Fit-to-Fat-to-Fit Blog: Hills

Goal Weight: 195 lbs.

Today’s Weight: 225.4 lbs.

I discovered something a few years ago while biking up a mountain in Vermont: Climbing a hill is as much a mental challenge as it is a physical one.  You have a part of your brain that’s like a little devil who repeatedly whispers in your ear that it is “too hard.” I discovered it the hard way — I stopped on my first mountain I attempted.  I can tell you this: It’s a whole lot harder to climb the darn thing by foot while pushing a bike.  But by the time the week was over, I was zooming up mountains.  My secret? I put my head down and gutted it out.  I figured out how to break the mountain into little pieces. I realized it was only minutes of pain for a lifetime of satisfaction.  The satisfaction of accomplishing a difficult goal.

That devil whispers into my ear all the time.  “It’s too hard,” is something I battle nearly a daily basis.  “It’s too hard to try a new career.” Or, “It’s too hard to get up and exercise.” All are hills that seem to loom over me.  All are hills that can be conquered. I just need to put my head down and take it one step at a time.

This morning I ran 40 minutes in my neighborhood.  While I live in Mississippi, and not the Rockies, my subdivision has some pretty big hills in it.  There’s one that’s particularly steep.  So I ran it this morning.  Why?   I wanted to show it who was boss.  I put my head down and took it one mailbox at a time. My legs hurt. My lungs burned.  And I got up in two minutes.  My legs overcame the doubts in my mind. Two minutes of telling my mind to shut up.

Continuously attack the hills in your life. They will toughen you both mentally and physically.

Injury update: My right ankle is still sore. So are my knees and all my other joints.  Thank goodness for ibuprofen.