Left Kansas to find Dorothy...

I know, I know... of all people to crack a Wizard of Oz joke, I'm the last person most of you would expect. They're so cliche and, being from Kansas, I've heard them my entire life. But in this case it's the truth! Throughout my three weeks here at the Biggest Loser Resort, I've met several amazingly wonderful people who inspire me every day to fight harder and push myself to the limit. Each of them has taught me something new about myself and made me recognize my capabilities but there is one person that stands out above them all as the greatest influence... Dorothy.

Let me tell you a little bit about this incredible woman. She is a hike guide for the BLR... one of the best and most respected in the little army of yellow-jackets we have out here leading us on the trails. She is a former Marine and is basically the most hardcore girl I've ever met. I'm fairly certain she's hiding a Superwoman emblem under her clothes. I've seen her run trails that would make even the strongest men want to cry and push to the top of hills I'd rather die than climb without even breaking a sweat. But she's more than just the baddest chick in existence, she's also the most caring... in the tough love sense of the word.

From day one, Dorothy has been MY hike guide. I know she has a bunch of other people to look after and there are several that she reaches out to the same as she does to me but I think of her as someone sent specifically to help me. On my very first assessment hike, she was by my side the whole way. When I hurt my hip and felt like I couldn't take another step without doubling over in pain, she taught me how to push through. Usually you get different hike guides each day, depending on the trail and your level of experience. TJ, our hike coordinator, makes sure to rotate the guides so that you get to know more of them and they don't get stuck doing the same things over and over. I've hiked with just about all of them at some point or other but for some reason, I've gotten to stay with Dorothy almost every day.

Through the weeks, I've gotten to know her and vice versa. She knows my personality and how hard I'm willing to fight. She's seen me take on each mountain and been there with me, step for step, getting to the top. She's helped me move up from a low level experience van to an upper-intermediate level. On days when I haven't been in her group, I'm always excited to get back to the Resort and tell her how it went because I know that she's genuinely excited for me in becoming stronger. It's a blessing to have someone like that by my side. She makes me better. Always.

Earlier this week, we were out on a trail and I was kind of hanging towards the back of the group. It's not that I was intentionally being slow or taking it easy, I just wasn't in the mood to push as hard as I had been. As we reached the first rest point, she gave me this look... and I knew I was about to be in for it. We took a short break and then headed back out to the trail. As I hung back again to be at the back and take it slow, she stopped and looked around, asking everyone "Where's Kelly? Someone get Kelly". She saw me in the pack and locked in on me. The way a lion does on something it's about to devour. I cringed... knowing she was about to come after me. We met in the middle and she asked if my backpack was secure. I said yes very tentatively. Then she asked the question I'd been dreading... "Are you ready to run?"

NO! I don't RUN... are you crazy?! The only time I run is to chase down the ice-cream truck and I don't hear those magical bells anywhere out here in this valley of death you call a canyon. No ma'am, I will not do it. No... well... maybe... okay, fine... just this once!

Just like that, we started jogging. She kept me going all the way to the top of the hill by saying things like "You're a gazelle!" to make me laugh and having me chase Sarah, one of the other guides. I struggled through it because this was a hill I'd only ever walked before but we passed all the other people in the group and made our way to the front where I stayed for the rest of the hike. From that point on, every hill we hit... we ran. By the third hill, she didn't even have to push me or say anything. I started jogging of my own free will. Now, I can't lie and say that I loved it. Running is not my favorite thing. I'll walk all day long but run? Eh... not so much. But I did feel fantastic after. I knew that I'd just stepped it up even higher than I ever thought possible and I pushed farther than I would have on my own. It was Dorothy's motivation that got me to that point.

