Wherever Amy Zarembka goes, she carries a photo from five years ago in her planner.
It’s a picture of her and her daughter, Madelynn, at Hocking Hills State Park where they vacationed with her husband, Paul, in 2011.
And after developing the photo and noticing how much weight she’d gained trying to balance graduate school and teach first grade full time at Akron Public Schools’ Leggett Community Learning Center, it’s the picture that launched a turning point in Zarembka’s life.
“I looked at the pictures and I just said, you know what, this is enough, ” Zarembka said. “Enough is enough.”
Since that day, the 43-year-old Akron woman has lost 125 pounds and gained a love for running that’s given her a new burst of energy and confidence.
The back of Zarembka’s car boasts a collection of round “13.1” stickers, and this year she’ll add a fourth when she finishes off the Akron Marathon with the half marathon — that’s 13.1 miles — this Saturday.
Zarembka’s weight-loss journey began with Weight Watchers, and as she gained strength, she decided to start running.
But first, she took it slow and steady.
“I really literally went from one telephone pole to the next,” Zarembka said. “So I went to this pole, and the next day I was trying to go one pole further. In my first run, I didn’t even make it a quarter of a mile.”
Little by little, though, Zarembka was able to run longer distances, and she was eventually able to keep stride with the marathon runners she watched pass her house in Highland Square year after year.
Now, Zarembka can say she’s a runner — something she’s never been able to say before.
“I just know I’m pretty strong now. I can take things in stride,” Zarembka said. “I think you have to be tough at your work, you have to be tough as a woman, so I think all those things just build up from running.”
Now that she has more energy, Zarembka can keep up with the first-graders she still teaches at Leggett, and she said it’s been rewarding to encourage healthy lifestyle choices while living that lifestyle along with them.
Even more rewarding for Zarembka, though, is the influence she’s had on her 15-year-old daughter, Madelynn, who stood beside her in that picture 125 pounds ago.
“I just thought, you know, I’ve got to get it together for her,” Zarembka said. “If anybody, for her.”
Since Amy started running, Madelynn joined in and now runs cross country for Firestone High School.
Amy Zarembka ran the race series’ 8k in June and 10k in August this year. This is the second year in a row she’ll complete the three-part series.
Though running started off difficult, Zarembka said it’s almost meditative now.
And when it gets tough, Zarembka knows to keep her eyes ahead and tell herself, “I’m not a quitter.”
“You just take one step at a time, and one mile at a time, or a half a mile at a time or a telephone pole at a time,” Zarembka said. “You just set those personal goals for yourself and you really can do it. It’s mind over matter.”
Theresa Cottom can be reached at 330-996-3216 or tcottom@thebeaconjournal.com.