Hey, Fat Girl.

Kagemori

this made m tear up as well. It is so beautiful, I love it. May God forever bless the person who wrote it.

denisebee

Beautiful and true.

Hearts_2015

I want to preface this with the fact that I did not write this, I am however the Fat Girl and this blog made me tear up, because it hit home!

(This is a blog entry from flintland.blogspot.com)

Hey, Fat Girl.

Yes, you. The one feigning to not see me when we cross paths on the
running track. The one not even wearing sports gear, breathing heavy.
You’re slow, you breathe hard and your efforts at moving forward make
you cringe.

You cling shyly to the furthest corridor, sometimes making larger loops
on the gravel ring by the track just so you’re not on it. You sweat so
much that your hair is all wet. You rarely stay for more than 20 minutes
at a time, and you look exhausted when you leave to go back home. You
never talk to anyone. I’ve got something I’d like to say to you.

You are awesome.

If you’d look me in the eye only for an instant, you would notice the
reverence and respect I have for you. The adventure you have started is
tremendous; it leads to a better health, to renewed confidence and to a
brand new kind of freedom. The gifts you will receive from running will
far exceed the gigantic effort it takes you to show up here, to face
your fears and to bravely set yourself in motion, in front of others.

You have already begun your transformation. You no longer accept this
physical state of numbness and passivity. You have taken a difficult
decision, but one that holds so much promise. Every hard breath you take
is actually a tad easier than the one before, and every step is ever so
slightly lighter. Each push forward leaves the former person you were
in your wake, creating room for an improved version, one that is
stronger, healthier and forward-looking, one who knows that anything is
possible.

You’re a hero to me. And, if you’d take off the blaring headphones and
put your head up for more than a second or two, you would notice that
the other runners you cross, the ones that probably make you feel so
inadequate, stare in awe at your determination. They, of all people,
know best where you are coming from. They heard the resolutions of so
many others, who vowed to pick up running and improve their health,
“starting next week”. Yet, it is YOU who runs alongside, who digs from
deep inside to find the strength to come here, and to come back again.

You are a runner, and no one can take that away from you. You are
relentlessly moving forward. You are stronger than even you think, and
you are about to be amazed by what you can do. One day, very soon, maybe
tomorrow, you’ll step outside and marvel at your capabilities. You will
not believe your own body, you will realize that you can do this. And a
new horizon will open up for you. You are a true inspiration.

I bow to you.

This hasn't been up for awhile..time to bump it!:drinker:

Autazell

This was so me today! I'm on day three of c25k and I can still barely get through the 60 second runs. I was getting lapped like crazy and wishing I had gotten out of the house earlier so I wouldn't have to run with so many people. Thanks for posting this.

TMcChamp

caitlynah12

Omg. I love this so much. Thanks for sharing!

SheilaG1963

I copied and pasted it and printed it. I think I'm going to frame it and hang it on my wall at home!

alw141

Words escape Me at the moment, but I am deeply moved... Thank You times a million for posting this...

: ))

^^^This! Thank you!

FixIngMe13

Man.... this put things into perspective! What a great post.... Whoever wrote this... I totally love you! :flowerforyou:

viglet

I totally needed that... thank you!

gorbygirl

I needed to see this today. thank you. in the last two weeks, i had someone make me feel in adequate when i was walking the track at our local elementary school. i tried not let let it bother me but it really upset my stepson who was walking with me to support me.

mebohan

Saved this 1 year ago... same emotion reading it now... here's to another year!

priya950

Thanks For Sharing :-)

playprettie1

Great post!

Lannister80

I don't think there's a better topic to post my first comment in.

I am that girl. I just started running/jogging on the treadmill in March, and I felt amazing over what my body was accomplishing. I didn't know what I was capable of. Yet, I still felt really self conscious next to the people running at full speed while I chugged along at 3.0-3.5 mph for 30 minutes. My feet started twinging, so I bought high quality Asics to make them better. But as the weather got hotter and my feet still strained, I stopped running. I went on the treadmill once a week before seeing my trainer. Yesterday, I realized that I was walking above 2.5 mph again without hurting. I felt self conscious about going back.

But after reading that? I'm going tonight, and I'm going to start moving again.

There was somebody at the gym a couple months who came up to me and praised me for all my efforts and evident hard work. I felt awkward that this person in amazing shape was complimenting me and thought they were just trying to make me feel better. Now? I think I'll finally start believing that people like that do exist, and I think I'm finally going to start posting in here as well. Hi. :-)

jenijen25

awwww < 3

cindy_975

I am in the overweight category, with usually anywhere from 10-30lbs to loose.
I also do long bike rides periodically with a friend who cycles a lot. I don't, so I am not so fast.
I typically do a 60-80 mile portion, and am one of the slower people on the longer routes (the shorter routes have more of the slower recreational riders). So I get passed a lot by super fast cyclists (sometimes multiple times depending on course, rest stations, etc.). As I am plodding along, a lot of these fast cyclists yell "great job' as they speed by me. These cyclists don't know that I don't really need encouragement (I am not competitive about these rides, its more the journey), but I think it's great. Because someone they pass will need it and it will help them up that hill that never ends in the hot sun. I would guess that they recognize that people who aren't hardcore and don't train for these things all the time are much more taxed on these rides than they are. And we are probably carrying extra weight, which makes it harder, too.

So, yeah, they are faster and in better shape than me. But while I am getting faster and getting in better shape, some things are a lot more work for me than for someone already in great shape.

smsquash

Thank you for posting this. Now I'm crying at work, darn it. Really though, thank you.