8 Weeks of Boot Camp Complete!

I finished up my second tour of Boot Camp this past Friday… I have now completed 8 straight weeks of pain and agony at 5:30am in the morning each and every weekday. Truthfully, it has not been THAT bad…. I enjoy self torture tactics… no pain no gain, right?
I improved in all areas of my final PT test on Friday… I am most proud of improving my one-mile run by almost another minute! I ran it in 10:13 minutes… and I thought I was going to die! Sweat was just pouring off of my head… the salty stuff just stinging my eyes… I seriously need to invest in a sweatband. We get this coming week off and then start back on July 7. I am a little sad that we are not reporting back this week to be honest though… I have two big travel trips for work this month too- Denver all of the week of the 14th and El Paso most of the week of the 21st. But, the good folks at Operation Boot Camp are working with me on my crazy schedule and I will still get to boot camp all around my travel days. I just have to make sure I work out while out of town and on the weekends too.
In the meantime, after a nice ½ mile swim at the Aquatic Center this afternoon and our weekly trip to the grocery store this evening, I am preparing meals and such for the upcoming week. Oh and as of Friday morning (before the PT test) I am 21 pounds lighter and I am feeling great! Yes, life is good.

The Boot Camp Journal- Day 1

I am starting a new blog series today called "The Boot Camp Journals"... Yes, I have taken the plunge and joined a boot camp exercise program. Today was the first day of the rest of my life... Mark your calendars accordingly. Cinco de Mayo 2008 is the beginning of my end. Every morning at 5:30am for the next four weeks I will be joining 25 or so other folks at a park in the Dunwoody area and participating in an outdoor program that will motivate me, inspire me, and most of all- shrink me. I will be the first to admit that I have struggled with my weight my entire life. But, once I turned 30 a few years ago, my poor ol' bones have really been telling they have taken the toll for way too long... I tried the gym thing and I just cannot get "into it" like those gym rats. Working out on a treadmill makes me feel like a hamster on his wheel. I hate all the sticky machines and the sweaty, humid smell of the building... NOT for me! I came upon this camp on the Internet and decided to join. What a better way to kick my butt into fitness?? So this morning, the alarm sounded early at 4:00am and I put on my workout clothes and headed to the park...


Operation Boot Camp- Day 1-

Took me 24 minutes to get to the Park- NO traffic- WOOHOO!
Arrived at 4:40am. No one around and way too dark to hang out by myself.
Went up the road and waited in Publix parking lot.
Joined about 25 others and 4 leaders at 5:00am
Orientation for 30 minutes- handed out our Log Book for tracking our food intake.
Announced that this first day of camp would be a PT Test- to see how fit we are...
PT Test: Run 1 mile as fast as you can, do as many push-ups, then sit-ups and then dips as you can in 1 minute each.
HUH? One ENTIRE mile? At one time? I have not run a consecutive mile in over 15 years!
And as predicted I sucked at it this morning!
First of all, it was really chilly in the night air and my lungs were heaving big time.
It was dark and I tripped a few times over unlevel sidewalks- thank you shaky legs.
My nose was running faster than me the entire 13 minutes...
Yes, my final time was 13:06- Big Bummer.
Oh well, things should only improve from there, right?