Session 3 FitPar Final Assessment

Last night, I was determined to get in bed by 11 so I could be well-rested this morning for FitPar. At 11:24, I tucked myself in, tossed and turned just a little bit, but was probably asleep by about midnight. So I did get a full five hours but next time, I'm going to aim for an in-bed- time of 10 so that I can be to sleep by 11. I guess we'll see how that works out.

This morning, I got up and got myself ready. My stomach wasn't feeling the best so I did grab a protein bar on the way out the door but only took one bite of it for fear that if I ate any more, I might have had to deal with a little "surprise" during or at the end of my mile.

When I arrived at the park, we started with some stretching and a quickie warm-up. We headed over to the start of the mile for Dips. I was happy that I beat my last Dips score but still had a bit of queasiness going on in my stomach which I'm sure was magnified by the nervousness I feel every time I consciously try to break a personal best time score. Before I knew it, we were off. I borrowed a friend's IPOD today and the music selection was great! I started out at a slightly faster pace than I have before and I felt really good until I was a bit over half way there and then I realized that I was slowing down just a bit. I tried to maintain a strong pace but my usual sprint over the bridge was definitely harder and slower this time. During that last home-stretch, my heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest at any second. As I crossed the finish line, Rob called out my time. 7:57!!! I had done it!!! I was so excited!!! I punched my fists up in the air knowing that I had broken my personal best time record and had gotten my mile under 8 minutes. Pride for what MY body had just accomplished overwhelmed me with a wave of other emotions. Excitement, strength, thankfulness, maybe a little bit of dis-belief... I think I even felt tears welling up in my smiling eyes. Again, it's not anywhere near a "great time" for a "runner" but for me, under 8 minutes is something I never believed that I would be able to achieve. In just three months, I'VE been able to knock off almost 3 1/2 minutes. To ME, that is something that I can be proud FOR ME.

The biggest reason I share that is to give encouragement. I hope whoever is reading this understands that it's not about the "time". IT REAALLLLY ISN'T!!! For some, a Mile time of 5 minutes isn't fast enough and for some a Mile time of 20 minutes is AMAZING!!!!! For some, just being able to complete a mile is a huge personal success!!!!! Boot Camp has given me chances to make and meet personal goals. Not compare myself to others. It's important for me to be able to have "personal bests" because it helps me gauge the physical strength and endurance of my own body. I know that in the past, I have not always taken care of it and every time I achieve a new personal best, it makes me feel good because I know that I am moving closer to the Wendy Design that God had in the original plans for my own body. I know that God created my body to move because when I move, I feel good (physically and mentally) and when I am lazy and lethargic, I feel bad. For ME, the acceptance of that one fact has been a HUGE mind-shift and has given me a better understanding of how to deal with me. Again, I'm talking about ME.

OK, so I'm stepping down off the soapbox now.

Here are my scores for FitPar:

(old scores in red, new scores in blue)

1 Mile
8:04 7:57

25's (Ammo Can Lifts)
49 45 (Hmmm, went down just a bit, maybe because we did push-ups first?)

Bench Dips
43 47

Crunches
103 105

Front Plank
3:30 3:45

*I do admit it. There was a little bit of competition going on with this one today. Thanks, Amy!

Push Ups
36 47 (not too shabby!)

Reverse Crunches
71 68 (Eh, down 3, prob. shouldn't have rested in the middle.)

Split Squats
56 70 (I can still feel the nagging behind my heel every time I do this one...)

Suicide Shuttle
17 seconds 16 seconds

I'm excited for tomorrow and a little sad that it's my last day of this session. It seems like this month has gone so fast. I'm trying not to be anxious about next week. I'm determined to work out every day, I'm just not sure what company I will or will not have. I have signed up for September and am planning on continuing with my 5-day a week Boot Camp schedule. I'm already excited for the next session and I'm looking forward to new challenges and personal goals.

Again, if you're reading this, even if you can't join "Grand Rapids Adventure Boot Camp", treat your body and your mind to the gift of excersise. Yes, I did call it a "gift". You'll probably have to make some sacrifices (some may be small, some may seem really BIG) along the way but they will seem trivial down the road when you compare what you've given up to what you've gained. I promise!!!

I already know you can do it. Now we just need to convince you...

Believe it!!!!!!!

Yes, I know, I haven't kept up with my daily blog. I'm sorry :-(

So I've been busy. Not just something here and there on the weekend busy but the kind of busy where every waking hour of every day is scheduled. I can't wait until next week because the boys will be back to school and I'll be back to a semi-normal schedule. So again, I apologize to those of you who do read my blog and I'll try to at least do updates a couple times a week starting next week.

So we're in our last week of this session and it has literally flown!!! I'm still feeling great and still look forward to every morning's challenge. We've been busy at Boot Camp. We've done TRX training, traveling, new circuits and today was Bring-A-Friend day.

I am feeling like Boot Camp is part of my every day life and schedule now. I do have to be careful, though because I've been catching myself not giving 100% on every single task lately and I know that the only person that loses in that is me.

Tomorrow is our FitPar assessment and I am ready for it. I hope to get a full 7 hours of sleep tonight and my biggest goal for tomorrow is to get my mile under 8 minutes.

I have been training in running a bit more intense on the weekends because I have a few events that I am participating in soon. I have an Alzheimer's walk in September, a 5K and (drum roll, please...) a half-marathon in October. I am excited about these events but I am very nervous about the half-marathon. I am not planning on running the whole 13 Miles, I'm sure I'll have to walk some of it. Last weekend, I did manage to do 8 Miles with a small amount of walking and I averaged about 12 minutes a mile. This weekend, I am going to do another long run and try to maintain a more steady pace. Please pray for 3 things for me. First, that I may be able to finish strong in the half-marathon (even if that means walking some). Second, that I can avoid injury and re-injury throughout the training process and during the events. And third, that I might be able to focus more on healthy food choices as I still struggle daily with what I am fueling my body with (especially when the days get stressful).

Next week is our week between sessions and I know that there are at least a few of us that are going to continue to meet (and we are open to joiners if you wish). I am hopeful that we can push ourselves to keep up the intensity and to meet daily.

I will try to update more frequently next week. As for now, I'm off to hit the showers and head out to another slammed day at the salon!