Thursday, September 18, 2008, 11:18 AM
Boot Camp
By Kirsten Palladino
Day 25
Today was our last regular workout for Operation Boot Camp's month-long program. Tomorrow is the test of our abilities. I was sluggish this morning and I think it's from the shots I received for my upcoming trip to Central America. I got Hep. A & B and tetanus shots jabbed into my left arm on Tuesday morning, had a couple of side effects that same day, but yesterday my arm was killing me and I was lightheaded. Today my arm still hurts and my body's not completely up to par. But, alas, complaining doesn't help anyone!
I'm still working on maintaining good nutrition and drinking tons of water. I drank 2 liters of water yesterday, trying to stay hydrated, and I wonder if that's enough. Nikki, one of our team leaders, mentioned an online calculator that tells you just how much water you need for your weight.
This morning's workout was a challenge, as always, but it was a good one. Melanie, my boot camp buddy, refers to Thursdays as mix bags because the exercises are always a hodge podge of things. After warming up through a series of brief jogs, jumping jacks, walking lunges and other assorted fun activities, we reached the soccer field, where those now-infamous lit orange cones were waiting for us, along with Ramsey. We first did our warm-up stretches (note that we always do warm-up stretches after we're already warm; it's not good to stretch your body before a little cardio), and then we were off to form a square with an X in the middle. We did walking lunges to one cone, and then our "Mission Impossible" sideways walk to another, sprinted to the next cone, and so on. It was a nice balance because I was able to catch my breath with some exercises before sprinting at the next. With our walking lunges, I thought I was doing them quite well until Nikki caught up with me to give me a little guidance on my form. I was coming up from the lunge by leaning forward, and that was incorrect. To do it right, Nikki told me to come up from the lunge with a straight back, chin up, in perfect posture. She had a great tip to just imagine you're balancing a pole across your shoulders. She jokingly offered to grab a pole from the soccer goal, but I didn't think I was able to handle that just yet. Thank goodness for humor though. Almost all our instructors have shown us tons of encouragement, the ability to laugh and great big smiles, which I appreciate more than anything else. There's not been too much sternness and militant discipline style. It's actually been a great experience, and I've had a lot of fun. And I feel really strong!
Wish me luck tomorrow!