Columnist runs toward new life
"What can you accomplish in three months?"
That was the question I asked myself, back in early February when I first set foot into the Push Fitness training studio.
Handwritten in a small notebook, I jotted down my list of goals to achieve as the journalist member of this year's Fittest Loser competition: boost strength and stamina, lose weight, expand food knowledge, and improve my health.
All great aspirations, but none truly defined the challenge before me: Blasting through a stubborn comfort zone set in place after the death of my son John.
This bubble of protection provided a psychological safety net that allowed me to grieve, breathe again and begin to understand what really happened. Trouble is, that bubble offering comfort also kept me from turning the page in my life.
Signing on to the Fittest Loser Competition meant an opportunity for me to change tactics from a slow, but steady chipping-away process, to a full blown assault designed to put that bubble in my rearview mirror.
As Josh Steckler, Push Fitness owner and my trainer will tell you, my strong mindset and trust issues seldom allow other points of view in the door. For me, the view from afar felt right at home. From the very beginning, I knew there was only one way for me to succeed with this competition: every aspect of my life needed to step outside of its comfort zone. Anything less wouldn't be enough.
My real list of challenges began with summoning up the courage to take that first leap into strength training at Push Fitness.
Josh's first piece of advice to me, and it's something I now say to myself quite often was, "Don't overthink it." That's a simple, yet brilliant tactic for escaping from an entrenched comfort zone.
The ironic twist here is that by turning down the high power mental energy I threw at my workouts, I began to regain focus again; not only for the physical task at hand, but for all those on the mental horizon.
Who knew that living in a comfort zone with life at bay, also kept stale ideas and circular thoughts locked inside with you?
Shaking things up on the culinary front took aim at both personal and professional aspects of my life.
At first, walking away from delectable dark chocolate made me feel like Linus van Pelt, from "Peanuts" fame, giving away his security blanket.
Looking back on it now, facing a day after my son died without dark chocolate readily on hand, actually eased my path on the Push Fitness food plan. Everything else was a cake walk, but not on the taste buds.
Closing my test kitchen and putting the food column on hold also took me far outside my usual writing zone.
In lieu of testing, researching and taking culinary concepts to the kitchen, I found myself in the reporter's arena, working in real time to corral my experiences, along with those of the contestants and trainers, throughout this competition.
One lesson learned: anything can happen, both in the test kitchen and a fitness training studio. Trust your instincts.
As I entered the home stretch of this challenge, the answer to my question above would be answered on Saturday, April 30, at the 5K race.
Would all the ingredients for a new recipe of my life actually come together?
After all the afternoons training with Josh, grueling Saturday boot camps with fellow contestants, complete upheaval of my diet and daily exercises; would that be enough to blast me out of my comfort bubble?
Truthfully, down deep within my soul, I didn't know I could run the 5K until just before the race.
Josh asked if I wanted to walk the race.
Right then, I said, "No, I'm running it!."
I had to run and find that path outside my comfort zone.
The last hill caused me to slow briefly to a fast walk, but I finished it running!
As Josh said to me after the race, "This is only the beginning of what you can do."
I'm taking that advice and running with it.