Day 33: Feel Good Friday

I was pumped when my friend, Linda, contacted me to hit "Feel Good Friday."  We have tried to continue these in honor of Heath, a trainer at The 7-6 who left us due to starting a club in St. Louis.  I wonder how he is doing?

Again today, my body is questioning me and wondering when I will stop.  Well, only 7 more days then it's break time for a few days!  I'm definitely getting the itch to run again with this wonderful weather.  So, already have that on the agenda to combine with my regular 3-4 days of boxing.

Linda was kind enough to pick me up today, so made it a little easier to get out the door on time.  As we walked into the Olathe club, I confirmed with Barry at the door..."Still Josh, right?"  I got the thumbs up, so our Feel Good Friday was on!!!

Linda~Josh~Becky

Josh was the absolute nicest trainer in the metro.  After giving instruction, he would say.."Whenever you are ready."  I chucked to Linda since my body was telling me that the drill would be over by the time I was ready.   So, I left it to the mind to run the body today.   It felt as if I were moving in slow motion doing burpies and push-ups between combos.  As I continued to punch the bag, I could feel my right arm feeling sore.  It was like trying to lift up a ton of bricks to make contact with the bag.  I just kept hopping on my feet, breathing, and trying to continue with punches.

As we were getting ready for abs, I grabbed med balls for Linda & I.  We had a mix of songs today, but one was really affecting her today for some reason.  When she told me why, I could just see a flood of emotions hitting her.  It was a collision of everything she was going through, past and present.  All I could say was, "I'm so glad you are here" as I hugged her.

A workout at Title is a whole lot more than just punching a bag.  It's a release.  It's seeing where you've been and where you hope to be someday.  I'm so glad Linda & I were able to connect today.  Sometimes in life, you cross paths with someone that you just know is there for the long haul.  Linda is one of those people and I'm fortunate to know her.  It was totally a Feel Good Friday!

After our workout, Linda sent me the following note.  Goosebumps!  So, I am sharing...

Thoughts from a friend…

The first word today was “Slug”.  Becky and I were not ‘hitting it hard’ today.  We felt sluggish as we slugged the bags this morning.  Day 33 for Becky and the first day in two weeks for me, so we slugged our way through.

Then Christina Aguilera’s song “Fighter” came on for our final 2 minute free-style punching.  This isn’t Becky’s typical style of music, but the song, which came out in 2003, holds special meaning to me.  I played this song over and over as I recovered from my battle with breast cancer while raising my twin babies.  Its’ chorus is what I said to the cancer, “Thanks for making me a fighter”.  So the word of the day became “Fighter” as we ‘hit it hard’ for 2 minutes.

When I picked up Becky at 5:30am, I was amazed at how great she looks.  She said she has “only” lost 8 pounds in these 33 days (Becks – that’s a lot!) but has gone down a whole size.  You can tell! 

It is interesting to see people’s reactions when she tells them about her quest. “Crazy!”, “Why?”, “What made you think of doing this?”, “Wow”.

But Becky, I want to tell you that you are amazing, inspiring, strong, uplifting…and a fighter.  And you’ve made me want to be a fighter again, too.

So I want to say thank you
'Cause it makes me that much stronger
Makes me work a little bit harder
It makes me that much wiser
So thanks for making me a fighter
Made me learn a little bit faster
Made my skin a little bit thicker
Makes me that much smarter
So thanks for making me a fighter

--CHRISTINA AGUILERA

One week from today, Becky! You are going to make it to your goal – thanks for sharing your journey.

-Linda