  I actually entered a 5K race just for the charity sake of it, and subsequently, I fell in love with running.  It was more than love -- it was an obsession  My first year of running, I entered dozens of 5Ks.  The next year, I completed a 10-mile race, and that inspired me to run a half marathon which I ran the following fall.

The next year, I had plans of getting faster and going further .... but then I began to experience serious sciatic pain that just wouldn't go away.  It got worse and worse, and after two ER visits, x-rays and an MRI, I was diagnosed with a degenerative spine injury that wasn't an injury that would just heal and go away.  Instead, it required injections and then a drastic change in my running.

My doctor said I could continue to run, but that it had to be very slowly.  For 9 months, I tried to make a comeback to running, but I was constantly battling the sciatic pain.  My doctor had warned me that if I continued to push it, I would eventually experience a more significant injury.

So two months ago I made the decision to be thankful that I could still walk without any pain or fear of reinjury, and I began to embrace and fall in love with the sport of walking.

Now, I'm not just talking about going for a walk around the block after dinner a few evenings a week.  I'm talking about training and participating in races.   I am using Jeff Galloway's "Walking, the Complete Book" and following his training plans.  My best friend and I are currently training for the Air Force Half Marathon in September, using Jeff's Half Marathon Training Plan for walkers.   Next year, in 2019, I plan to participate in the Jimmy Fund's Boston Marathon Walk.  It's a 26.2 charity WALK on the Boston Marathon Course.  I will, once again, be using a training plan from Jeff Galloway.

It took me a while to stop myself from saying, "Oh, I'm just a walker" when discussing running, races, etc.  I have had to shift my mindset and be proud of the fact that I am a walker.  I am starting this blog to bring the sport of walking to light for those who may not realize that even walkers can participate in races and train for endurance events.  I plan to highlight races, products, websites, podcasts, etc. that can help walkers on their training journeys.

And for those of you who have never walked or run before and don't know where to start, my next blog post will answer those questions for you.

Until next time - Walk on Sunshine!