Running the stairs with Rocky

Let's go back in time to the popular Rocky movie where he trains so hard, wears his body out, trains some more, sweats a lot, and finally runs up the stairs of the Philadelphia Art Museum and fist pumps his heart out! I visited those steps in December with my Aunt and we each took turns "sprinting" up and jumping for joy at the top. (Let me just tell you, Rocky makes it seem like those steps are like climbing Everest. They are more like steps to a museum, not a lot and well spaced.) Now, let's compare Rocky's training and my training. The obvious difference is I'm am not training for a fight club and I lack that sweet accent. When making the decision to change my life I needed to have a purpose and goal. First of all, I needed to find my Mickey.Mickey found and she's more than willing to kick my butt, hold me accountable and give praises when deserved. I've even found some dedicated fans who also cheer me on, hold me accountable and assist in the butt kicking. Now, Rocky had a goal, to kick some major heinie in the boxing ring. My goal is to lose some major heinie, gut, and pump up my muscles. Rocky and I have both jumped rope a million times, lifted weights, dripped sweat, cursed, hated Mickey, but most importantly conquered! At one point Adrian asks Rocky "Why do you want to fight?" Rocky's response "Because I can't sing or dance." Why do I want to fight? Because I can't go on eating what I want and not care about my health. In order to become the fighter I must continue my training. More importantly, I must recognize the times that I have won. I have yet to do this, so I'm going to visualize standing next to Rocky at the top of the Art Museum steps and fist pumping to the following successes:
A fist pump to staying in the gym for over a year.
A fist pump to losing over 50 pounds.
A fist pump to my first 5k.
A fist pump to my first half marathon.
A fist pump to running up Galena summit.
A fist pump to my fastest time for a short distance (even with a pit stop.)
A fist pump to eating healthier.
A fist pump to believing in myself.
A fist pump to increasing my weights.

There are 6 Rocky movies, thus there are 6 reason for Rocky to struggle during his journey of becoming one of the best fighters in the world. Unfortunately my struggles will not be finished in six movies. This is a life long fight. I will always have days that I want to give up. Days I will eat more junk that I should. Days I cry because I feel I have not accomplished anything. Days where I have to muster every ounce of strength just to walk into the gym. The biggest fight I need to win is continuing to recognize all the positive changes I am making. So, along with my friend Rocky, I will continue to run up those stairs to reach my goals. Won't you join me?




Apollo creed: Stay in school and use your brain. Be a doctor, be a lawyer, carry a leather briefcase. Forget about sports as a profession. Sports make you grunt and smell. See, be a thinker, not a stinker.