Small Victories

“Small victories. You have to look at the little picture before you look big picture.” I actually said that ha ha. That’s my quote for you. That is what I tell myself every day. A small victory is going into your pantry and grabbing pretzel sticks over cookies. A small victory is stepping into the gym after a long day at work. A small victory is finishing your set, even if your arms or legs are shaking. A lot of people say “I want to lose 35 pounds by summer”… but they say this in April. Bro, summer is 60 days away, be realistic.

I quit smoking when Gavin was born in 2011. However, I would still sneak a smoke every now and then. It actually got worse last fall. I started up again, briefly. Stress of a looming promotion and strenuous travel schedule got the better of my judgment. I got sick with pneumonia in early December and I would collapse to my knees winded after walking 15 steps from my bedroom to my bathroom. I remember sitting on my bathroom floor, my back resting against the tub, my head in my hands struggling to breathe. I was coughing, gagging, and gasping for air. As I finally got the strength to stand, I sat down on the toilet and took a leak that way…sitting down…I was humiliated. I had to know. I got on the scale…307. I was back to the number I had started at in March of 2016 when I committed to running and losing weight. Remember, just in July I had finished my first 5K and got myself down to 267 pounds. 307…the exact…same…number. I lost all that progress and my health was deteriorating. It was my own fault. My asthma was out of control. My wife said “you’re done right, like you learned your lesson now? Was the nicotine worth it?”….”no” was my response.

It took me a month to feel better. At that point, I re-quit smoking and haven’t touched a cigarette since Thanksgiving 2016. The pneumonia cleared up but a new health issue emerged, obstructive sleep apnea. On December 27, the world received the news that Carrie Fisher had passed away. Princess Leia from Star Wars became one with the Force. Of course, her history with drugs was brought to light but sleep apnea had played a part in her cardiac arrest. Scary. One of my all-time favorite athletes, Eagles and Packers legend Reggie White had died due to complications of sleep apnea. That was the first time I had ever heard of it. Billie (my wife) had video-taped me napping and sleeping several times so she could point out that not only did I snore, but I would stop breathing altogether then gasp for breath in my sleep. I was dying, literally. It scared the bejesus out of me. 27 seconds was the longest amount of time I had stopped breathing only to gasp for air after 27 seconds.

“Come on dude. You’re killing yourself” is all I heard in my own head. So, I committed to cutting out junk and soda. I started running again. I’m a cold weather runner. Believe it or not, it’s so good for my asthma and I bundle up. I do some of my best running in the cold. The summer time…not so much. So I ran. I ran, and used the time to think about my life and improvements I can make because I want to be around a long time not just for me, but for my wife. For my boys. All the things I hate about running returned but over time they became the things I loved. The achy knees and calves returned. Also, the shin splits (damn them), and the burning lungs… my God, the burning lungs. The mental battle came back. It ALL came back but over time, I learned. I learned that as my feet grew (as they do when you run consistently, regardless of your age-fact) I needed new, quality running shoes. The shin splints went way, as did the numbness in my feet. I found my pace (13:30/miles) as slow as it was, and that made the calf pain go away. My lungs felt great from the winter-spring because like I said, I’m a cold weather runner. So then, I handled the sleep apnea. I had a take home sleep test done and of coursed it revealed I had significant obstructive sleep apnea. I was fitted for a CPAP and have used it every night since. This, and the addition of a new bed, did wonders for my sleep habits, and my overall health. I was energized in the morning upon awakening. I wasn’t getting up several times throughout the night due to lack of oxygen. The energy gave me more energy to use during the day which was spent in the gym on my lunch breaks.

Small victories. It starts with taking care of you. Whether that’s addressing your diet, your exercise routine, your health problems, do it. Win. You deserve to win. You work hard every day, right? You deal with stupid people all day, right? Your kids, God bless them, can get under your skin, or maybe it’s your spouse or your sibling(s). Life happens, so you know what? Get out there and get a small victory. A friend recently babysat my kids while I went out with my wife and he says “hey man, I saw you had your workout calendar hanging on your pantry. You lost like 30 pounds man, great job I’m proud of you.” I said “yeah I have to hang my workout schedule and weight chart on the pantry so when I walk up to it, I see my progress and am reminded of my hard work and it makes me really think about the choices I’m about to make for dinner or a snack. It’s the little things”. Small victories. I coach baseball and soccer. My kids have swim class and Cub Scouts. We try not to miss a single activity. I will sacrifice things I love to do for the gym because my health is now a priority. For those that know me, you know I love college football, especially my Temple Owls. I had season tickets for like 7 years. I gave them up for the 2017 season because I was committed to coach my son’s soccer team, get my gym workout in and still leave time to do chores. I miss it, and one day I will get my tickets back, but I need small victories of my own. The team will win (or lose) without me. So take the good with the bad, but make time for you and don’t make excuses. Excuses are what got me fat and unhealthy to begin with.

You’re going to sit on your coach tonight and watch sports, or TV right? Probably for more than an hour. You’re telling me you can’t DVR that or just not watch and go run or hit a gym for 45 minutes? “But gyms cost money”…ok but running in your neighborhood is free. Also, did I or did I not see you posting pics with your $4 Pumpkin Spice Latte? You cut out maybe 5 of those a month and you can afford to go to the gym. I'm not saying "Everyone run! Everyone join a gym!"

What I am saying is go find a small victory, whatever that may be, and cut the excuses.

post- home treadmill run