POST BOOT CAMP THOUGHTS

I wasn't in great shape when I started boot camp and I'm not in great shape now that I've finished boot camp, but I'm better off than I was when I started.

I have lost 7 pounds.

I can fit into one smaller dress size, but my regular size is still wearable. Everything just fits MUCH better and some items are downright loose. This makes me very happy.

I haven't tested myself to see if I can run a mile without having to stop and walk yet.

Even though boot camp wrapped up on Friday, we were supposed to go for Performance Tests on Monday morning, but I was out of town and couldn't make my AM class. I told uber-instructor Kari that I'd be at the PM class to do the PTs with that group, but at 6:30opm it was still 103 degrees outside and there was no way I could do a boot camp in that kind of weather.

I knew they'd put us through the opening warm up exercises before doing the PT's which not only consisted of running the mile, but doing sit ups and push ups. We were to compare our post boot camp results with our results from day one...remember that day? It was raining and I said I felt like G.I. Jane. Pffft!

Instead, Andres will time my mile and count my sit ups and push ups for me. Emily will re-measure me and I'll post those results.

Over the weekend I tried to stay on my eating plan and did pretty well until we hit a great steakhouse in Kansas City Sunday night for din din. I had an 8 oz rib eye and it was delicious, but omg I was full.

Monday morning Andres and I got up at 6am and went on our 11 mile bike ride around the lake.

I saw all the cars in the lake's parking lot...all those boot campers out there somewhere sweating and dying. Not me!

After the ride I got out my yoga mat and did my core exercises, 180 different kinds of sit ups and planks and by 7:15am I was getting ready for work!

I had my boot camp fare all day...keeping to the six small meals plan. I felt good about all of it!

I also felt a sense of potent relief when I was riding around the lake. "I don't have to get up and go to boot camp anymore!" But I also felt a sense of paranoia...worry...constant fretting..."I don't want to lose what I've gained".

That bike ride didn't seem strenuous enough. I wasn't dying at the end of it. I found myself wanting to do more. I think when the weather cools off a bit I might try adding a little run into my day. We'll see how it goes.

Andres and I went out to a fried chicken joint with Andrea (his daughter) and her family last night. I removed skin from the chicken I ate, but then ate some of it anyway and I had 10 pieces of fried okra. I feel terribly guilty about this. Andrea and I talked about this paranoia and the word "eating disorder" came up. LOL Well, I don't about becoming anorexic or anything *looks at hips* nope...no anorexia in my future, but I DO have an anxiety about eating.

This morning Andres and I did not get up and do our ride, so tonight when I get home I'll be hopping on the old elliptical. I haven't been on that since boot camp started, so it will be interesting to see how much more I can do on it now.

I want to do the mile run in the morning. That's really gnawing at me. Must get that done.

Boot camp wasn't fun for me, but I'm glad I did it. Someone at work asked why I was doing it. "You won't be able to maintain that level of intensity on your own." he said.

I agreed and knew as much going in, but what I DO have is a new perspective on what a work out should be...COULD be. My stamina is up and I've become accustomed to wonderful new eating habits.

My eating habits before boot camp were horrible. I pray I never go back to that. I won't be as strict on my eating as I was during boot camp, but I'll be MUCH better than I was before boot camp.

My new goal is to lose another 3 pounds to make it an even 10 pounds down.

After I reach that goal...I'll set a new one.

Final Analysis: Boot camp was good for me. I suppose the difficult things usually DO end up being good for you in the end. I would recommend at least one tour of duty to my friends.

Andrea and Jaimie plan to "re-enlist" in the fall. Jaimie invited me to join her.

ROFLMAO!!!!

BOOT CAMP: DAY 18 - FIN

I can't believe I made it through a month of boot camp, but I have.

This day came quickly, but it was also a long time coming, if that makes sense.

I can't believe the month has passed.

The accomplishment gets little fanfare here though besides the t-shirt I got at graduation today.


