Thursday, September 11, 2008, 5:55 PM
Boot Camp
By Kirsten Palladino

Day 18

It's production day at SP, which means we send our issue to the printers tonight. This issue's a big one, as it's the annual SP 100. So I've not been able to sneak in a blog until now, and I'll have to make it short and sweet.
As I was jogging alongside my best friend Kathy this morning on bring-a-friend day, I was trying to decide whether or not it was good to work out with friends. It gave me comfort to have her there, but it also gave me the comfortable feeling that I could slack off because she was there, like we were just as an invincible duo as when we were pretending to be neighborhood pirates back in Athens in the mid-80s. Though I didn't necessarily slack off this morning, I was a little slow in my runs. Kathy kicked my butt, to be honest. I told her to run ahead of me, but being the solid BFF that she has been for the past 21+ years, she kept at my slow pace. She did an amazing job being that it was Day 1 for her this morning. I was impressed.
Also on my mind as I worked out today was how different Operation Boot Camp is from what I had mentally pictured before I began. I was very apprehensive about people yelling at me and whatnot. There's been a little loudly spoken encouragement to pick up the pace (which I confess that I need), but there's not been any outright yelling, and certainly no embarrassment, which is quite a relief. In fact, I genuinely like being around most of the instructors. They know a lot, they're all in good shape, they seem like they're having a good time, and they're inspirational. So is Kathy, for that matter.
By the way, the next 30-day program at Grant Park begins Sept. 29, and they're taking applications now at www.operationbootcamp.com.