nothing better than a little exercise

So, in amongst all of the moving and tripping to SP, Ro and I haven't really been working out.  And by haven't really, I mean not at all.  For 3 weeks.  For those of you who know us, you know this is a millennium.  We are regular exercisers (and by definition, GoodLife definition at least, regular exercisers have been exercising at least 3 times per week consistently for at least 6 months).  We typically go 4-5x per week.  First observation is how all of your hard work for months and months can go straight to shit after not working out for only 3 weeks!!!  Well, it may have had to do with all of the beer we've drinking, or all the eating out we were doing, or maybe the microwaved banana with sugar and cinnamon and ice cream on top... REGARDLESS.  It's time for us to get back on track.
The difficulty for us is that we are planning to travel very soon (as in next week, we think??) so we don't want to pay for a gym membership and have it get wasted.  The gyms here are a little expensive.  They basically cost as much as my Platinum Plus gym cost without the perks and benefits and fanciness.  And now that we have the beach next to us.....
What better way to get back into things than to start running again by the beach!
This morning we woke up at 7:30 (ok 8 by the time we levantado).  Had a quick breakfast, got dressed and left to run.  The beach has a nice bike/run path right at the top and wasn't too busy when we arrived.  There was also a great breeze thankfully because I have a really hard time running in the heat and I also have a tough time running outside here.  The air is different.  So we ran for about 30 minutes but truthfully I was dying.  I feel out of shape here, which disappoints me so much because I don't think I AM out of shape, I just can't BREATHE in the air here.  I really struggled to finish but had a mid-run revelation of jumping into the ocean after we finished.  Suggestion accepted.  Luckily, with the beach having pretty few people still, we asked if we could leave our shoes with a couple who had beat the crowd and ran to the water with our gym clothes on.
Now, for another story, I'm oddly a little scared of the ocean.  This fear only developed after being in Brazil, however, when one day the ocean kicked the crap out of me.  The waves are so big here, the biggest I've ever seen, and they are ANGRY.  The undertow is insane and will surely pull you under to die a slow, painful death.  SO anyway (you are all seeing how much I love the beach, right?).  Haha. Anyway, the story of that day is I went into the ocean just for a little bit... just up to my knees... when all of a sudden, I saw it.  The Mother Wave.  Coming straight for me.  It was definitely taller than me and as I stood there with the undertow pulling me right FOR it, it broke, right on my FACE, and THREW me backwards and PUSHED ME on my BACK all the way up the shore.  So when I got out, I was completely discombobulated, sandy, and yes, my breast had fallen totally out of my bathing suit.  That damn wave took advantage of me!  And as I was giving the beach a show, and as waves continue to hit me over and over, my bathing suit bottom became a little askew, thus exposing my va-j-j.  Say it with me now.  VA-J-J.
So, there is Ro, laughing his head off, trying to warn me of my exposed privates, as I stumble onto the shore.  Then, through his increasing laughter, he says, "your head is FULL of sand!"
Here is what the beach did to me that day:

So you can see why I was feeling a little apprehensive to enter the ocean again today.  BUT, I felt a little more secure knowing my clothes weren't going anywhere, and like a small child I held  Ro's hand and went in again.  Today it was DELICISOSO as the Brazilians would say, and I even put my head under when the waves came!  Today was just what we both needed to feel awesome.
I seriously believe, scratch that, I seriously KNOW that exercise improves your mood.  Exercise makes you feel GOOD.  Exercise gives you ENERGY.  Last night Ro and I both felt depressed and we didn't know why.  Today we feel awesome, we feel productive, we feel positive!  The last few days for me have been a little homesicky for things that are familiar.  Today I seriously feel better and it's all thanks to EXERCISE!