Back to Boot Camp (2012 Edition)-- Part 1

Otherwise known as... The Countdown of Hope

Most folks know that I have attended the past two seasons of My Ever-Growing School District Employee Boot Camp.  Last fall, despite having missed about a week due to an ankle injury sustained while simultaneously boot camping, half-marathon training, and twice a week salsa classing, I finished... strong.

I know... insane.

Despite the insanity, I emerged in November in what most likely was the best shape of my adult life.  Love handles?  Gone. Calves?  Perfectly shaped.  No jowls, no arms that could propel me into space, no gut whatsoever.  I don't know if I had ever felt so good.

That feeling is gone.... for lots of reasons.... but mostly because I stopped making exercise a priority.  Hey, for a while, just getting up and going to work was an accomplishment.  Thank goodness those days are over.   

Monday was our first day of the fall session of My Ever-Growing School District Employee Boot Camp.  We warmed up, we planked, we did all kinds of things that I tend to block out of my mind when I'm not at camp.  Why relive the pain?

Yesterday I was a little sore, but I knew what was coming.  Today I was in full-on Frankenstein mode.  SO stiff!  Every bit of my body let me know just how badly it was feeling.  And that's okay.

You've got to start somewhere.

And so Monday I began my new journey.  Chad encouraged us at one point... I want you to ask yourself, Does this make me thinner???  Some people laughed, others groaned.  He's right:  Boot camp absolutely makes me thinner.  At least it did last year.  Of course, I was supplementing camp with running and dancing.  I've put dancing on hold for now (again, for a lot of reasons) but I continue to run, and I expect to have good results by the time camp ends.

Today, campers were given a kind of bingo sheet that we had to fill up with chips as we did each exercise on the sheet, in whatever order we chose, running out to a bucket that was maybe 15 yards away to grab another chip after finishing each move.  (Full disclosure:  Even though they cause the worst kind of grunting, and even whining, I love these challenges..)  We were supposed to start with 5 reps for each exercise, and then when the sheet was full, empty the chips, and start back again, increasing the reps by five to ten.

Somehow, I heard ten to begin with.  When I realized my mistake, I consulted Chad, our fearless leader, who again asked me that question that he prophetically asked me last fall.  Jen, you don't want to ever go backwards do you?  I shook my head, and kept going, increasing the reps to 15 when I finished the first round of Bootcamp Bingo.

For extra fun, Chad would blow his whistle and, no matter where we were, we were supposed to drop down into a high plank.  During the last spontaneous plank session, my core had had pretty much all it could take.  The thirty seconds was taking forever.  Come ON!  I couldn't keep it in, I was ready to do anything but plank.  Still, I kept my form.  And Chad called time a few seconds later.  I don't know about the rest of the campers, but it really helps me when he starts counting down during the last few seconds.  The countdown gives me hope. 

I am so glad to be back in camp.  Pushing myself, getting all disgusting and sweaty, completely red-faced, but loving it.

In five weeks' time, I'll be a little bit smaller and my clothes will be a little bit looser.  And that suits me just fine.