I have rush to get everything ready to head to big ol' Seminole Oklahoma for my 25 year class reunion.

I have 2 hours before I have to hit the road and I still have to pack, wash the car, run by the bank and maybe go by Dillard's to see if I can find something to wear tonight.

Everyone have a great weekend.

BOOT CAMP: DAY 17 OF WORKOUTS

The fact that I am in a foul mood might affect my perception of boot camp today.

Jaimie left an irritatingly chipper note on my wall indicating that she thought boot camp was good today.

*sigh*

Well, Jaimie, if by "good" you mean they gave us a good working over, I say Yes, boot camp today was excellent. Magnificent, even.

Lots of cardio and leg work today. I think the bear crawl (walking on your hands and feet) has surpassed jump rope as my most hated thing to do at boot camp. And it was hard enough doing the bear crawl going forward, but seriously....did they HAVE to make us do it backward too?

To say I was struggling with the backward bear crawl would be an understatement. It was so bad that Uber-instructor Kari got down beside me and was yelling at me that I could, indeed do it.

I tried. I really did and I got to the end of the backward bear crawl part and started on the second bear crawl forward stretch, but halfway through...I swear I was going to fall on my face.

Kari was showing this other girl, who seems to always need adapted exercises, a modified version of the bear crawl. I guess this girl has some condition or something, but anyhoo....Kari was showing this girl a version of the bear crawl where you're standing on two legs and taking large, lunge type strides. I stood up and started doing that. I think Kari started to tell me to get back down, but she must have changed her mind. Maybe seeing my beet red face changed it for her. Who can know these things?

Shout out to Miss Chipper Jaimie for doing the bear crawl all the way through!

I feel kind of bad about this bear crawl thing. I mean there were good things that happened today. For instance, for the first time in my LIFE I did push ups the regular way...not on my knees and I felt great about that...surprised at myself and great, but this bear crawl failure. It colors everything.

I can't bear crawl for long lengths of time.

woe is me.
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.
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LOL

okay...see, writing things out always gives me a good perspective. Who cares if I can't bear crawl. I did my best, right?

Right.

Okay...one more day and guess what? I'm going to my high school reunion. Yep, I'll be up for Boot Camp in the morning and by 1pm I'll be in Seminole, Oklahoma decorating for the reunion. I can't wait to see everyone.

BOOT CAMP: DAYS 15 AND 16 OF WORKOUTS

I think I am out of words about Boot Camp. I went yesterday, but didn't write because there is nothing but the same old, same old to say.

It was hard.

I'm sore.

I go to bed at night with a sense of ...not dread. That's too strong, but I find that I put off going to sleep because I don't want to get up at the dawn of crack and go to boot camp. Add to that the fact that ever since my alarm didn't go off that time I tend to wake up around 3:30 or 4:00 and I can't go back to sleep for fear that I'll miss my alarm again, so I just lay there in bed tossing and turning, drifting off, but jerking awake again, checking the clock.

When I get up I'm not sleepy, but I get sleepy later in the day.

However, today...I hit the wall.

Uber-Instructor, Kari said today's work out would be "a good one". She did not disappoint.

It was hard but not too hard. I was pleased with my performance and I had a very encouraging sub-instructor with my small group. She motivates me to push harder simply because she IS so encouraging. I think she got a lot out of me today. (Yes, Jaimie, I'm talking about Susan...sorry)

Note for self: You did 125 tricep push ups today young lady, and Susan (sub-instructor) told you your form was perfect, so you should feel really awesome about that.

Andres' daughter, Andrea, who has already completed her Boot Camp told us at the beginning that it WOULD get easier. I now find that she was right. It IS easier. When I started out I felt worn slick just during the appetizer portion of our sessions, but now....no sweat. I can run wherever they want me to run and do whatever warm up exercises they throw at us and then do the stretches and then I can run again after that.

But the entre' portion of class seems to be harder this week. I'm not sure, maybe it just seems that way to me because I'm still sore from Monday's class and so I'm starting from a muscularly weak and painful place. Jaimie? What do you think? Is it harder? I dunno.

