Monday, February 1, 2016

I can’t believe it’s already February! Time continues to move quickly for me, and it doesn’t seem to matter whether I am in the States or here in Ecuador.

On the schedule today: Heidi has jewelry making class (all week in fact) for 4 hours each morning. Easton and I committed to participating in a free exercise program sponsored by the government in their commitment to a healthy populous, so…

Today I finally started exercising again. I’m very happy about that! Easton and I went to Henry’s morning boot camp program. It totally kicked my ass. There were about 15 men and women. Easton and I were the only gringos, and it was spoken in Spanish.

Triple bonus…exercise, with the locals, and Spanish class!

I loved how it was all outside along the ocean and the “equipment” was just our bodies. It began by all of us lining up along a wall on the street. Henry had us squatting at 90 degrees with our backs against the wall. He incorporated variations using our arms, feet, and toes in that squatting position. By the time this part was over I was spent!

Then we started jogging down the street that runs along the ocean. We ran fast, we ran slow, we did push-ups, sit-ups, planks, mountain climbers, biciletas (on our backs, feet in the air pedaling) all on the street asphalt. We marched with knees high. We ran in 3 persons-to-a-row formation, with the back row running to the front of the group. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

Right now my left ham string is screaming at me and it’s only been 8 hours. I am going to hate to see what my body has to say when I try to get out of bed tomorrow. But hot damn, I have to say it felt good to be in a group and exercising and suffering together. It felt really great to be running and working out with my son! We both were hating it and loving it at the same time.

I think it was only an hour total but it felt soooooo much longer. One Ecuadorian woman summed it up best. As we arrived back at our starting point along the street, this woman laid down on her back and said, “Muerta”. Yes senora, dead, very dead indeed. I didn’t need to know Spanish to figure that out. My body shared her same feeling and it translated that for me.

Chao.