being good at doing good

this past weekend i walked in the Susan G Komen 3-Day for the Cure in Dallas, TX.  in case you don't know what that is or don't care to click that link to find out (which you should because it's important), it's a 60 mile, 3 day walk which raises money for breast cancer research and community programs.

i'm not here to wax poetic about the philanthropic aspects of the walk, i'm here to talk about the fact that i walked 60 FUCKING MILES IN 3 DAYS.  sorry for cursing but for once, i think it was warranted.

it wasn't easy, at all.  i cried, a lot, i whined, a lot and i thought about quitting, constantly.  but i didn't.  and to me, that's kind of amazing.

i've never been a particularly confident person but since completing the walk i sort of feel like i can do anything i set my mind to.  i used to almost believe this but once i started working towards a goal, i would often give up when i realized how hard it was going to be.  but i think i've experienced some kind of breakthrough.

during the walk there would be times when i would almost lose touch with reality (who me? never!) and start to believe that i would never finish walking.  literally, i had myself convinced that i would spend the rest of my life walking the streets of Dallas.  this has happened to me before at the gym but all i have to do is look at the clock on the treadmill and i can say "no, you're not gonna be on this machine for the rest of your life, you're gonna be on this machine for 17 more minutes."  you can't really do that when the awful thing you're doing last 3 days so, hence my break with reality.

obviously, it did end, and here i am, back on my couch in Brooklyn with a major accomplishment under my belt.

the point i am (somewhat loquaciously) getting at is that no matter how miserable something makes me, or how crazy i become whilst doing it, i can in fact accomplish my goals.

if i can walk 60 miles i can certainly lose weight, and maybe even check a few other things off the list along the way.

so basically, whatever it is you think you can't do?  bullshit i say!  i know you can.

-V

p.s. yes i have underwear on outside of my leggings in that picture, don't ask.