Today on Facebook there is a post going around that starts off "To the fatty running on the Westview track this afternoon:". It then goes into a set of statements about how slow and shuffling the pace is, how often the runner has to take breaks, and how self-conscious they seem to be due to not being a fit, natural runner.
Then the hook-the auther is impressed (well, he uses language I won't repeat here, but yeah, impressed). The rest of the piece talks about how motivating the runner is-getting out and trying, not giving in to obesity, bad habits, poor diet and sometimes even genetics. He ends by saying "I have nothing but respect for you. You've got this."
I recently had the same experience when swimming laps at a YMCA indoor pool. About halfway through my workout the water aerobics class needed the area outside the lane ropes where I had been swimming due to a local high school swim team using the lanes. I had to admit watching the water aerobics class enter the water was interesting-many were seriously, maybe morbidly, obese and a few left canes, a walker and in one case a motorized transport chair by the pool. But I had to remember two things: I had started my swim acknowledging how far I had fallen back as I was only swimming half a mile compared to longer/harder swims "back in the day." Second, I had to remind myself that these dozen or so people were the ones making an effort. They hadn't admitted defeat. They were the only other people working out in the pool-no one else was swimming laps or water jogging. They were the "champions" telling themselves and their fat they were taking control as of right then.
So to the water aerobics class, Hinesville GA YMCA: I have nothing but respect for you. You've got this.
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