Boot Camp - Wk 2

Yee Ha! Another week down. It hasn't been exactly easier, but seems more doable.

The warm-up runs are still a challenge (I hate running) and I still finish at the back of the pack. I try to counteract this by starting my run early, so there won't be such a huge gap between me and the others. I can do the three laps non-stop now and finally did a 25-minute run (basically twice the distance) non-stop.

It's not that I didn't want to stop at least a dozen times. I just talked myself into continuing. I'd think, okay, you can start walking at the next driveway. The next driveway would come and I'd think; you can make it to the next tree; then the next corner, etc. until I finished. It's really a mind-game.

And I've figured out why people like to run with earplugs and music -- So they don't have to listen to themselves huffing and puffing with each step! When you're running alone, you can hear every single wheezing inhale, exhale and pounding step. Did I mention I hate running?

We work out at a public park adjacent to a high school track and it's in a very green, woodsy residential area. Lots of trees, grass, flowers and MOSQUITOES!

Now, I've always been a mosquito magnet. Given twenty people in the same room and one mosquito, it will zero in on ME. This week has been terrible. I'm being eaten alive by them. On Wednesday, I came home with over a dozen bites. Something had to be done. So heat or no heat, I've started wearing long sleeves and full-length workout pants.

This week, we were challenged to keep a diary of everything we eat and drink during the day. The purpose is to expose when and what we eat; and perhaps guilt us out of eating junk food (and ordering those side of fries) if we know it has to go on the diary. It actually works.

I love the way S puts things. She never tells us we "must" do anything. It's always stated as a challenge; to accomplish or not, as we see fit. As in, "Here's a challenge: don't drink anything but water the entire weekend. No juice, no pop, no alcohol." I think the biggest groans were about the no alcohol. I'm going to take her up on this one.

The rest has been much like the first week – hard, but not so hard that I want to quit. Muscles still get sore, but seem to feel better faster. Besides, I'm half-way done and it's all downhill from here, right? Right?

As a by-product of this experience, there has been one negative. I'm too tired at night to do any reading. I usually like to read an hour or so in bed before I sleep. These past two weeks, I haven't been able to keep my eyes open past the first page. But, I am sleeping better.

The good, the bad and the ugly of week 2:
- The Good: Finished a 25-minute run non-stop
- The Bad: Mosquitoes
- The Ugly: Mosquito bites the colour and size of cherry tomatoes.