The Camino Is Over. The Wins Continue.

After weeks of walking the Camino de Santiago, I have officially returned to my regularly scheduled programming: the gym.

And here’s what I’ve realized.

I get a win every single time I walk through those gym doors.

A win.

Day after day.

Workout after workout.

Rep after rep.

How great is that? How many things in life offer the opportunity to collect a victory every single day?

Now, before you think these wins come from simply swiping my membership card and wandering around looking athletic, let me assure you that is not the case.

The wins come from doing the work.

The wins come from showing up when I’d rather stay home.

The wins come from doing exercises that make me question both my life choices and my trainer’s sanity.

Speaking of my trainer, Isaac continues to amaze me.

I am convinced he lies awake at night inventing new ways to torture his clients.

Take yesterday, for example.

He had me doing a deep squat with my elbows resting on my knees while performing preacher-style bicep curls with a 20-pound barbell.

Who thinks this stuff up?

Seriously.

At what point does a person say, “You know what would be fun? Let’s combine three exercises into one awkward position that nobody would ever naturally assume in the wild.”

I have visions of Isaac sitting in a dark room surrounded by anatomy charts, exercise manuals, and empty coffee cups.

“Ah yes,” he mutters to himself. “Tomorrow we’ll make Debby squat, balance, curl, stabilize, breathe, and question her existence all at the same time.”

Then he sleeps like a baby.

Meanwhile, I spend the next 24 hours discovering muscles I didn’t know I owned.

But here’s the thing.

I love it.

Because every workout is another win.

The Camino taught me something important. There isn’t a finish line.

I used to think there would be.

Walk the Camino.

Reach Santiago.

Get the certificate.

Mission accomplished.

And yes, crossing that finish line was extraordinary.

But life doesn’t work that way.

The Camino ended, but the journey didn’t.

The gym doesn’t have a finish line.

There isn’t a day when someone hands me a trophy and says, “Congratulations, Debby. You have successfully completed fitness. You may now sit on the couch forever.”

Instead, there are just more opportunities to win.

One workout.

One exercise.

One rep.

One day at a time.

The beautiful thing is that the wins keep coming as long as I keep showing up.

So while my Camino pilgrimage may be over, another pilgrimage continues.

It’s a shorter route.

The scenery isn’t quite as spectacular.

Nobody hands me a pilgrim passport.

And somehow there are far fewer cafés serving pastries along the way.

But every time I walk through those gym doors, I collect another victory.

And that’s a journey worth continuing.