A Work In Progress

I consider everything I do with my fitness journey as a work in progress. I started out seven years ago as someone who wasn’t very coordinated and who hid behind baggy leggings and extra large shirts. It took me some time to get better with the coordination but I still have a way to go with not tripping over myself or slipping on the second to last stair in my house. I have since switched to tops that are more fitted and bottoms that are more compressed but there are plenty of days when I feel ‘bigger’ and I opt for the race shirt collection I have in my closet that are great at covering up those parts that need to stay hidden.

Today was a day that I can look back at and say that I’ve come a LONG way from the client Jeff took on in July of 2014. She lacked self-confidence and couldn’t fathom posing for a picture when he tried to keep a physical testament of my progress. Jeff and I met up at the nature center of the Rocky River reservation near his house for a quick trail run and an outdoor circuit workout. It was hot outside at 12:30 and I dressed for it, not thinking much of whether the shirt made me look too top heavy or if my bottom was sticking out too much. I didn’t have those fears today that I had when I first thought about getting into running…you know, the ‘how could I possibly go outside in public in a tank top and capris?’ or ‘how would I look for someone who is so clumsy and uncoordinated?’ Not a worry or negative thought crossed my mind as Jeff and I ran through the trails and I took in the view on my right side of a beautiful stream surrounded by a high wall that seemed to have been built from the dinosaur era. I had sweat on my arms and my shirt had wet marks and I hadn’t felt this free in a very long time.

Once we had finished our run, Jeff and I set up the items for my circuit workout by a little picnic area. We’ve worked out there before and it is on the grassy corner across from the nature center parking lot so there are a lot of people walking around and lots of cars passing through. I worked through the circuits, focusing on my moves and form rather than whether people were passing us by and laughing at me. One man came upon us, complimenting us on our workout and we chatted back and forth. I told him how I’ve been working with Jeff for seven years now and he has truly helped me transform my life. Now I don’t know if he will give Jeff a call (he has his business card!) but I felt so comfortable sharing how I went from being uncoordinated and not so active to running road and trail races and two Spartans. Would I have been able to do this seven years ago? No way, no how. Would I have put myself out there, agreeing to work out in a setting for all to see? Nope. Would I have actually faced the camera and carried on with whatever I was doing when Jeff takes pictures of my workout for his business? Absolutely not. I’m not quite there yet with shouting from the rooftops how far I’ve come from a physical and an athletic standpoint but I am getting better about sharing my fitness journey and how I am a better version of myself today than I was when I started out. I still have a lot of work to do and hopefully, it’s a long road ahead but I can celebrate today as being a work in progress.