Week 1-- Holy Crap

Day 1 (Aug. 22)
I’m excited I got chosen! I need something to kick start my fitness routine. I’ve been working out regularly for years now; and once upon a time it was effective. Back in 1996-2000, I lost 125 pounds with regular exercise and better eating. My final weight (160 lbs) was relatively easy to maintain, until I stopped going to the gym as often so I could concentrate on finishing graduate school. About 20-25 pounds crept back on. Then, shortly after my 30th birthday, I was diagnosed with cancer. After surgery and months of chemo later, I was in remission. One of my chemo regiments consisted of weekly treatments instead of treatments once every 3 weeks. During that period of weekly treatments (and consequently weekly doses of steroids), I gained 35 pounds. Which leads me to proclaim—I hate steroids! And their aftermath. I stopped the steroids (and chemo) in June 06, but I didn’t stop gaining weight until over a year later!

I am still gratefully in remission, but not so excited about the extra poundage. I managed to get a little weight off after recommitting myself to my gym routine, but my appetite gets the better of me. My daily life seems to revolve around 4 issues:
1) what’s the weather like (and am I cold?)
2) when can I eat?
3) what can I eat?
4) when can I eat again?

So, my goals during these 12 weeks are to:
1) Recommit myself to eating the way (and amounts) that I should be. This will help my weight loss. This will help keep me healthy and cancer free.
2) Give my body something new to do in order to produce strength, stamina, weight loss, and ENERGY. On my own, I can make myself do the elliptical and some weights. But, my body is used to “the elliptical and some weights”. I need to really push. And hopefully, bootcamp will do the above and not just tire me out to the point where I can barely get out of bed in the morning! I expect some cursing along the way.

Day 1 of bootcamp was Aug. 22. Not too bad . . . just some body measurements, some picture taking, some signing of forms, and a quick fitness test. And despite years of regularly working out, I know I don’t have the strength or endurance that I should have. And I HATE running. So, I wasn’t expecting to do to well. In the push-up arena, I managed only 11 in 60 seconds. And not even full push-ups. I know if I would have made it all the way to ground, there was no way I was pushing myself back up! I can do the “girlie” pushups all day, but not a single “regular” one. That’s sad. Then, I only managed 17 full sit-ups (where you have to come all the way up to your knees) in 60 seconds. Then there was the lap around the track. There were 10 of us. I came in 7th: 2 minutes and 42 seconds. . . . ..did I mention I hate running? Uuuugh. Well, the real work (and pain) starts Monday. I’m ready. (we’ll see how I feel about Tuesday!).




Day 2 (Aug. 24)
The first real day, and they have us running from the outset. 1 lap before the “real” bootcamp begins. Then, lots of push-ups, sit ups, lunges, squats, and more running. I did better than I thought with all that running. Not so much with the sit-ups. We couldn’t use our arms (like on Day 1) to help propel us up. Too bad. I couldn’t get one unassisted sit up done. And by the end of the workout, after a 2nd series of lunges and squats, I hear myself breathing like I has asthma. I am so out of shape! But, I leave for home and get ready for work without being totally exhausted. On the drive to work, I feel a strange sense of accomplishment. Maybe that will only last until the soreness kicks in. . . . .

Day 4 (Aug. 26)
I’ve been so sore that I’m not sure how much I can manage today. I could barely move yesterday after the workout. And to top things off, a team member showed up a couple of minutes late, so the coaches made the rest of us who showed up on time run 3 laps around the track instead of one. . . . .my immediate thought: these chicks are sooo wrong . .. and evil! She arrives late and WE have to do more work?
Yesterday (and the day before, and the times before that), I’ve gotten about halfway through a lap when I can’t run any farther . . . so I would powerwalk until I felt I could jog the last 1/6 of the track.) And I never did ever really “run” so much as “jog”. And now they want us to do THREE laps.. . . all before we start the rest of the bootcamp . . . EVIL!

Then, a strange thing happened. I made it. . . . all 3 laps . . . . WITHOUT STOPPING (or walking)! Another teammate managed the same thing. How do you progress from not being able to jog ½ the track to being able to do 3 laps the very next day?!@?! This is some voodoo . . . . .

So, I was all happy and impressed with myself. And then during a sprint challenge in the grass, I tripped after my foot got caught in some netting that was partially embedded in the dirt. I twisted my ankle. . . . badly. . . .Thankfully, its Wednesday and the next workout isn’t until Saturday. It will take at least that long to be able to walk or do anything without too much pain . . . .. dang running in the dirt!!


Aug. 27
I think bootcamp is making me accident prone in one way or another. In the past week, I have: lost 1 earring, lost 1 watch, twisted my ankle, spilled a pitcher-full of water while at work, and bitten the inside of my cheek 5 times . . . . . . .