"Aint No Stoppin Us Now," BY: McFadden and Whitehead and "Lose Yourself" BY: M & M are by far my favorite inspirational anthems. My favorite line in M's song is: Failure is NOT an option. I'm always amazed at who and what I'm inspired by. I'm even more amazed at the times in my life when that source of inspiration kicks in. It seems to happen for me when I need it the most; which is daily.
Last year, I created a Santa Monica Stairs Meet up group; which meets every Sunday at the stairs in Santa Monica (4th & San Vicente) to run/walk the stairs. The first time I went, I walk/jogged up those stairs (10) times; which was a huge accomplishment for me. I eventually built my stamina and endurance up to walk/jog and even sprint up those stairs (25) times. Those stairs are the absolute best lower body workout. They hit you right where we women need it, in our glutes, hamstrings, calves and quads. Not to mention, it's a phenomenal test of your stamina and endurance. The best part; however, is being outdoors breathing in fresh air and every now and again standing at the top of those wooden steps and looking West at the Pacific Ocean. It's a spiritual high for me. IT is my church.
Last Sunday was my first time there in nearly (5) weeks and I felt it. I was unable to jog up the stairs. Seriously...by the time I made it to the top on my first walk up, I thought I was going to pass all the way out. Not half way out, but pass ALL the way, totally and completely out. I found myself stopping....I NEVER stop. By the time I made it to the the second landing, with hands on my hips, to catch my breath, I realized I needed to tap into my reservoir of inspiration. See...I didn't want to pass out in front of random people and wake up to some sweaty, strange man performing mouth-to-mouth on me; so I slowed my tail down. For an instant, I looked down at the stairs I managed to barely climb up and thought about walking back down to the bottom. Then the song, by M & M came on in my head: "Lose yourself." I then reminded myself of who I was. It didn't matter how long it took me to get up those stairs or how fast or how many I was able to complete that day. All that mattered was that I didn't allow failure to be an option. Those stairs are symbolic of the obstacles and challenges we face in our lives. If I can make it to the top...I"ll be okay. If I make it to the top, I can see another day. If we're NOT winning at our lives, then we're NOT truly living our lives.
Some people actually think, because I'm a trainer, that I'm good at everything physical. Obviously those people are not my mother, sister and Duchess. I'm not good at a lot of things physical. I'm just relentless. I let nothing, including myself, and no one stop me.
Today, Sunday, January 16th, 2011 - I, Fee King, was scheduled to run my first half marathon. Now listen...I am NOT a runner. I ran track; however, distance running was not my specialty. However, I agreed to run this half marathon with my meet up groups co-host, Tammy Belay, to help me for the marathon I'm running in March. The race started at 7:00 a.m. and I woke up at 6:40 a.m. I was upset with myself for all of 1 minute when I realized, I still had to work on some self-sabotaging issues that I have. I was not prepared in the least bit from the lack of sleep I've been experiencing, to not having the proper dry-fit clothing, down to needing another pair of running shoes that offered more support than the brand new running shoes I just bought that set me back $100. So, what did I do you ask? I let go of the useless emotion: guilt. I stayed in action. Instead of going back to sleep for some much needed rest, I drove myself to the beach and set a specific and focused goal. I reminded myself of the lyric in McFadden & Whitehead's song and told myself that there was NO stopping me now; except me. Running the half marathon was to be a first for me. Since that didn't happen, I decided to set another first; which was to run, non-stop for a minimum of 1-hour along the beach. After (20) minutes of running, I was ready to walk/jog, but there was No stopping me now. After (22) minutes, I saw no harm in walk/jogging the rest of this hour; however, I kept going. At the (35) minute mark, I started to get bored and was really ready to walk; but I didn't. I ran for a total of 61-minutes. As my body slowed to an abrupt stop after that hour, it felt as if my thick thighs were going to collapse from up under me...but they didn't. We're only as good and capable as we believe we are. I didn't know how I would run for an hour; all I knew is it was important to me and for me to push through the pain. I figure if my mother could endure labor pains to push me out into this world, surely I could endure a little muscle fatigue, uncomfortableness and heavy breathing that would not only change and improve my body, but more importantly change and improve my mind, my determination and my focus.
So, the next time you think about stopping, quitting or giving up on yourself, I implore you to think of those two songs to help you get through it and to i: "Aint No Stoppin us Now" and ""Lose Yourself". After all...WE have to get our Spritiual House in Order Today, in 2011, right?
Keep it Fit and Fabulous
Fee King
www.uniquefeesiquesla.com
FYI! Look for our 3rd installation of our City Wide "Think & Grow Fit" Weightloss Challenge- Jan 22nd.
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