What Have I Gotten Myself Into?

Last Monday, I made a big change in my life. I signed up for the new Huntsville Adventure Bootcamp taking place in Madison. Inspired by various local moms who swear by it and feeling that 37th birthday pretty hard, I bit the bullet and found the motivation to get my fat butt out of bed at 4:45 a.m. and join a group of women as diverse (and crazy) as they are committed.

This is my diary of that experience.

September 11

11:30 p.m. – I finally get to bed after making the last minute decision to sign up. I’d been thinking about it for weeks but never could find the time. A post on Facebook reminded me that tomorrow may never come.

September 12

2:09 a.m. – My 3-year-old wakes me up to tell me she needs to go to the bathroom. I go with her and then return her to bed.

3:15 a.m. – I wake up and anxiously check my iPhone. I am having trouble sleeping and am nervous that I won’t hear the alarm I’ve set. To be sure I don’t oversleep, I put the phone under my pillow.

4:55 a.m. – The alarm under my pillow wakes me up. I stare bleary eyed at the time and wonder how my phone screwed up the alarm I set for 4:45. Finally, I realize that I have slept through 10 minutes of my alarm going off underneath my ear!

5:10 a.m. – I leave my house and eat a banana on the way to my friend Lisa’s home. She has left 5 pound weights on her front step because mine are lost in the garage. The required equipment list for Bootcamp is simple but mandatory: small hand weights, thick mat, running shoes.

5:25 a.m. – I arrive at the “camp” which is taking place in the parking lot of Bob Jones High School. I am one of 12 women (this is a women only camp). We range in age and fitness level but that seems standard based on what I’ve heard about this program. Some obviously have done this before. They know each other and are discussing with the trainer (Keisha) what we will do today and if we will run and how far. I hear Keisha say we will run on Friday and that will be our assessment day. I am extremely relieved as running is not my forte. I hate to make a bad impression on the first day.
[sws_pullquote_right]Perhaps I’ll make that my goal for the entire camp. Forget losing inches or weight, I’d like to just NOT THROW UP. [/sws_pullquote_right]

5:30 a.m. – We partner up and then begin warm-ups. During this part, I overhear the two partners next to us talking. One asks the other if she has done this before. “No,” replies the partner, “but my friend went to the free Saturday session and she threw up.”

I am now seriously rethinking this endeavor. Also, what kind of a person KNOWS their friend threw up doing this and still signs up to do it?

5:35 a.m. – Keisha explains the warm-up routine and one part involves us running back and forth to a tree on the other end of the parking lot. I begin having flashbacks to windsprints I did in high school soccer. I am concerned. Then she says, “do what you can, you know where you are. If you need to jog or speed walk, do that.”

I feel a little better but I don’t want to look bad in front of all these strangers so I push myself and for the most part, I run. My partner – Katie? Kathy? – seems to know what she is doing. She is at least dressed appropriately. I am not and get super hot five minutes into this.

MENTAL NOTE: Wear tank top next time.

5:45/6:00ish – After several rounds of 30 sec/10 sec intensive exercise where Keisha is watching to evaluate our fitness levels, we being working with hand weights. Many of the women are struggling and Keisha tells us to power through and think about our goals. “What is your goal for the next 4 weeks? What is your goal for today?”

MY GOAL FOR TODAY: Don’t Throw Up.

6:00-6:30 – We do some lunges, some power squats and learn the proper technique for a push-up. I have definitely been doing it wrong but after learning the proper way to do it, I am not better at it and perhaps I am worse. It’s hard to judge from my viewpoint and I am too pooped to care. Finally, it is time for cool-down and stretches and I have achieved my goal of not throwing up!

Keisha was right, when you set a goal and then accomplish it, you do feel better about yourself.

Day One Assessment

I am still anxious about the Friday assessment because I have never been a long-distance runner. In 7th and 8th grade I ran track but I ran the 50-yard dash, the 100 meter and the 400 meter relay. The 200 meter run felt like long distance then and I was probably in the best shape of my life! I really would like to not throw up. Perhaps I’ll make that my goal for the entire camp. Forget losing inches or weight, I’d like to just NOT THROW UP.

[box type=”info”] Want to find out how the Friday assessment goes? Check back every Wednesday for the next month and find out if I accomplish my incredibly aggressive fitness goal of not throwing up during this adventure.[/box]