I Quit

Not my job.  I didn't quit my job.  I quit this 30 day plank challenge that I started at the beginning of the year.  The first day of the challenge was hard.  Twenty seconds seemed like forever.  I had to hold my breath for the last five seconds which made it difficult to count 15 one-thousand, 16 one-thousand, etc.  But I made it twenty seconds.  After that I made it to 30 seconds.  I found it hard to count so I started using the stop watch on my cell phone.  But when my phone went dark and I touched it to wake it up the stop watch would end.  So then I started using the microwave timer.  If I wanted to plant for a minute, for example, I would set the timer for 69 seconds, take off my slippers, hit start and rush over to my yoga mat and get into position.  Eventually worked my way up to 150 seconds which is 2.5 minutes.  I was amazed how strong I was getting.  I could feel a new strength in my core when I was swimming.  I think one reason I found the challenge manageable was that I was planking three times a day. I never read any instructions on how many times a day to plank. The goal is to plank for 5 minutes by the end of the month. If I kept up with planking three times a day, I had begun to wonder how long I wanted to plank for 15 minutes a day.  Planking is boring because all I can do is stare at the four inches of space between my eyes and my blue yoga mat.  But the other day I decided to quit altogether.  The moment came after a swim.  I was applying lotion to my arms after a shower and OUCH!  What is wrong with my elbows?  I looked.  Both elbows were callused and sore.  The skin was breaking down on both sides.  Well, if you've been planking for 2.5 minutes three times a day your elbows would be sore.  So that is the end of the challenge.  Once my elbows heal I think I will plank again but once daily at the most.  I quit the challenge but not the planking.