"Limping is still walking"

I can't remember if I blogged about it or just talked about it a lot (and clearly I'm too lazy to go back and check), but in the first half mile of the half marathon, we passed a (larger) girl walking with a pin on her backpack that said, "Limping is still walking".  It kind of choked me up!  As we pulled up next to her, I told her I liked her pin and she smiled.  Poor thing was walking by herself -- slowly -- but she was doing it!  I was so impressed!

A few days (or weeks or months) ago, this was in the SparkPeople email:

I don't know why this has been on my mind so much lately, but perhaps you need some encouragement and so I needed to post it.  Let me just tell you -- moving slowly is still moving.  Walking slowly is still moving.  Running slowly is still moving.  Lifting 2-pound weights is still moving.  Doing 10 situps is still moving.  Get it?  Do not be discouraged!  Here's something else I pinned to my "bodyspiration" board months ago:

Let me tell you:  THIS. IS. TRUE.  I used to huff and puff and sweat like a pig for 2 miles with my neighbor (and fear that I couldn't make it up the last teeny tiny uphill at the end before our street).  Now I regularly do 6 or more miles and run some.  And recently I went to my first Zumba class.  During the first 3 minutes, it occurred to me this is like 80s aerobics and I will probably die soon.  Imagine my surprise that although I did sweat like a pig, I didn't run out of air!  And I did the whole hour.  Shock.  That's the only word for it.

So be encouraged.  You too can be shocked by something you never thought was possible.  If you've already experienced it, tell me about it!  Maybe it's something as simple as:  one day you're sitting in a chair and you realize you can cross your legs.  And it's been YEARS since you did that.  YEARS.  And even though there's no elegant way to take a picture of your own legs crossed, you still do it because ohmyHEAD I CAN CROSS MY LEGS!