I was ready to hit the ground running in 2011-  I had the Disney Marathon to run, my love life was looking promising and I had gotten my personal training certification. Well I hit the ground running in 2011 but they forgot to warn me of the ice and I (figuratively) felt flat on my back. On my slide down, I must have hit my head and developed amnesia because I seem to have forgotten who I am.

I've been battling a Lupus flair up for weeks and just days before I was to leave on a flight to Florida for the Disney Marathon, I come down with pneumonia. I always finish what I start but in this case, I had no choice.  I was shaken but was determined to still go and enjoy myself in Florida. 

While I was there, I met a woman named Heather and her wonderful mother. Heather ran the Disney half marathon with Team in Training but that's not how I met her.  Facebook made us connect, it was through my interactions on Tracey Yukich's (season 8 of the Biggest Loser) page that Heather, who is a friend of Tracey, and I connected - cue music for "It's a Small World."

I watched Heather cross the finish line and we made plans to catch up the next day.  It wasn't until we sat down for some dinner that our conversation quickly turned to me and what 2011 was to bring me.  I had told Heather about my "hitting the ice" between the disappointment of having to drop out of a race, the frustration of being sick and the lackluster relationships I was in at the time.   As I sat there listening to myself talk, I noticed a common thread - I've done a lot of settling - I've settled for bad relationships ( both romantically and as friendships), I've settled at being at my current weight, I've settled at taking the back seat in most of the situations in my life. 

The truth is I am not a back seat kinda gal, I am a born leader and somehow I forgot that.  I started off with 2011 being the year I meet my goals but as the haze of my fall clears and I've dusted myself off, my focus has shifted to reclaiming my role as a leader.  I've made massive changes in the past few weeks, I've enrolled in a leadership development program in Dallas, I've taken on a leadership role in Pride DC as the Chair of the Educational and Cultural Committee, I've started to prepare for my role as a Mentor for the next season of Team in Training marathoners (which is only one week away) and I've given myself a creative outlet by joining a performing arts class to hone in my confidence.  I'm excited for what 2011 has to bring me and for remembering that I don't have to settle for the back seat. I look forward to becoming a better leader in my own life, in my relationships with others and in my community.

Ready to run in the front of the pack,

The Fat Runner