When Your Life Comes Full Circle....Not Really, But Let's Pretend

Ok, so my life has not come full circle yet....but I did have an "A-Ha" moment not too long ago.   I'm guessing that if you are reading this, you know me....otherwise, I am sorry you have spent your time finding my blog.  Since you know me, you know I am a personal trainer who likes to run, workout and also eat and drink beer.  Therefore, I don't so much look like the trainers you see on TV.  Am I in good shape?  Hell yes.  Do I have a six pack?  Only if you count the one of Miller Lite in my fridge....but I digress...back to my full circle moment.

So, you know me.  Remember in elementary school gym class when you were up in the front, picking your teams for (insert random sport here -- kickball, dodgeball, baseball)?  I was that chubby girl in the back in stirrup pants and a big sweater (jeans always made me feel fat...which I kinda was).  I not only looked like I was bad at sports, I was.  What you didn't know, was that even though I looked like a out of shape clutz, I somehow managed to be a pretty darn good figure skater, if I do say so myself.  But that's another story for another post (we'll call that one "Sequins, tights and Why Lycra Should Never Be Made in Neon).  So, when push came to shove and it was me and that kid who kind of drooled and didn't wash his har....you picked him.  Yep, I was the last kid picked in gym class.  

I know. There are a lot of us. I have heard others with the same story. Know what's funny?  We all still tell it.  Over 20 years later, I still remember being embarrased in gym class on the day we all got weighed and our gym teacher would yell, "Well, Sarah had __ number of donuts today" This was his announcement of our weight to the whole class.  My number of donuts, while not the highest, was definitely on the higher side of the class. Not terrible, but enough that I still remember that happening. 
Oh yeah, and that mile run we had to do in the 6th grade...I could barely finish.  I can't remember if I did, but I know I had a bad time and I still remember feeling embarassed.  The moment I finished my first marathon I wanted to call Mr. Duclos (yep, still remember his name) and yell "HA!  SEE?!  You may have ignored me and thought I wasn't very good at sports but I can run a marathon!  HA!"  I also know, I'm not the only one who was a chubby kid and never got over it.  Maybe one day I will.  But hopefully not soon because I think it makes me work a little bit harder (but maybe not eat less chips and salsa).

Back to the story....so I was at the beach with 20+ college friends recently.  Was it awesome?  Yes.  Not just because we were at the beach, but because it was a collection of old, kind of old and some new friends who were just happy to hang out with each other and have some fun (and drink a few beers).  So one morning, there we are on the deck and I hear people calling names for football (a game we never actually played).  It was a draft.  F'.  I didn't want to get picked last.  Now, while I didn't really pay all that much attention, I do know, that I did NOT get picked last (I'm not really sure anyone got picked last, to be honest, we all got assigned teams, but the reasoning for my choosing was what really stuck with me).  You see, most of my college friends don't know I'm a fraud!  They hear "Sarah runs marathons" and "Sarah is a personal trainer", so they think I'm actually good at this stuff!  Jokes on them...I'm not!  I still suck at sports.  I can run 26.2 miles in less than a day, but if you want me to catch a football while running down a field,  I am not sure that I can.  Throw a football?  Even worse. But I got picked and had to be split up from my friend....let's call her Mindy...because we were the runners in the group.  I was pretty pumped because one thing Mindy is good at, besides running, is football.  She plays a lot and she dominates.  I don't play and don't dominate.  But I got compared to her, and for me, it was like I got picked first in the "draft." 
It's funny that I care.  It's funny that I remember this.  If anyone could care less if I was good at football, it's these people.  Hence, why they are great friends.  If I didn't suck in my gut at the beach, they still would have sat with me.  But it got me to thinking....maybe I'm a little bit better than I thought?  Maybe I'm not so much a fraud?  Yeah, I still won't be good at football, however, I may just look the part of what I do.  I may look like I make people exercise for a living.  To the girl in the back of the gym class who was just plain scared to be there....this is a pretty big thing.