It's the first New Year's resolution I've ever really kept.
Exactly a year ago, I realized I was in terrible shape, had never had any kind of fitness regimen, and needed to make some serious changes, so I made a resolution to start exercising. After a few lonely mornings on the elliptical machine, which left me bored and sensing that I was getting nowhere fast, I knew that wasn't the answer. But I knew several people who raved about their experience working out with F3 Ashland. So I took a leap of faith, bought some cold weather exercise clothes, and showed up at my first workout on January 9, 2021.
I posted 118 times in 2021, in the heat and the cold; in darkness and sunshine and rain and snow and fog. I now wake up before 5:00 three mornings a week and before 6:00 on Saturdays, often questioning my own judgment as I roll out of bed, but realizing as soon as I walk into the stadium that it's where I want to be and where I need to be. And on New Year's Day, during my first workout of 2022, I reflected on how far I've come over the past year. A year ago, could I imagine doing a 5K race? A hundred or even two hundred pushups at a time? Forty-five minutes of dragging around sandbags and cinder blocks and truck tires? Completing a Murph? (Heck, I didn't even know what a Murph was.) Planning and leading a group workout on my own?
But it's not all about the exercise. What makes it all possible, even enjoyable, is the support of some great friends. These guys have pushed me, challenged me, refused to let me back down from the hard stuff, and encouraged me to be the best man I can be. We all need that. It's good for the body and good for the soul. Along the way, we share each other's joys and sorrows. And we laugh together. A lot.
If you're looking to change your life in the new year, come work out with us. You'll never find a more supportive group of guys. And that's what makes us more than just an exercise group. From the minute you show up, we're in your corner.
-Marcia (originally posted on Facebook January 3, 2022)
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