I never liked organized fitness activities. Running, aerobics and other sports were just not my thing. I loved to ride my bike and I loved roller skating but if it made my muscles burn or made me tired I quit. Nobody in my family was active so I fit right in. This continued on through highschool. When I became a mother the only exercise I did I was chasing kids around and getting in extra steps by parking at the back of the parking lot of the grocery store.
When I started Kaia I was so out of shape. It was January 2017. I had recently watch From Fat to Finish Line and knew that I wanted to do a half marathon. I wasn’t sure how I would do it but I knew I wanted to. I wanted to challenge myself to do hard things. I had recently became a single Mom and I wanted to be an example to my kids. I wanted them to grow up strong and excited to try new things! I had to do it for myself.
I shared with my Kaia coaches that I wanted to do a half marathon in 2018 and they told me that I could do it this year- I didn’t have to wait. So in June 2017 I did my first half marathon with one of my coaches who stayed by my side the whole way and made sure I got across the finish line. It was the hardest thing I had ever done but I did it! One month later I filled a spot on a Ragnar Trail team and as slow as I was- I finished that one too. That was the most exhilarating thing I had ever done! After that I did the Tahoe Flume half marathon, the Emerald Bay trail run and many 5k’s mixed in.
In 2018 I had decided to switched to all trail runs. I was convinced (or I had a severe case of FOMO) into doing the Rock Tahoe again with my Kaia Girls. I trained more for this one and shaved 12 minutes off my time- I crossed the finish line in tears- I had worked so hard to get faster. I also went back and did Ragnar again and shaved time off each leg of the relay.
Everyone’s fitness journey is different. Some people dive in and never look back. Others dive in and then go through periods of time where they are not as engaged as they once were. Could be for a number of reasons- life got away from them, stress, or depression. I am the latter and needed some encouragement from my sisters to get back to it. They did just that. I am getting ready to participate in the Lake Tahoe Triathlon as part of a relay team. I am doing the running portion, but this inspired me to get a road bike and get out and train as if I was doing the bike portion too. My plan is to do the whole sprint triathlon next year myself. I was also inspired to do a 55k next summer as well. I am a slow runner so this distance scares me but a friend of mine (another Kaia girl) just power hiked the whole thing. That was all I needed to hear.
I want to keep challenging myself to do hard things, to be an inspiration to my children and grandchildren. Kaia FIT helps me to do just that. Not just the workouts but the inspiration I get from my Kaia sisters. Because of Kaia FIT I will never stop moving my body and challenging myself.
XOXO
Debra Garner