I'll Keep Getting Stronger

Exercise and I used to be friends, really good friends. When I got married I was able to maintain my relationship with my friend exercise. Even when I was pregnant with Cohen exercise and I hung out a few times a week, swimming, yoga, and gym visits. Then I got put on bed rest and had a baby and a job and a time intensive church calling and a husband who was often gone. Unfortunately I let my relationship with exercise fall by the way side, we had become acquaintances. Sadly while pregnant with Brynn and especially after she was born we had even more of a falling out. I had lost exercises contact info and I think exercise de-friended me.

In the past few months I've tried to extend an olive branch one yoga and Jillian Michaels video at a time, unfortunately my children get really clingy when I exercise causing there to be more misses than hits.

A friend of mine, Jasmine is really good friends with exercise and has invited me to hang out with the two of them for beach swims at the butt crack of dawn 6 a.m. In a moment of craziness I agreed.

The night before our get together was very humbling and humiliating, trying to squeeze into the suit I just bought. After minutes of pulling, jumping from one leg to the other, laying on the bed while pulling, the suit was on, barely. Then because I couldn't breath I had to start the process all over again to get it off.  Wrong size. sigh. After laughing and crying and receiving a comforting pep talk from John I resolved that while this was going to be very hard I could to do it. I can't expect different results while doing the same thing.

I went this morning and I kid you not, it was awful. I could hardly breath. My once beautiful fast freestyle stroke was hardly recognizable in fact impossible.  I felt vulnerable and guilty for holding up Jasmine. After accepting my new reality, swallowing what little pride I had left I had to switch to backstroke just so I could breathe (on the bright side that allowed me to look and the beautiful blue sky specked with puffy clouds).  I don't think my heart rate slowed down til after I was home and in the shower. Despite being awful it was fulfilling and promising.

It will be rocky re-establishing my relationship with exercise, but I am confident we can work through it. Thank you Jasmine for the invite, this is the good kind of peer pressure.

Here is my new theme song. We've already listened to it 5 time this morning.