One More Day!

I'm almost going to miss 4:40 a.m. Almost.

Tomorrow is my last day at Adventure Boot Camp and I'm not sure how I feel about that. I'm glad that I made it through. I'm proud of my improvement. I'm in disbelief that I returned after the terrible experience I gave myself on the first day. I'm sad that I can't dish out the dough for more and more and more sessions. I'm worried that I won't keep up the workout routine (outside of running). I'm happy that I can sleep in a little later if I want to. I'm already nostalgic about not seeing the ducks in the morning anymore. I'm so very thankful to ABC Linda for being an awesome trainer and for putting up with my whining and for encouraging me to come back after the first day. I'm going to miss boot camp. There, I said it.

Here's what I'm not going to miss:

planks, skinned elbows and knees (from doing modified planks), the hilly running "track," being soaked through before getting into the shower (sweat), the extra laundry from the profuse amount of sweaty t-shirts I went through, my stinky weight lifting gloves, carrying my weights to base camp every morning, carrying my weights back to my car after boot camp every morning, watching my sweat drip from my face to the ground while doing anything bent over, goose/duck poop, planks (yeah, it needs to be said twice), partner exercises, mountain climbers, and trying to digest juice or food so soon after waking up.

But, despite the length of that list, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Each of those crappy things also made me pretty happy in certain ways. Except planks. Okay maybe planks too, since they got a little easier when I figured out how to deal with my crappo knees and learned how to modify them.

So, let's have three cheers for my last day of getting up at 4:40 a.m. Hip hip!

But, getting up early hasn't been as hard as I anticipated. In fact, it was easier to get up for boot camp at an extra early hour than it is to get up for work at a regular hour.

1. Workout clothes are more comfortable than work clothes
2. Gym shoes are better than ANY shoes (even flip flops)
3. Boot camp time delayed work time
4. I had much more time to wake up before work
5. 5 a.m. = no traffic whatsoever

I feel like I have so much more to say, but I do want to save some for my next post. Tomorrow I'll get my final timed mile, and Saturday I get a post-evaluation from the ABC folks. I should have lots to talk about on Saturday afternoon, especially if I can find my measurements card from my old gym. I'm pretty sure I've dropped major inches, but since I didn't get a pre-evaluation (registration/paperwork drama), I can't check my progress unless I find that card. I'll keep looking!

One more thing! Today I ran 4 laps around the running track without stopping. That's 4/5 (0.8) of a mile! I'm sooooo close to a mile I can taste it! I've never EVER ran that far without stopping. EVER. Not even when I was a wee one. YIPPEE!

I'll see you all on the flip side. Please send thoughts of happy leg muscles and oxygenated lungs my way tomorrow morning or tonight before bed!

Coming soon ... Beckey returns to running!

Adventure Boot Camp: Week 2 Wrap Up

You know what? Being sick in the summer really blows.

Okay, being sick at all is really bad, but I don't get sick very often. In fact, this is the second time I've been sick in less than a year, and that's a LOT for me. I was on a streak of wellness for a long, long time.

So, as you know, I had to ruin perfect attendance at boot camp this week because of the yuck, but I still got 4 days of early morning workouts in.

Week 2 is complete. Halfway finished. I'm actually really sad about it, too. I might try to do morning workouts on my own after all is said and done, though I think motivation to get up and exercise is a lot harder to come by when you're not driving to meet 20 other women who are doing the same thing. You all might have to help motivate me to do that. Too bad we don't all live close by; we could totally or

Anyway, what happened this week?

Well, the biggest news is that my muscles aren't sore any more! Yay! The second biggest news is that it was soooo hot and humid out this week, which made breathing interesting. And third, we got to run this week. Yay again!


We did some of the most torturous things this week, and they both involved a little plot of parking lot and some orange cones.

We did suicide drills (click here to see a video of a bunch of basketball dudes doing suicide drills), and at each stopping point, another ABCer was stationed doing some kind of workout (one was planks, another jumping jacks, then running in place, and bicycle crunches). So, while I was heaving my self up and down and up and down the suicide course, women were working their butts off, waiting for me to finish. Fortunately I went first so my slowness didn't hurt anyone too much. This was definite gym class flashback material, though.

Yesterday we did a cardio circuit on that same coned-off parking lot. Jumping, skipping, butt-kicking, shuffling, sprinting, etc. down the course and back. The last little up-and-back exercise involved donning a giant rubberband and trying to run down the course while your partner held you back. And that's when I got a compliment: "Wow you're strong!" YAY! I told my partner to really hold me back and I proceeded to haul her down the way. I'm pretty sure my weight was a benefit for me there, though.

Plank exercises have continued, but I've found ways to work around them (from my knees or my forearms or an elevated surface). It's still a little frustrating for me, though, because I know I'm not getting the strengthening workout I could be getting if I could just hold myself up. But, it's really helping to use my lifting gloves. Traction and whatnot. And other women struggle too, so that's comforting.

Two more things.

Yesterday morning it was raining. Like a constant heavier-than-sprinkling drizzle for about 20 minutes of our workout. I, of course, need no help getting soaking wet during ABC because of my profuse sweating, and by the end of our time, I had no where left to wipe my sweaty/rained-on face. Mmm ... delicious!

Wednesday, the Anderson ABC'ers had visitors. Yes, we had visitors from bring a friend free day (and I had no friend to bring), but a the family of ducks that lives in the pond at the Anderson Center also decided to come out and play. Usually they just float around in the pond and "laugh" at us. I so wish I had a picture to share, and hopefully I'll remember to ask ABC Linda to forward me the ones she took. This little trio of ducklings (not the itty bitty kind, but the ones that have lost most/all of their down), came and sat right behind my mat and just watched us. Seriously, two or three feet away from me ... just chillin'. They stayed for pretty much the whole set of triplexes. Yes, I hate most birds and other winged creatures, but I love ducks, so this just made my day. So cute.

