26.2 miles. That’s what the sticker read on my car. One hundred yards from it, I was winded. I could barely make it up to the door to the radio station.
Oh how the mighty had fallen.
Oct. 31, 2010, I weighted 195 lbs. and had completed the Marine Corps Marathon. A year later, I was pushing 250 and wheezing.
I was heart attack waiting to happen.
I looked at that 26.2 sticker and was embarrassed. How could I have let myself go? And how could it have happened so quickly? I tell you how. I had to pick up a second job and I was working my butt off. And I used sugary sodas to prop my energy up.
I was tired. And I was out of shape.
Five years later, I’m about to run my second marathon. I weigh 213 lbs. and work five jobs (six if you count freelance.) I have three kids who need taxiing around. I’m busier than ever.
I’m still tired. But now I’m in shape.
I can tell you this: Being tired when you are out of shape sucks a whole lot more than being tired when you are in shape. I have energy reserves I didn’t have back then. And I am getting so much more done.
People tell me they are too tired to exercise. I get that. But let me tell you from experience: You’re too tired not to exercise. It makes all the difference in the world.