On January 1, 2009 Graham Levy made a conscious decision to change his life. He didn't want to make a big change that wouldn't last – that was too much like a New Years resolution, instead he made small, incremental changes that would amount to one huge change further on down the road. He started with his eating habits – making healthier choices and downsizing his portions. He got his neighbour, whom he carpooled with, to drop him off 2km away from his work so he would be forced to walk daily.
A co-worker was training for the Blue Nose Half Marathon. It was an intriguing thought but, at this time, not one that Graham pursued. At 225 pounds he worried about the horror stories he'd heard of overweight people blowing out their knees when trying to run. He decided he would wait until he reached his goal of 180 pounds before lacing up his sneakers. It would take him another year.
In April of 2010, that same co-worker was once again training for the Blue Nose, only this time he was training for the full marathon. Graham was inspired. He started running 500 meters, walked a bit, than ran again. Soon he was running a 4km loop. He was 41 years old and it was the first time he'd run since he was a teenager. Whoopee!! In June he signed up for a 5km training course at the Running Room, in September he enrolled in the 10k course. He was now, officially, addicted.
In October he decided to do something crazy (I blame it on the lack of oxygen going to his brain from running so much!). He made up his mind to train for the Blue Nose Marathon. If his body let him down and he couldn't complete the training for the full marathon, he would merely adjust his goals and run the half – in its self a commendable goal.
He purchased a book on marathon training and slowly began building up his distance until he was at the point where he could start his marathon training. He wasn't daunted by the weather – he ran in snow, ice, rain (and more rain) – buying spikes for his sneakers so he wouldn't slip, and drying out by the woodstove when he got home.
His training peaked two weeks ago at 33km. It was the high and the low of his journey thus far. At 27km he hit the wall. The tiny voice of self doubt rang loudly in his head. Are you crazy, you can't do this! But he persevered and suffered through the remaining 6km. It took him almost 4 hours. It was then he heard another voice, barely a whisper saying 'you can do this!'.
I like Graham's story because it echoes so many of our own. The challenges we face are not always life-threatening. Sometimes the biggest obstacle we face is ourselves. Graham's determination to challenge himself, to push himself beyond what he thought he could do, is inspiring.
In one week, Graham will complete his first full marathon. I can't wait to hear his name as he crosses the finish line.
Good luck to you, Graham!
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