Just Rick: Five Years

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Five Years

Five years ago today, I enjoyed one of the greatest opportunities of my life.

Five years ago today, I was in complete agony.

Five years ago today, I did a run on board the Space Shuttle motion-base simulator at Johnson Space Center. Alongside me was astronaut Doug Hurley, who had already flown STS-127 and who would go on to fly STS-135, the last Space Shuttle mission ever.

Five years ago today, the safety harnesses of the simulator would not fit because of my oversized belly. I've written and talked about the experience before, so I won't go into the gory details here. The fact is, I was devastated in a way unlike I'd ever been devastated before that day.

And I'm glad it happened.

Five years ago, I might have been smiling on the outside, but inside, I was a broken mess.

Since that day, I've walked and ran somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,500 miles and lost approximately 110 pounds. I would've never thought it possible, and maybe it wasn't. But I did it anyway.

I've lost count of the 5k races I've done, to go along with four ... or is it five? ... 10ks and three half marathons.

I've been chased by dogs ...

Darn near run over by more cars than I really care to count ...

Peed behind an abandoned convenience store ...

Pooped in the woods ...

Run in the snow ...

And rain ...

In 28-degree weather ...

And in the high 80s ...

Run in groups ...

And completely alone ...

Been beaten to a 5k finish line by a woman carrying a purse and wearing a pair of Uggs ...

And finished second in my age group ...

Gone through five pairs of running shoes ...

Been asked for my autograph ...

Smiled as people honked ...

Been flipped off ...

And, on one occasion, did the flipping off ...

Had my compression shorts fall to my knees during a race ...

Amassed one whale of a race T-shirt collection ...

Conquered hills that looked absolutely impossible ...

Along the way, I've given up Oreo cookies, Reese's Peanut Butter Cup eggs and Diet Pepsi. I'm still not skinny. I'll NEVER be skinny. And, to be honest, I've not actually lost any significant amount of weight in two or three years now. I can kind of eat like I want to, within reason. Here's a line I never thought I'd be able to say.

I'm happy with where I'm at.

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Why Just Rick?

Jeanie said one of the nicest things she's ever said to me recently, and out of that came the title of this blog ... Just Rick.

I spoke at a local church, and during the presentation, used some personal pictures from a few years ago. My weight-loss journey was not the topic, so I just showed the photographs and moved on without mentioning it.

Later, while we were driving home, she mentioned the photos.

"They were amazing," she began. "I don't think I'd realized how much weight you'd lost until I saw them."

I laughed. Really? I've been busting my butt for more than four years now, and you didn't notice? Geeeee ... thanks.

"No, that's not what I meant," Jeanie said. "I never saw you as being fat. I always saw you as just Rick, and that's the way I see you now, as just Rick."

I wish I could say the same, that I saw myself as just Rick when I looked in the mirror once upon a time. Instead, I was the fat kid who loved sports but couldn't play any very well at all. As an adult, I was the fat guy who'd been embarrassed by my weight more times than I could ever begin to count.

Even now, the memories stick with me. They're motivation to keep going, even when a run is getting really, really hard or I just can't imagine doing another rep in the Body Pump and boot camp classes I'm taking.

Come on, Fat Boy ...

Just Rick.

At my heaviest, my worth was not determined by my weight.

Today, my worth is not determined by how much weight I've lost, although I'm glad it's gone. My worth is determined by who I am as a husband, a father and most importantly, as a child of the One True King.