Just Rick: Houston, Two Years Later

Monday, June 18, 2012

Houston, Two Years Later

Two years ago, I sat down in a space shuttle simulator and could not fasten all of the safety harnesses because of my belly. It broke ... and changed ... my heart.

Ninety-five pounds later, I'm back in Houston to conduct interviews for another space shuttle-related book. Because of the end of the shuttle program, the simulator is now in the process of being moved to Texas A&M making it impossible to visit again.

So I did the next best thing. I found a 5k to run Saturday morning in downtown Houston. The last time I was here, I couldn't have walked a 5k, much less ran in one. The Dad's Day 5k here was my 10th race ... nine 5ks and one 10k ... and it was by far the muggiest and most humid one that I had done. There wasn't a dry stitch on me ... and thanks to David and Angela Hilmers for washing the nasty clothes after the race, so they'd be safe to put back in my suitcase for the flight home.

Believe it or not, I actually won a category in the event. I was first amongst runners from North Carolina ... that I was the ONLY runner from North Carolina is completely and utterly beside the point!

I finished the race in 30:48, 433rd out of 860 overall and 34th in my age group.

This is me in Houston, Texas on 22 June 2010.

This is me in Houston, Texas on 16 June 2012.

Maybe I shouldn't say it, but I'm proud of the difference.

1 comment:

toomuchcountryJune 18, 2012 at 12:58 PM
Remarkable Rick. Congrats for your on-going dedication and successes. However, I do question if your brain has shrunk along with the rest of you. Quoting you: "So I did the next best thing. I found a 5k to run Saturday morning in downtown Houston." Really? Of all the alternative things you could have done in Houston ... in June, you picked a 5K race to run? ha
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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.