August 7th, 2010 is a day that forever changed my life. I was ending one chapter and starting another. Without this day, I would not be here writing, I wouldn't be with my current fiancé, and I wouldn't live in South Dakota. I may actually have been living an incredibly different life without August 7th, 2010. I know that I would not be attempting this race on April 28th, 2012.
A little back story... August 7th, 2010 was my first day working at a new job. Before this, I had worked somewhere for about two and a half years. The place I worked isn't important, or even anything in specific about the job. The important thing is that if I hadn't made the change, my world would be a whole lot different.
During my first few weeks of training I met a good friend, let's call her, Zilem. Zilem was actually my trainer at the time and taught me almost everything I knew about how to do my job. Zilem liked to tell us stories of her life to lighten the mood of the monotonous training. One day she told us a story that is why I am where I am at with my goals today.
You see, Zilem was training for her first half marathon and was set to complete it on her 30th birthday. She was never a runner before this, but always had wanted to be. She wasn't built for running, but that didn't matter. Almost every night she would go home and spend time with her family and find a way to incorporate training into her everyday life. Evening walks, nightly runs, etc... became a staple in her life.
Well, the day came. Race day was finally here! She's at the starting line and looks around to see the other people about to race with her. There's "everyday" people and "every-other day people. There's even a guy that has an Iron Man tattoo on his leg. I remember vividly her telling me she knew she wasn't going to beat that guy. And then she ran.
Zilem finished the half marathon on her 30th birthday exactly like she said she was going to do. She ran her half-marathon, 13.1 miles, and did it without walking the entire way. It was inspiring to know her while she stayed steadfast to a goal and actually saw it through. Before her, I don't know of any other situation where I got to witness it firsthand. This story is what inspired me to do my race. I want to be like Zilem and be able to go home knowing I did something I said I was going to do.
That year, I met my fiancé. We worked together over the next year. There were ups and downs, but we both knew it would work out in the end. Here's a picture of us this year.
Well, she came to me in July of 2011 and asked me to move to South Dakota with her. I knew I loved this girl so it only made perfect sense. I didn't give it a second thought and away we went and I haven't regretted that decision for an instant since. I live a great, albeit extremely different, life. Where I am today compared to just one year ago amazes me. I think back to five years ago and would never have seen myself here now.
Every day affects everyone. Without any given day, our futures would greatly change. Without August 7th, 2011 I wouldn't be writing this and you wouldn't be reading this. It not only affects me, but in its own small little way, it affected you. I try to remember this whenever I'm having a bad day. Everything I do affects those around me in some way, no matter how small.
I want to thank Zilem for the life lesson she taught me. She did something incredible simply by putting her mind to it and following through. Partly because of her I am attempting this race. Because of the man with the tattoo on his leg of the Ironman and the way Zilem "knew" she wasn't going to beat him, I'm setting my goal of an Ironman by the time I'm 30. Zilem inspired me to do something better with my life. Thank you for helping to guide me through the madness.
