I know, right? ANOTHER Disney movie quote. I actually think that among the many, many, many Disney movies I've seen - especially over the past few years - Dory is one of my favorite characters and Finding Nemo is one of my favorite movies. In the swimming industry, we use "swimming" references all the time: "How do you like your new job?" Me: "It's going swimmingly, I'm diving right in!" "Have you completed that article yet?" Me: "No, I'm working on other projects - just trying to keep my head above water." We have to often laugh at ourselves because it happens naturally, but it can get rather corny and obnoxious. But this week, I found myself having to use the quote "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming..." often. I had SO many things to accomplish this week in addition to our normal crazy schedule. I had to get Easter cards created and in the mail. I had to finish pricing and organizing all of the clothes/baby stuff for the consignment sale. The kids had school pictures, etc. I wanted to get in 5 workouts before the Heart Walk. Morgan had been having a great week at school, so I wanted to build in time for rewards (playground, bookstore, movies). But around Thursday, I hit a plateau with the weight loss journey. Now I have done this before and I knew to expect plateaus and even an occasional gain. But I had worked SO hard. I had worked out Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I had NEVER cheated (even passing up cheesecake at work for fruit for a co-worker's birthday). But Thursday, I GOT MAD. I got so mad because of all of the work and all of the sacrifice. Jon offered suggestions: drink more water, maybe your body is in storage mode, etc. I kept thinking that if I had cheated or had skipped the gym, I could understand. If I was going to gain 2 pounds, I was going to do it by eating a seafood platter. But then I realized how far I have come and being proud of that makes me want to push through it and keep going. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming... So, I did and now I am back on track. And here's a cool story to keep the motivation going...
Today was the Northshore Heart Walk at Fountainbleu State Park. Thanks again to everyone that supported me to reach my fundraising goal. The weather was PERFECT. There were between 800-1000 walkers from corporations and large companies throughout the Northshore. I walked with PoolCorp. We had a team of about 25 walkers and we were called "The Swim Team" - how appropriate. When I signed up to do the walk a few weeks ago, I wrote a little blurb on my fundraising homepage about why I wanted to do the walk. Heart disease not only runs in my family, but also in Jonathan's. I also wrote about the fact that I had joined a gym, had been dedicated to going to the gym 5-6 times a week and that I wanted to stay motivated in my weight loss by doing a few 5K races a month. So, fast-forward to today. I arrive at the Heart Walk and we take our group picture, etc. From the stage, they begin the welcome and introductions. They then say that they will award the "Lifestyle Change" awards before the walk, in case someone had to leave directly after the walk. They then announce the "Gym Rat" award. "This award is given to a person who, within the last 12 months, has joined a gym and goes to the gym at least three times a week for at least 30 minutes to workout. The winner of this award also encourages those around them to join a gym and have as much fun working out as they have. And this year's Lifestyle Change Award goes to Janel Evans from PoolCorp." WHOA! I was beyond honored. 
Here are some additional pictures from the event.
I mentioned earlier that Morgan had a great week at school. Friday we decided to take her to see Hop. She enjoyed it!
Have a great week and remember...Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...
Awesome job, Gym Rat!
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