So, on that note, I want to take a moment to apologize for the extreme dullness of my posts lately. I'm not sure what's up. I'm going to blame it on getting up so early ... once I get the chance to sit down and write, I've got nothing. Plus, I'm not getting out and running on my own anymore, which usually gives me time to think about what to write. I'll try to find my funny/interesting bone again, I promise.

Speaking of running on my own, I may try to go tonight, depending on how I feel. I miss it, and if I'm even remotely okay, I'm going to go.

I MISS RUNNING! Whaaa??

A Sweaty Mess ... And More Friggin' Planks

Hey, Cincinnati. Did you know it's hot outside?

Did you know it's hot outside at 5:30 in the morning?

Today when I got home from Adventure Boot Camp, I pulled my ponytail holder out of my hair and splashed sweat all over the bathroom. Literally. My hair went from bone-dry to just-out-of-the-swimming-pool soaked in an hour.

Gross.

Sorry, I hope you weren't eating or anything. You better finish, because I'm going to continue.

It baffles me that women actually left ABC this morning with dry heads and dry clothes. How is that possible? I was essentially born with sweat beads on my nose; my mother has told me numerous times that I've had them since I was really little. I can't keep a head of styled hair for more than 2 minutes if it's hot outside.

Sweat + freshly straightened but naturally wavy hair = HOT MESS

After a few conversations with my friend, a fellow sweater, I've been trying to convince myself that heavy sweating just means my body is uber-efficient at cooling itself down. I don't think I believe it. I just continue to see it as a curse and a reason I can't just exercise at the drop of a hat.

Speaking of exercising ... I don't know if there's anyone I envy more than the gentlemen who workout on their lunch breaks. Oh the luxury! If I could count on being able to get a workout in, take a shower, primp, and return to work with a dry head of hair and a normal colored face (instead of beet read) ... I don't know what. I certainly think I'd exercise at lunch. What better way to avoid spending money eating out?

******

So that was a wild tangent! Let's return to fitness, shall we?

1. I don't think it's possible to go back to sleep after ABC. I tried it yesterday on my Fourth of July holiday. I forced myself to stay in bed until after 9 a.m., but I'm not sure how much rest I got. This doesn't bode well for my two vacation days next week. More morning hours to enjoy the sunshine, I guess. One positive note about going to bed after the workout -- BOY was I relaxed! After stretching, working out, and stretching again, there wasn't a moment that I had to shift because I was uncomfortable. Three cheers for that!
2. Yesterday was a plank-tastic mess at ABC! Plank this and plank that. Blech! I switched from modified planks on the stairs to the bench to the low wall ... ugh! We did some today, too. All of them sucked. Okay wait, not all of them. I actually attempted a few of the exercises from the ground and they didn't go so badly. One was a "spiderman push up." You do a push up and, while you're lowering yourself, you bring one of your knees out to your side to meet your elbow. One of the modifications ABC Linda offered was to do the full push up, then bring your leg out. So, I did modified push ups (from the knees and SO not all the way down), holding onto dumbbells instead of hands on the ground, then did the leg left after I finished each push up. Not bad, not bad. My hips and core are strong, so that helped.
3. I saw improvement in my push ups today. I also paid a lot more attention to where my arms were and to holding my whole body tight to help ease the strain.
   
4. I don't like partner exercises. We were supposed to do one today, and it required putting one foot on your partner's back and doing a squat while she held plank. I chose to do the squat on my own using the stairs. Putting my weight on someone like that is not my idea of being nice to others. How awful! I'm not sure what the benefit of that particular exercise is, but maybe one of my ABC readers will pipe in. So anyway, I don't like partner stuff at all, I guess. Whether it's partner push up/handshake things, the wacky squats described above, or running with a buddy, they all make me really uncomfortable. It's a matter of me slowing someone down ... again, something I've dealt with my whole life.
   
5. I'm pretty sure that gym class is the most traumatic, life-altering experience a person can go through. I'm seeing more every day how it has affected me. Sad.
6. My legs ... are NOT sore! Wheeeeee! In fact, they feel stronger. I take bigger strides now and can feel the muscles all over my legs (and my glutes) doing the work. I like it. =)
7. We now have the option of running for up to a half hour every day before ABC starts. For every lap we do, we get entered into a drawing for $50 off our next ABC. I'm not so much into the raffle part because, unfortunately, $50 off is just not enough of a discount. This girl cannot afford ABC, which is why I'm glad I won a gift certificate. Anyway, the running -- it makes me happy. I'm eager to do it. So far I've just done one lap (approx. 2/10 mile) each morning. But, I'm running the whole thing ... no walking. AND, I'm going to add another lap on, maybe tomorrow. Eventually I'm going to see how many times I can run around without walking. I'm only afraid I'll wear myself out before ABC even starts. Hmmm ... Thoughts?

Okay, I'll wrap up. I've been thinking about my Half Pig goal from my last post, and I'm starting to freak out a little bit.

13.1 miles is a really long way. Will I make it?

The course is hilly. Will I die?

The cut-off pace is 16 minutes/mile. Will I be cut off?

Meh.

My friend, Liz, commented on the last post and suggested I take the course for a test drive before the big day. Yes, it's 10 months away, but I'm still anxious to try it. I'm afraid to go alone, though. Afraid to go alone and doesn't like running with other people ... what a pickle! Maybe if my volunteer co-runner just took it at my pace the whole time ... Hmmm again ...

So there. Anyone have comments on sweating, ABC, or the Half Pig, please pipe up.

Thanks for reading!