It was released today.
The article is hard to read from this image. Here is the body of the text:
By Cyrus Moulton
from The Winter 2015-16 Springfield Educator
She initially thought completing a 100-
mile plus bike ride was “a pipe dream.” But
two years later, 80 pounds lighter and with
support from students and staff at
Springfield’s High School of Commerce,
Tracey Coleman not only cycled 100-plus
miles, but chronicled on a blog how she
made that pipe dream come true in hopes of
inspiring others.
“The biggest thing preventing people from
exercising, the thing that probably deters
them the most, is they don’t see progress
right away so they give up, or they have an
obstacle that comes up, that prevents them
with sticking to it, and give up,” said
Coleman, a guidance counselor at
Commerce. “So I write a lot about that—
about nutrition and fitness, but mostly about
motivation and sticking with your goals.”
But it took a while for Coleman to see the
rewards of sticking with her fitness goals.
A self-professed bookworm growing up,
Coleman “didn’t do sports in high school; I
wasn’t good at them, didn’t like them, and as
an adult I didn’t do them either.”
She became heavy as an adult—or, as a
student who recently saw an older picture of
Coleman called it, “‘mad chubby”—and was
bothered by arthritis that often crippled her
with pain and prevented her from repetitive,
high intensity activity, Coleman recalled.
But in September 2013, Coleman’s
husband Brian participated in the Springfield
Police Department’s first Ride to Remember,
a 106-mile bike trek from Springfield to
Boston in memory of officers killed in the
line of duty.
That January, Coleman decided that this
time—the heaviest she had ever been at 238
pounds—she was going to stick with her
regular New Year’s Resolution of losing
weight and eating healthier. So she began
working out with a trainer. She did a Rugged
Maniac obstacle course in September 2014
with her husband, and then thought that she
might want to do the Ride to Remember.
But that November, her trainer—a 24-
year-old, healthy young man—suddenly got
sick and died.
“I was devastated,” Coleman said. “He
was 24 when he died, and I was 45 and just
wasn’t taking my life and health seriously.”
So she kicked her training into high gear,
working out six days a week with a new
trainer and focusing on flexibility. It helped
her deal with both the emotional pain from
the loss and the physical pain of her arthritis.
Her surgeon canceled an operation to help
her arthritis and Coleman got a bike, joined
training rides with a group from the local
bike shop, and started pedaling to get ready
for this September’s Ride To Remember.
“It was threateningly scary to think ‘how
am I going to do this, it’s going to be 100
miles, and really hilly,’” Coleman recalled.
But she had support not just at the gym
and bike shop, but at Commerce.
Many kids participating in a dress-down
day wore blue to support a fundraiser for the
Ride to Remember. About a
week before the ride, students
made ribbons to sell, and helped
Coleman sell t-shirts downtown
to raise money for the event. The
day before the ride, colleagues
decorated Coleman’s office with
messages of support, including
many pictures of Wonder Woman
in reference to Coleman’s nickname
at the gym.
And the pipe dream became
reality.
“It was really a proud moment to
finish it and do it, and do it with my
husband and show the support for the
police department and the fallen
officers,” Coleman said. “I was blessed
by the outpouring of the love I got.”
Plus, the reality wasn’t that scary. “It
wasn’t too hard for me because I had
done so much training,” Coleman
admitted.
So now it’s on to the next challenge:
maintaining her weight and fitness
(Coleman currently weighs 145 pounds)
and inspiring and helping others by sharing
her story through her blog “Tracey’s Getting
Fit.”
“We’ve all been trying to become
healthier,” said Erica Lebel, a fellow
guidance counselor at Commerce who
credited Coleman with helped tone up her
arms for her wedding. “We would make
lunches for each other sometimes, we would
go out to eat and make sure there were
healthy things for her and us to eat.”
Coleman said her fitness journey has also
helped her be a better guidance counselor.
She said she is able to relate better with
students who worry about body image, she is
more empathetic, and she is more willing to
open up and share her feelings with students.
“I can tell them at the least that I am
human and that I have been through my own
things,” said Coleman. “That I am a human,
and I can persevere.”
My thoughts???
Obviously I knew they were doing the article. They interviewed me, I sent them some pictures for the article and they took my photo at school. But seeing it in print really brings tears to my eyes. This has been a long journey for me. Thinking back on it is very emotional. Thank you for following my blog, for your encouragement. I am blessed beyond words.
 |
| After the Ride to Remember, September 19, 2015 |
Beautiful Day by U2
It's a beautiful day.
Sky falls, you feel like it's a beautiful day.
Don't let it get away.
You're on the road.
But you've got not destination.
It's a beautiful day.
(Answer in the comment section below.)
What one thing are you most proud of accomplishing?
Now: Subscribe to new posts! When a new post is added, you will receive an email notice so you can check it out. I promise: no SPAM and I won't share your email address with anyone. Look at the top right side of the page to subscribe.
Follow me on Instagram: @tracoleman99
No comments:
Post a Comment