Tortoise in the pool

Today is Day 500.  500 days of pushing my body to workout.  Getting up each morning and heading to the club. Some days it took more convincing  myself then other days.  Some mornings I popped up and rushed out the door -eager to accomplish something new.  There were days where my workout had to wait until later in the day - those were my crabby days as I am now so trained to my early morning workout that if I don't get it in right away - I start to get frustrated that I have to wait.

But it hasn't only been 500 days of physical improvement.  Something I have learned along the way is how connected everything in my life is - body, mind and spirit.  So as I have been working on my body, my mental health has improved and my Faith has grown by leaps and bounds.  Who knew that pumping iron could pump up your Faith? (oh there must be a t-shirt idea there!)


I spent Day 500 swimming. My challenge to myself was to swim a mile for the first time in my life. So I slipped into the pool at 5:37 this morning and started my laps. 1 hour and 28 minutes later I touched the wall for the completion of my first solid mile. Called myself the tortoise this morning. I am certainly not the fastest swimmer as I swim the backstroke but I kept my pace - nice and steady and finished strong. 

I know that I have always loved being in the water - that weightless feeling, the calm and quiet when you are under water, the ability to do more flexibility-wise then I can on the fitness floor.  And this morning was no different.  Getting into my rhythm and finding that peaceful calm that allows me to focus on my prayers.  At times it feels like I am the only one there (which sometimes is the case) and have God's full attention to my prayers (and yes I know that I always have His attention!)  Today I found that a lot of my prayers were actually for me.  Last week was very stressful for me and things just kept going wrong - with our house, cars, jobs, kids behaviors, etc.  I know I didn't handle things as well as I could of but lots of prayers were sent up last week.

 This morning I felt the need to ask God to give me a hint as to what His plans for me are.  Was everything that happened last week preparing me for something else big to happen?  Is this new job opportunity a chance for Him to use me in someone's life or to use them to teach me?  Now that I have hit this milestone of 500 - where do I go?  What challenges do I set for myself?  My mind was spinning with a lot of What-ifs and that is not what I wanted this morning.  I wanted to feel that sense of accomplishment in completing my mile, the endorphin rush from working out and to just be happy that life is good.  So I prayed and swam.  And I am still surprised that each time when I finish my workout, my head has stopped spinning or has cleared somewhat and I get to feel that endorphin rush!  There has never been this obvious answer to my prayers right away but usually throughout the day things are revealed to me.  I will be keeping eyes, ears, heart and mind open today!

Tomorrow is Day 501 and I will be up early, ready to set another challenge for myself.  My NEW buddy asked me if I knew what path this journey was taking me on.  I have no idea but I am happy with where it has taken me so far and I am looking forward to what lies ahead -knowing that it is God leading me to a NEW Shari!