Star Trac

10/22 Historical blog on Chairman's Challenge AT&T Web site 
“I’m givin’ it all she’s got, Captain!” Oh, can I relate to Scotty from Star Trek when it comes to the Star Trac! In case you don’t know, Star Trac is this elliptical torture machine that I am sure some evil entity from another galaxy placed on this earth to torment out-of-shape humans. They have several  models, but my current nemesis makes you run, do stairs and move your arms back and forth with each step while trying not to fall over. The first time I tried was when my son and I were visiting different gyms to see which one we were  going to join. Mr. I’m-a-long-distance-runner child got on it and was soon humming along. (No literally – he was humming to the music video that was blaring in the gym.) I had trouble figuring out how to make the thing move!  When my uncoordinated limbs finally got the hang of it, I wished I hadn’t.  After about three minutes, I looked over at my son and gasped “My goal is five  minutes!” That might not sound like much to you, but for me it was a minute longer than I thought I could survive because I was piloting myself straight  into a black hole of exhaustion. The only reason I made it out alive was because my son was there saying “Come on Mama, you can do it, only 30 more seconds. You’re almost there! Come on push! Breathe!” In my pain and  breathless state, I flashed back 16 years. I heard the familiar voice of my husband saying, “Come on Honey. He’s almost here. You can do this. Breathe with me, breathe, OK darling, push, push!” I never regretted the effort it took  to bring my son (and now exercise coach) into the world. I couldn’t let him  down. It was worth the pain. I survived. I made it to five minutes. As I  literally stumbled from the Star Trac, I said I was going to go over to the exercise bike (so I could sit down!) I told him that he should go ahead and keep going on the Star Trac. I didn’t want my lack of ability to stop him. “No  mom,” he said. “I’ll go with you. We’re in this together.” Getting sweaty, sore, and exhausted created a Mama memory I will never forget; a priceless moment in this Journey. A month has past. I have been working out on the Octane 30 minutes a days, five days a week. It is still stepping and moving my arms, but it is sitting down. Friday I made myself get back on the Star Trac for the first time. I went for 15 minutes! There were times I was moving so slow the console lights blinked and asked if I needed life support, but I did it.

My son said it perfectly; we are all in this together. Everyone who reaches for a health goal is boldly going where they have never gone before. It doesn’t matter if the goal is to run a marathon, control diabetes, or to pilot the Star Trac for 15 minutes instead of five. Each one of us that takes control of our own helm and takes one more step than we would have before is making ourselves and our  families stronger. Next adventure – making this body look like a completely different life form by making the Troubling Tribble pounds go away! OK – enough Star Trek references for one day - Engage!