Last Day of Boot Camp

Wow, I don't think I've felt this physical fit and mentally good in I don't know how long. This camp has far exceeded what I ever hoped to get from it. I went to get better looking abs and came away more in shape than I've ever been, and my outlook on life has shifted a little.

My plan is to continue boot camp. Not five days a week though. I'll stick with the three. If there's a boot camp in your area I would HIGHLY recommend checking it out and giving it a try.

One of the reasons I took this class was because of my interest in becoming a lifestyle coach. I really believe that getting yourself mentally healthy can be better done if at the same time you're working on your physically well being too. This camp has totally proved this for me personally. In both small and big ways.

One change I've noticed is this. We are tested twice during camp. In the first week and then the very last day. This way we are able to see our progress. I'll be honest with you, I hate tests. As soon as I'm being tested, my mental well being takes a nose dive. On that first mile run my mind was working against me the whole time. Thoughts like, "I think I have to stop now, what if I can't make it, I'm not any good at this...on and on...

Today when I ran my outlook was different. I've been reading more life coaching articles out there and I came across this one suggestion that said every time you have a negative thought come in your head, replace it with something positive. So this time when I ran today I just kept telling myself that I'm a runner and that I can run fast.

The other thing I did was the night before I thought about how I was going to run this mile. The camp is held at a campground/park. We don't run on a nice even track. It's more like a dirt/gravel road that has a up and down hills. I made my plans on how to attack the hills and today it pretty much went how I planned it.

The first week I ran my mile in 8 min. 40 seconds. Today 7 min. 26 seconds. I so wanted to run in the seven minute range today, that was my goal and I reached it.

You need to know I don't enjoy running. I'm good at quick sprints, but long runs...not my thing. So this hasn't been easy for me. Which I thinks makes the results even sweeter.

Below you'll see a picture of where our boot camp takes place. It's outdoors and it overlooks vineyards and hills. Not only is this camp a physical experience for me, but it's also been a spiritual experience as well. As we're working out there's deer feeding around us, blue herons flying over, rabbits running all over the place. On our hikes we come across salamanders and wild turkeys. And then their are the sunrises. It hasn't been a bad way to start my day.