by Natalie Ford

In the past several years, exercise has become a huge part of my life. After losing my husband, I spent a lot of my time thinking about how I was stuck in this life that I wasn’t prepared for. I wasn’t prepared to raise a child alone, to cook the meals, to run a household, to take care of the yard. There was so much I didn’t know how to do and so much I didn’t want to take on. I really believed that the person I was at the age of 24 was the person I would be for the rest of my life.

For some reason, in the midst of my grief I became obsessed with stories of women who found success and triumph even after having children and overcoming substantial obstacles. I remember watching Paula Radcliffe win the New York City Marathon in November of 2007. Right after she crossed the finish line, someone handed her a baby. It was her baby. Her daughter was born in January and here Mommy Paula was, crushing a marathon in under two and half hours just eleven months after giving birth. 

I found myself reading every article about Dara Torres, who at the age of 41, won an Olympic medal at the 2008 Olympic Games. I remember thinking, “I’m the same species as these women, so I should be able to so something.” 

Age 24 did not have to be the end of everything for me, not unless I decided it should be. So, although I didn’t go after Olympic gold, I went after something and less than a year later I completed my first Olympic Distance Triathlon. I was stunned at how much one race helped my body, but more importantly, my brain. If I could learn and train and change for a physical event, certainly I could learn and train and change for life’s other challenges like learning how to cook.

To make a long story short, in the world of exercise, things have picked up since the triathlon. I’ve been doing this crazy awesome thing called CrossFit and I love it. I’ve also decided to train for a marathon. CrossFit and marathon training have permanently instilled in my brain this idea that I can get better at things I’m not good at now. 

And that idea of lifelong improvement pretty much translates to everything I do. I want to continue to train/learn how to be a better mom, teacher, writer, etc. As simple as it sounds, this is a long way from the 24 year-old girl who thought her happy life had come to an abrupt halt and was stuck forever.

It’s just this idea of transformation, that we can change if we want to. 

Athletics seems to be one place where we can see change, where we can measure it and prove to ourselves that we’re improving. As a result of this, I like to write about it, I like to write about other people I meet or see who inspire me and remind me to keep going. So stick around or check back to this page if you’re interested and thanks again for reading.  

Natalie is a published author, high school English teacher, and mother of two. Signs of Life, her memoir, was published in 2011 by Crown Publishing. Since then, it has been published by Two Roads Books in the U.K. and Walkers Cultural in Taiwan. It has been featured in Entertainment Weekly, Self, Shape, Grazia Magazine, Writer's Digest, Working Mother Magazine, and was the Ladies Home Journal book of the month.