But then life got busy and keeping in shape was something that just fell by the wayside.  I graduated from college, got married, and then the weight piled on.  For a time I was over 210 lbs, and though I carried it well, I still felt tired, clumsy, and nothing like the agile grappler I had been in high school.  I trimmed a little off and felt better at 198, but that was still not enough to make a big difference.

Then, about 7 years ago, I was channel surfing one Sunday and came across The Ironman Triathlon from Hawaii.  I was so amazed at the fitness, power, and dedication of those athletes that it just lit me up.  I knew then and there that I would have to do something because suddenly, I could not stand feeling like a bloated pig anymore.  It gave me that proverbial kick in the shorts that I needed to get off my lazy ass and change my evil ways.

That spring I began running and cycling.  I wasn’t very fast and didn’t go very far, but I was doing it.  Once fall came around, I joined the gym and added swimming to my training, and started going to spinning classes, which kicked my training into high gear.  Soon I was losing 5-6 lbs a month, and was feeling amazing.  The next spring I bought my first bike, and a year later did my first sprint triathlon.  Due to some knee issues I decided to focus only on cycling, but I still plan on doing a full triathlon one day.

If you’ve never seen the Ironman, I would recommend that you watch it sometime.  These people push themselves to the edge, and find out what they’re really made of.  Some are professionals, others just want to do it for bragging rights, some are just plain crazy.  But regardless of why they choose to push their limits, they are utterly inspiring.

Now even if I never do a full Ironman, just having the goal of something so big was what I needed to jump-start my goal of getting back in shape.  If I had simply had the nebulous goal of “getting back in shape” rather than something awesome and inspiring, I may never have trimmed of that 55 lbs.   Dreaming big kept that spark I needed to keep me on that path that has forever changed my life.  What’s your big dream?