For some reason, every time I think about exercise, I flashback to middle school. I can see the reflection of an awkward pre-teen in stretched out royal blue shorts and a white tee with Callie N. written in sharpie, across the middle of it. I was in the middle school locker room for P.E. Good ole physical education. Some of the worst days of my life. -ha- It wasn’t that bad. But it does evoke a lot of uncomfortable memories. And that is where my dislike for exercise really began.
I remember one time we had to choreograph a dance in groups put together by our “coaches”. I was absent the day the groups were chosen. So the next day, I was assigned to a group with my classmates Bena and Dana. The two of them had already choreographed a hip hop dance. So I had the rest of the week to learn their dance. Up to this point in my life I had already taken eight years of dance lessons. Those lessons were in lyrical, jazz, tap, ballet. Never in hip-hop.
So the day came for us to present our dance. (If we were absent we would get an F, or trust me I would have been “sick” that day) I was mortified. I can remember it like it was yesterday. Bena was in the front, Dana to my left. I tensely, half-assed, Bena and Dana’s choreography. One of the coaches, Mrs. Harris, was laughing and telling me to “loosen up”. Obviously they weren’t too impressed, as I made a “c”. Oh well.
But this memory, highlights a personality trait of mine. If I think that I am not good at something, I discourage myself and only make it worse. If I can avoid it, I will.
Or at least this is how I used to be. I am finally getting to a point in my life where I would rather enjoy myself than doubt myself. Now, don’t get me wrong, I will NOT be signing up to perform a hip-hop dance in front of any groups of people anytime soon. But I am willing to get a little uncomfortable.
Which brings me back to exercise. My current physical fitness state is probably still a “C”. I cannot do a strict push-up or pull up. I can run only short distances before something starts to cramp. In a zombie apocalypse, I would not survive but I would last longer than some. So I give myself a “C” probably a C minus but whatever.
So why am I talking about all of this? Well next October my family and some friends will all be participating in the Warrior Dash . That gives me almost an entire year to prepare. And although my goal is to get strong enough so that I don’t die while trying to climb over a wall or drown in a mud pit, more than anything I want to get better at exercising. I want to be proud of myself when I can do push-ups, pull-ups and run a little further before cramping up.
Plus, I have this cute little girl watching me with her big blue eyes. Right now it may be that my attempts to exercise are amusing to watch but I hope it will create not only a good habit for me right now but one for her in the future.

SOREly yours,
Callie