Come on, Ol' Grandma

Back when I was a child, my body always seemed to betray me. The other kids could easily skate down the neighbor's steep driveway while I was lucky if I landed on my bottom instead of my knees. Other kids would sail up the hills on their bikes while I'd get off and walk. Oh, and the worst betrayal of my body by far was its performance in gym class. Gymnastics... torture. President's Physical Fitness testing... worst torture of all.

I always threw up on days when we were tested on the 600 yard dash. Not from the physical exertion, but from knowing that I was about to fail miserably. In the 6th grade, most of my classmates had already finished the run when one other girl and I still had 200 yards to go. As we entered the last lap, she looked at me as if to say, "I am SO not running this lap with a loser like you!", and she took off leaving me gasping for air, and struggling to walk/jog the remaining 100 yards. My gym teacher, Mr. Mac, a burly former football player/military type, had little use for the weak kids, least of all for me. He started loudly chanting, "Come on, Old Grandma". One by one, my classmates joined in until I staggered across the finish line to about 50 voices jeering me in unison. (Lest you think he was a total monster, he didn't know I had an underlying, then-undiagnosed, neuromuscular disease, and who knows? maybe his taunts were motivated from a desire to spur me to become more physically fit. Mr. Mac, wherever you are, I forgave you a long time ago.)

In many ways forgiving Mr. Mac has been a much easier journey than forgiving this traitorous body of mine which never allowed me to just be average... normal. Never allowed me to be the athlete that I secretly desired to be.

Never, that is, until a few weeks ago! Climbing onto my Nustep exerciser has opened a new world to me. How utterly ironic that the lowest physically fit level of my entire life would open doors to being the athlete I always have wanted to be. Relatively speaking, from where I started to where I see it may be possible to go, a minor (?) miracle is at work. (Tennessee is ranked 47th of all the states based on percentage of the population who exercise at least once a month. Here I am a seriously disabled, overweight Tennessean who is overcoming the odds by finding a means and the discipline to exercise, and combining that with very healthy eating!)

Tomorrow marks 8 weeks since I started using my Nustep exerciser. I'm continuing to increase the resistance level, length of the workout, and speed at which I cycle.

8 weeks ago: 20 minutes, level 4-5, about 70 steps/minute.
This week: 60 minutes, level 7, about 140 steps/minute!

My personal best this week was on Wednesday: 100 minutes, level 7, 13,300 steps, 520 calories burned.

I'm acquiring some serious muscles in my upper arms and legs. I'm perspiring! Tightening abdominal muscles. And I'm having a ball! I close my eyes and it feels l like I'm soaring around that elementary school running track, and instead of jeering classmates, I have all of you cheering and high-fiving me as I smile a face-splitting grin while crossing the finish line.

There's just one thing left to say in this post: "My dear wonderful body, I forgive you and I ask you to forgive me for not recognizing before now what a treasure you are."