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| Biggest Loser Marathon Season 12 Debbie and Johnny - running |
I am a sucker for the Biggest Loser marathon. I am. And I'm glad they brought it back this year.
I know critics will argue that people don't live like that in reality, with trainers around the clock and nothing to do but train but so what?
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| me at my heaviest |
Aside from the training / reality debate of it all, I still feel a swell of emotion when I watch it. Perhaps it's because I can relate to these people. A few years ago, I could've qualified to be a contestant on the Biggest Loser. At 236 pounds I would've fit right in at the ranch. Like those contestants, running two feet at my highest weight was extremely difficult, running 26.2 was flat out impossible. I would've laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of the suggestion. Better chance of me going to the moon. It was that impossible.
Yet, like the biggest loser contestants, I found health, the power of believing in yourself, the willingness to try and an incredible physical and emotional transformation.
I guess for me, as each one of those contestants cross the finish line, it reminds me of my own journey of literally going "from fat to finish line." I know what it feels like to come back from practically being dead -- from killing yourself through self-loathing, enough to eat yourself into a hole of fatness that you're not sure you'll ever find your way out of.
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| me this past Sat. night. |
But somehow they and I - whether it was from luck, hard work, a TV show, a gift from God or whatever -- found the strength to put one foot in front of the other and save ourselves. We got out of that hole and to a starting line. We found a life worth living.
All of their lives are changed from this experience. From Ramon who finished around the 5 hour mark to Jennifer who sobbed tears of joy into the arms of Bob for her accomplishment…
I was truly moved by 65 year old Johnny and 60 year old Debbie, who stuck together and walked much of it but soldiered on to cross that finish line, even though it took more than 10 hours.
My heart broke for Joe who DNF'ed because the show doctor pulled him a little over mile 20 -- he was so close and was determined to finish but the doc feared long term injury and wouldn't allow him to. My heart ached for him, even if it was the right decision. I would've been devastated to have to quit and I saw a new competitor in him (even though he was walking) who didn't want to give up in his eyes.
If nothing else, I hope that some people who watch the show and have ever thought, "I can't" can see that there always is a way to "can" instead.
Deep breath. Allow me to dry my tears and switch topics...
First, a shout out to all my new followers, thank you. I'm so happy to have you and I love your comments. Please stick around and contribute!
And in other news… The big winner of the Jack LaLanne juicer is Book Dragon! Book Dragon was selected thru Random Number Generator.
Contact me so I can make arrangements to ship you your winnings!!
Did you watch the BL's marathon? What did you think?
XO
Jen
I love the BL marathon too. You look great! Be proud of your accomplishments!!
ReplyDeleteI don't watch BL regularly, but I did tune in for the marathon. It was so great and I was really touched by Johnny and Debbie coming in at the end, too. I can't imagine for walking for 10+ hours. The whole thing was very inspiring. You look fantastic!!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Book Dragon! I really enjoy Biggest Loser and I cried during the marathon. I think it was so emotional for me because this year I went from mostly walking a mile to running a half marathon. Love the show and can't wait for finale!
ReplyDeleteYour red dress is gorgeous!
great minds think alike I guess
ReplyDeleteeven have the same picture!!
I felt the same way about the BL marathon!!!
ReplyDeleteFor the record, YOU are inspiring!
I love BL, but rarely have time to watch. Sooo, I was super happy that I caught this week's episode. It was amazing to see how each person overcame the challenges of that distance and finished. So inspirational!
ReplyDeleteI too enjoy the show and even the marathon but there are so many things wrong about it that it scares me to think that there are obese people out there who think they can just jump into a marathon.
ReplyDeleteSee this show is condensed to once a week and fit into a nice little television season when in reality it is longer than that and I hope that people understand that training for a marathon takes time.
Secondly, they did not focus on nutrition / hydration during the marathon and again another fear of mine is people believing they don't need to drink during a marathon or consume calories because you do.
Thirdly, while the Dr feared for Joe and Vinny and took them off the course I feel it is a bit disingenuous to leave 60 year olds who are still not in the peak of fitness to stay on there feet for over 10 hours to complete the 26.2 miles. That is much harder than what Ramon did. To me that seemed to be a bit backwards but I'm not a Dr so I can't say for sure.
All that aside it is a great accomplishment for sure.
BTW - your pic on the right looks great. Congrats on your accomplishment......
Dang Jen!!!! You look SMOKING HOT in that red dress!!! Grrrrrrrrrr!
ReplyDeleteThanks all -
ReplyDeleteJason, I appreciate your thoughts on this but I don't think one obese person who watches this show (and I speak from the perspective of once being an obese person) thinks they can "just get up and do a marathon." Most obese people far, far underestimate their abilities rather than overestimate them.
I would argue that it's not condensed into a week as the trainers openly talk about training for the marathon from day one on the ranch and from the first episode -- I think most viewers realize that these folks didn't attempt such a feat on day one but thru months of training and losses of, in some cases 100 pounds or more - which has been demonstrated and continually documented thru the show over the course of the season.
Perhaps they could re-emphasize the intensive training that all these people went thu, especially for those viewers who only watch this episode and maybe they could do a better job with discussing hydrating and nutrition along the course.
I agree that there are small issues that prevent this from being a perfect show but the inspirational messages of "hard work, setting fitness goals, believing in yourself, and being able to do anything you set your mind to," far outweigh the negatives in my humble opinion.
In fact, when I first decided to take the half marathon plunge, in the back of my mind and through out my own training I would often think about the BL folks. If they could do it, I could too.
I have always been worried about people just jumping into the marathon. I know they talk about the training and the timing but we also talk about avoiding the use of credit cards all the time and people still run up their debt.
ReplyDeleteIt's just a lot to work to run a marathon and I want people to enjoy the experience so they keep doing it and if they get hurt then they may never return to the sport.
You already know what I think - but you look absolutely gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI watched the BL marathon for the first time, believe it or not, and I found it so inspirational as well. Like you, I can relate to the contestants. I was especially motivated by Johnny. That was awesome.
I had to laugh when the girl that started out first said she felt awesome at Mile 1 and would keep up her pace to win. I said to my husband, "Everyone feels great at Mile 1!"
I cried watching the BL marathon! It got me motivated too! So yeah, I'm back to running as you know. And back to blogging as of today =)
ReplyDeleteJason- fair enough. It's totally valid.
ReplyDeleteSara, TY - and I laughed at that too. Feeling good at mile 1! hahaha…
Welcome back to blogging Julie! Missed you and excited to see pick up with your journey again :)
OMG OMG OMG OMG....ah, guess who?
ReplyDeleteI forgot about BL, not watching much television and even after reading about it (here) I forgot to DVR it. {blush}
I've got to tell you, you're an inspiration and that "me this past Sat night" photo? WOW!
20 minutes of Squats? I'm sure the time was spent in some sort of time-distortion chamber ;)
Oh! My email is bookdragonslair at gmail dot com, I didn't see yours.
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