Bootcamp Day 11

An epsom salt soak and a little leg massage certainly does the trick, fyi.

Another tough morning getting out of bed, but just made myself do it. James had left me a new cd for the car so I could rock-out and wake-up on the drive downtown, which was nice. Also chugged one of those regular Green Tea’s I bought by accident, figuring I could use the little sugar rush for energy today. Glad I did, as I ended up arriving a bit later than I usually do, and found the instructors were making them do squats at the meet-up point while they waited for 6 am to roll around. Wasn’t ready for that! Boom, calves are killing me again and we haven’t even started our days jogging.

After our warm-up jog, we did the usual warm-up jumping jacks, squats, lunges, push-ups, repeat, then a sprint around the field of cones so they could number us off into 5 groups for workout circuit stations again. They are really bumping up the cardio now, though, as last time we just did something like lunge-walk to the next station. This time, we had to sprint all the way around the cones then on to the next station, each time. The stations were ab and glute work, which at least let me catch my breath in between. Finish it off with two sprint laps, then cool-down stretches.

Then, just to fuck with us, instead of “let’s jog it back to the rally-point for your books”, one of the instructors says, “Hey, guys, follow me!” then takes off AWAY from the meet-up, over to a set of stairs, hustles us up the stairs, around a loop, and then back to the meet-up. This last minute jogging after my brain had focused on “Hey’s, it’s cooldown, we’re done!” was really killing me.

Kerri ended up jogging with me and talking. She asked what was holding me back… I told her my breathing and my calves. She said which is worse. I said, well, the calves I can push through, but I can’t get over the gasping for air and feeling like I can’t catch my breath. Then she proceeded to give me the exact same advice that JT has been giving me for days. Count as you jog or run so you can pace your breathing. At first I thought, great… I’ve heard this before. Then she stayed right there with me, at my pace, counting out loud with me, breathe…two…three… out… two…three… breathe… two…three… all the way back, and with her there to pace me, it was so much easier. It’s a mental struggle, honestly, to tell myself when to breath, and make myself wait until time and not give in to a gasp, but she said, coming from a former non-jogger and current slow-jogger, that she’s been where I am. Just keep counting, she said, and you’ll get it.

AND NOW: Okay, ladies. NEXT THURSDAY – April 26th – is BRING A FRIEND DAY! One free day of bootcamp with me! Anybody interested? I only get to bring one person and I have to know by next Tuesday who it will be. Anyone? You’d be meeting me at 5:40 AM at the park, 12th street entrance, behind the Willy’s on Piedmont.