I can do all they ask of me in class, but when I get home...well, at least today...it hurts to lift my legs to get out of the car. It hurts to walk up the stairs....it hurts to take off my clothes. This morning I cleaned up and started to get ready for work, but I had a bit of extra time, so I laid down on my nice, soft, lovely bed.

...and I slept. I woke up long enough to call my boss. Andres asked me if I was going to call my boss and tell him I'd be late and I said, "Yes" and then said, "but my phone is downstairs." I know Andres didn't understand that I was hinting for him to bring my phone upstairs to me when he went down because he went downstairs and came back up without my phone. I didn't say anything, but I inwardly whimpered as i got up and went downstairs to get my phone.

I called Bill (my boss) and told him I was done up and in bed and I heard him snicker! He did! And I was like, "did you just laugh?" He said, "Boot camp finally found your breaking point, huh?"

"yes." I said. And then asked if it was okay if I came in after lunch.

He said yes. (Thank you, Bill) (Everyone wave at my boss)

So...I crawled back into bed and banked some Z's while in the fetal position.

I feel much better.

I only have two days of boot camp left to go. I'm glad that it will be over, but I'm very nervous that I will lose any hard fought for ground I've gained this month.

Today I am wearing a skirt that is a size smaller than my normal size. *smile* dropping a dress size was one of my goals. Don't get me wrong, the skirt isn't LOOSE or anything like that, but it's on, damn it!

The skirt is on.

HOO-YA

BOOT CAMP: DAY 14 OF WORKOUTS. (last week of camp)

Well, I made the most of my splurge meal this past weekend. Andres' daughter always has a 4th of July party at her house and I knew lots of good food would be on hand, so I stayed on my dietary track until that blessed event.

Oh the humanity.

There were burgers and ribs and potato salad and Greek salad and cookies and two desserts and beer.

It was sheer heaven and I enjoyed every bit of what I ate.

We had fun with everyone who was at Andrea's house. A big shout out to Andrea and Kevin for hosting everyone again.

Today...us boot campers had to get back on program after three days of no classes. I did workouts each of those three days off. We have to do it for homework or else we get "encouragement". So I wasn't too out of it, however I was nervous about what would be in store for us.

I was right to worry.

Kari had us doing sprints and lots of core bodywork in between sprints. Lots of planks.

It was hard and I did my absolute best on everything she asked us to do which means I spent the entire time feeling like I couldn't do the next thing asked of me, but I did it anyway. I guess I know that since this is my last week, it's my last chance to make the most of this experience. One more week will definitely make a difference in my final results if I'm busting my hump to the max.

But I'm paying for it today. The lower half of my bod is extremely sore. And my quads...
I didn't realize how taxing the sprints were, but toward then end when we did our core workout I had to do slow bicycles with my legs while laying on my back and my quads started immediately twitching and they felt weird. It was a very odd feeling and scared me a bit, but I kept at it and the quivering stopped.

I hope the soreness goes away before tomorrow morning's boot camp excursion.

BOOT CAMP: DAY 13 OF WORKOUTS

Today was "Bring a Friend" day at Boot Camp.

It was a foregone conclusion that Andres would be my "friend". When he found out I was interested in signing up for boot camp he was all for it. He thought it would be great for me and he was right. it's been hard, but I can honestly say it's been great for me.

I feel good that I've done it.

I feel good that I haven't quit.

I feel good about the exercise challenges I never thought I could do.

It was important to me that Andres go today. I wanted to share this with him. I wanted him to see what I was doing and to be honest, I wanted him to appreciate how hard I've been working. Not that he didn't before. In support of my boot camp efforts, Andres has been getting up at 5:30 every morning to do his daily bike ride. He said he didn't feel good about sleeping when I was out there busting my hump. He hasn't missed a day and he's been understanding about my end of the day exhaustion.