On another hike this past week, we went on a trail that I'd done before. I knew exactly how long it would take and I, unfortunately, knew exactly how steep and long the BIG hill would be. It's a killer... a real killer. The first time I did it, I was the last one up. I didn't stop on the incline but I definitely was trudging through so I anticipated it being a similar level of difficulty for the second round. We wound our way through the canyon and with each step that we took towards the main hill, I got more nervous. Finally, we reached the base. I looked up at what felt like was the stairway to my doom and then looked at Dorothy. I shook my head in a way that she knew exactly what I was thinking, which was 'Dear Lord, I'm about to die'. She laughed and said "Did you finish it once?"... I nodded... "Then you can finish it again. Come on, drama"... and she started up the hill. At that point there were a few people in front of me. I knew if I looked at them I'd freak myself out so I put my head down and just focused on the rocks directly ahead of me. I remembered everything Dorothy had taught me up to that point: Get deep breaths, pick a steady pace and you can make it all the way up, look up every ten seconds, take a sip of water everytime the path curves, etc. I focused on the things she always drills into my brain and you know what? Before I knew it, I was at the top. I'd passed everyone else on the hill without knowing it because I was only paying attention to each step. I was the first one up there. I did it.

And that was the last hill of the day... or so I thought. We took a few minutes to rest where Dorothy told me how well she thought I was doing. As we took off towards the end of the hike, I was right next to her at the front. She smiled at me and said "It's like you LIKE hiking now". I laughed, about to tell her otherwise but then I realized, I don't just like hiking. I LOVE hiking. Maybe not so much when I'm hitting those crazy inclines but every hill that I conquer is another mountain moved. It means that I just did what I thought was impossible and that is the best feeling in the world. So I agreed with her... yeah, I really do like hiking now. She smiled at me again, in her sly, Dorothy way, and asked how much energy I had left. Every last bit of me wanted to scream "NONE... I have zero energy left... take me back to the van and let me die!"... but I decided to be honest. I told her I still had some to spare, to which she instantly veered to the left, towards a trail I'd never gone on before.

I looked at where we were headed and it was directly up a rocky bluff. Definitely higher up than I'd ever been on any of my hikes thus far. I wanted to stop and turn around but at that point, an entire group was following me. Dorothy had something in mind for all of us and she was gauging whether or not the rest of the group was ready based on my energy level. She wanted to push me and in turn push everyone else which kind of inspired me. All of a sudden, I'm a leader too. Who knew I'd get to that point? Certainly not me! We climbed all the way up to the top of that cliff and it was just the two of us for a few minutes. She told me how proud she was of me. My response was "It's all you"... because she was absolutely the reason I pushed as hard as I did. To that she said "No. I'm not doing the work. You could stop at any point but you didn't. It's all YOU."

As I looked down at the trail I'd just come up and then around at the vastness of my surroundings, I felt like I was on top of the world. Like I'd just conquered everything. And I knew why she wanted me to get up there. I've never felt stronger. In this picture I took from the top, you can see a little bit of how far we came. If you look in the center of the valley, there's a little stream. That was the halfway point of our hike. Then, to the left of that, you can see the deadly hill we hiked up that I thought was going to kill me. There's a little white tepee that we rested at before she asked about my energy level. As high up as we were when I took this picture was all my extra climb. A view I never would've seen if she hadn't motivated me to get up there. It's breathtaking.

So... with one week left to go on this incredible journey, I can now say that I am at my strongest. It's because of people like Dorothy here that helped me find myself. Helped me fully realize and comprehend exactly what I'm capable of achieving and they make sure that I do. There is no failure when you have that kind of support.

I don't know if I'll get to be with her on my last few hikes that are assigned to me but I did ask her to take me on a private hike up to Sandstone Peak... the highest point in the Santa Monica mountains. This will be my true test of how hard I can push myself and how high I can climb. I've learned so far that I have no limits as long as I trust myself and believe that I can do it. I'm nervous to take on that kind of challenge but I'm ready... so ready!

With Dorothy there to get me through and motivate me to the top... I'm going to move yet another mountain this week. I can't wait!