Day 22: Thank you Lisa!

This Monday morning started with Basic Training, I was looking forward to a “running workout”. After the warm up, we headed towards the Presidio. I am glad I did some hill training on Saturday because today we ran many more hills…we ran up a trail in the Presidio which I didn’t know even though I have been running in the Presidio many times. It was hard but I felt good in my skin (even though I have to admit that my inner thighs are killing me today…it’s feels like a big bruise…I kind of bumped against the pole yesterday when I was trying to swing around it…very gracious…haha!). We ran up a couple of hills, one of them multiple times doing sprints and “dog sleds” – that’s when my energy faded… my thighs and gluts were burning like fire… Thanks Lisa for pushing me! When doing dog sleds, you have a resistance band wrapped around your waist and another person is trying to hold you back while you run forwards. It's almost like running in the same place because you don't get to move much because of the resistance...It is already challenging on a flat street, don't even ask about an uphill trail...You should try it!

The group then split up, one “advanced/more intense running”-group with Jen and the “not so advanced runners” that joined Michael. I wanted to join Michael (I was really done after these dog sleds…) but Lisa said “Hey Sue, what are you doing, come on over here!”… so I went with the “runner’s group”. We did a pretty long “Indian run” up the hill. In an Indian run, the group lines up in a long queue and the last person of the line has to sprint to the front, and then the next person sprints to the front, and so on… at a point I seriously started feeling dizzy because I was breathing so hard and it was mostly uphill and the group kept a good pace. So I had to step out, that sucked. I felt bad for quitting while everyone else kept pushing themselves, but I really needed a short break to prevent my heart from exploding (at least it felt that way). I felt guilty for weakening the group because me dropping out means that everyone else has to sprint more often to keep the “Indian run” going, but I couldn’t help it. Jen pointed out a shortcut through the forest and told me to meet up with them after they run a loop. It only was a 3 minute walk uphill and then the group came back already, but still I was upset with myself for dropping out. We came to a parking lot, we did some burpees, mountain climbers and shoulder presses before we ran back to the Exploratorium. I was disappointed with myself and also apologized to Jen for dropping out on that hill, but she again was very encouraging telling me that I should not worry about it because we pay a lot of money so it is their task to challenge everyone within their level and keep the group together, that’s what they are there for. She was really nice about it and she reassured me to “never worry about holding the group back because you don’t”. I am getting to know the people better with every workout and I can’t wait for tomorrow’s class. Overall, even though I dropped out for a couple of minutes, I got a great run in (I guess we ran app. 4 miles) and I ran more hills than I usually do. And I also think that I start running slightly faster, that makes me really happy! It truly is the best hour of my day!

I mentioned Lisa earlier in my blog. I met Lisa working out with another bootcamp 1 year ago, and since then she has always been a reliable friend and a great "workout buddy". In contrast to me, who took several "recovery-weeks" in between bootcamp sessions during the last year, Lisa has been going to bootcamp non-stop for exactly one year now. We originally started with another bootcamp and Lisa was the one who suggested to give Basic Training a try. Best idea ever! Lisa really became my role model for bootcamp. I think she already looked fabulous a year ago, but it is so amazing how much her body has changed in 12 months and how athletic she is now! It is really inspiring and worth all the hard effort. Thanks Lisa for being such an inspiration and a great friend, thanks for pushing and supporting me!

After work, I had another Bar method class with Julia. I have been going to this class for 3 weeks now, and I start seeing results!! It is pretty amazing. Yet, changes are small but I can tell! I had a healthy breakfast this morning, I even had a pre-workout snack before Basic training (it was only a cereal bar but usually I can't bring myself to eat at 5.45 am in the morning). I do feel much better when I have breakfast, I have to say. I will try to stick with it.

22 days down, 20 days to go - the first half of this challenge passed within the blink of an eye! I don't even want to think about the time after the challenge is over, I never had so much fun working out before!