Operation Boot Camp - Day 16

July 15

Operation Boot Camp - Day 16

There aren't a lot of things you need for bootcamp. You just need good running shoes, some workout clothes, a good attitude, and a good sense of humor.

Take today for example. After a warm up (which included instructor Mark's ode to Richard Simmons...you had to be there, I guess), we did a workout called "Top Gun."

During Top Gun we chose a "wingman" and partnered up. Kendra, a fellow newcomer, was my wingman. She was definitely Maverick, and it was obvious I was Goose. Before we could "take flight" up a path of cones we had to recite a quote from Top Gun to Jenny...aka "Viper."

Once "Viper" cleared us for take off, we did various drills up the hill of cones. One drill was to get in a push-up hold but shuffle sideways (on all fours). At one point my feet were a lot farther up the hill than my hands (and THAT'S why I was Goose). I'm still not quite sure how that happened, but that was one of those times when I just had to laugh.

Once we got to the top, the wingmen split into opposite directions, and ran to "stations" where we performed different exercises. Those included sit-ups, push-ups, jumping jacks, squat jacks...or maybe they're jack-squats, and a lot of other fun little treats for us.

As we cycled through the course a few times, instructor Kat lead us on a quick jog around the park. We did that a couple of times, but one of the runs was pretty long! I was probably only a half of a mile, but it seemed like a marathon. It really did, but it wasn't as difficult as the runs were at the beginning of the month!

Today I wore a skirt to work that I haven't fit into since last summer. It's a small little thing, but to me it's a giant measure of progress. Two and a half weeks in, operation bootcamp is working!

-- Paula Morrison