It's Possible

Got this comment from Laura...a sweet friend of ours in Spain.

Still on the fence? Still undecided? You can do this!

From Laura...

While I won't be able to participate in this race (since I live really far away), I loved Shannan's comment and wanted to encourage others to run as well, because I am living proof that it's possible - if I could do it, so can they!

The reason why? When I started at A&M I was 50 pounds overweight. I used to walk past all of the sorority tables with their 5k fundraisers and think, "Ha! no way I'll ever be able to do that!" Like Shannan, I could only run for 60 seconds at a time, and then it took me a full 2-3 minutes to catch my breath before I could run another minute. But sophomore year I decided I was sick of telling all those cute skinny people that I couldn't run in their race to save the children and made a goal to run in a 5k. At that point I could just barely run 3 minutes at a time.

As physical as it was, it was also a very spiritual battle. I had to rely on God for strength. I had to go to Him for discipline. I had to believe that He made me beautiful no matter my size or running ability. I had to be ultra vulnerable and ask Him for help every single day. I had to share my success and failure with friends who encouraged me. I had to lay down my pride and let people see my fat jiggle. That was the hardest part.

I started with what I could do - 3 minutes - and worked with that. Run 3 minutes, walk 2, run 3, walk 2...keep it going for half an hour. Push it to run 4, walk 2. It wasn't long before I reached my goal of 5k. And when I reached it, I thought, "why stop there?" I went on to run in 2 half marathons that year, and now I'm training for my 3rd. And in the process, I lost 60 pounds (I also didn't drink a single coke that year and started eating healthy)! The best part though, was believing that I was beautiful long before I lost any of that weight. I had to believe God, and it was worth it.

So for any ladies reading this who think they can't, I hope my story encourages you to believe God. You are beautiful, you are His, and He will give you what you need to do it, if you just let Him.

-Laura