Andres is in great physical shape. He always passes for 10 years younger than he actually is. (Which is great considering I'm 11 years younger than him. heh)

Andres' son, Andy Jr. came to boot camp with his wife Jaimie today too. And you know what? I was glad he was there too! We usually have a good time when we're all together and I think a lot of Andres' family. I know what it meant to Jaimie to have him there, but I didn't expect it to matter to me that he was there too.

Maybe it's because now the entire family has had this experience. Andres' daughter just finished boot camp and she took her hubby, Kevin, on her "Bring a Friend" day.

I really like that.

I didn't expect it to turn out that way because when Jaimie's mom first suggested I enroll in a 5:30 am boot camp with her I flat out said, "No way!" I wanted no part of getting up early because I NEED my 8 hours a night and I didn't want to be pushed to exercise.

But between the time Linda first suggested it to me and the time the class I wanted to take started I began thinking about it. Why did I flat out refuse to do it? What was I afraid of? And...if I don't do this, what WILL I do? I've always wanted to lose a few pounds and tone up. Why NOT boot camp?

It's a good thing I didn't know how hard it was going to be because I probably wouldn't have signed up, but I did. I emailed Linda (Jaimie's mom) and asked her if she still wanted to do it, but in the end Linda said no.

Miss Linda is NOT a morning person. LOL But she always watches her weight anyway. If she gets a few pounds out of whack she does what she needs to do to fix it. When you're 20 lbs out of whack (or more) you need boot camp. Add to that the fact that I had a 25 year high school reunion coming up in mid July and that Andres and I plan to marry SOME TIME this year and well...it became a no-brainer.

I took a big gulp and signed up. (Odd how easy it is to sign up for things online.)

Today was the last work out for week 3. It was hard. Lots of cardio and I was dying at the end of class. But Jaimie, two of her friends who are also in our boot camp class, and I had briefly discussed doing "The Big Hill" today. "We'll do it on Thursday" we said earlier this week.

OMG...class was so hard for me today that I didn't want to do the Big Hill anymore. When the instructors announced it was time for core and people who wanted to do the hill should go now Andres looked at me to see if I wanted to. I looked around for Jaimie thinking that if they weren't doing it, I wasn't doing it.

Well...they were doing it. There went Jaimie and Andy toward the Big Hill. I took a deep breath and followed them and Andres was right there with me.

I'm glad to say we made it up to the top of the big hill and that includes coming down once when we'd made it to the halfway mark the first time up and then re-scaling the heights a second time. At each tier of the hiil we had to stop and do our core exercises...sit ups. (Note: Andres rocked the cardio portion of the class, but told me later that ab work was NOT his friend)

I almost slid in some dirt and was holding on to grass to keep from falling the first time up, but Andres helped me.

So...that was our big day 13 at boot camp. Andy and Andres said it was hard, but they both did a great job. The instructors were impressed with Andres, but I knew he'd do well and I'm so glad he came to class today.

Now a 3 day weekend looms. No boot camp tomorrow. No work and to make it even sweeter....Uber Instructor, Kari, told me I could have beer with my splurge meal on the 4th. "Just don't tell me about it." She said. "Yes, Ma'am!"

I'm having a burger and potato salad and beer and whatever else I can cram into one meal on Saturday.

Everyone have a happy 4th of July.

BOOT CAMP: DAY TWELVE OF WORKOUTS

I LOVE day 12 of bootcamp workouts.

I never realized how hard the cardio was until today. We focused on strength training.

"We won't be doing much cardio today!" yells Kari before class.

Today was sooo much easier with no cardio.

How many times can I write the word "cardio" in an entry? sheesh!!!

We did strength training with a large rubber band.

We layed on the ground a lot.

The ground was wet....and grassy.

We were all pretty dirty at the end of class and I was surprised to find that I was sweaty again. I didn't think I would be.

So...some of the things we did were difficult (Like the mountain climbers they made us do periodically for just a smidge of cardio) but overall....a great day at Boot Camp!