Boot Camp Round II

After an incredibly self-indulgent weekend (including a party Saturday where I got so drunk that I ended up puking my guts up half the night . . . yeah, I'm such the grown-up) I got up with some reluctance this morning for Boot Camp Round II. Part of the reluctance was insomnia, I had a really hard time getting to sleep in the first place and I kept waking up. At about 4:40 I woke up and stared at the clock until my alarm went off at 5:00, hit snooze and then fell into a nice sleep for 7 whole minutes before it started beeping again . . SO ANNOYING!

But I was curious as to how I'd do in another PT test. And Tim has stressed that the second bootcamp was where he really started to see big differences. During the first one you are really focused on whether or not you will survive. It is true that I had no nervousness this morning, confidence that I could do it made all the difference.

There was a much bigger group starting this time, and they are ALL women (except for fell0w veteran Doug) and for the most part they all already look fit and trim. However, I've learned that looks can be deceiving when it comes to bootcamp. The group as a whole did great but listening to some of them talking I heard a fair amount of fear and self-doubt and folks who felt like puking at the end. I did what I could to bolster the confidence of my PT test partner, it was nice to be able to offer that as Helen had helped me on my first day.

So, after a brief warmup which included a short jog, we were off for our timed mile. They've changed the course and its a faster route with a nice little downhill sprint right at the end. It's also actually a mile instead of 1.08 miles like the first course, so that accounts at least somewhat for my new improvement but I give myself credit as well.

I found my stride quickly this time because I wasn't nervous at all, that makes such a difference! And I found myself if not at the back of the middle of the pack, then at the front of the back of the pack which was huge compared to my straggling in last place way behind everyone else on my first day. It was actually a pleasant little run! My mind always tries to slip into the old psych out mode . . . "this is so hard. . . you really don't want to be doing this. . . this is going to be the time that you give up and walk . . . " but today more than any other day I was able to dismiss that voice quickly and authoritatively because it wasn't speaking the truth, it wasn't THAT hard to run this time. I wasn't fighting for every step.

So, my mile time has gone from 17:45 to 12:14 to . . . brace yourself . . . 9:43!!!!! I know that shortening the course by .08 miles did not make a 2:31 minute improvement! So YAY ME! That's a 8:02 minute improvement in 52 days.

Wow! Now I'm really not expecting to improve that much for the PT test on this bootcamp because I'm getting into the range of respectable times!

For the rest of the test my results were as follows:
1 minute of Pushups: 29 regular and 17 facilitated. (15/13 on Sept. 10 - 20/20 on Oct. 5)
1 minute of situps: 39 (24 on Sept. 10 - 36 on Oct. 5)
1 minute of tricep dips: 25 regular and 15 facilitated. (0/23 on Sept. 10 - 22/16 on Oct. 5)

So, the mood forecast is much improved for today!