This is always a very important morning to me with every bootcamp, because it is a wonderful opportunity for me to determine where I am today, so I will know where I am going tomorrow. No fudgin' the truth here! With this kind of documentation, I will know how to structure specific goals for progressive success.
However, it does produce a certain amount of jitters for me and I got pretty keyed up. I've always been anxious about doing the mile, because I want to challenge myself as hard as I can without setting myself up for failure. Yeah, I want to run with the BiG DoGs, but if I were to be totally honest with myself, I need to condition myself for running, and doing a walk/jog is more appropriate. Its called patience.
As I arrived to camp that morning, I was pacing like an animal in a cage, and heaving big sighs. In fact one of the campers noticed my exceptionally outgoing demeanor and commented how "energized" I seemed. Yeah, that was all nervous energy, because in my mind, I was running in an Olympic track meet and I wanted to prove myself! I especially hoped that I would show an improvement from last month's bootcamp. I wanted to be proud of myself. But I also wanted to make my coach/trainer/bootcamp leader proud, because he puts an immense amount of time and energy designing our workouts and sharing his wisdom with us. It would be great if we both could share a piece of the pie. : )
My respiratory system can be compromised at times. It causes my breathing to get very labored and I feel like I can't get any air. It has freaked me out a few times. Sometimes I will hyperventilate. Then if I start associating the hyper breathing and its discomfort with the running, it can create a mental block. My mind was wandering in that direction. But Friday was different.
I have always said that the Adventure Bootcamp at the Fitness Edge is one of the best places for women to train because of the support we give each other, and today proved I was right. We started with are usual warm-up and I did a slow jog. I was thinking about my heaving when out of the blue came one of the morning warriors and she started to jog along with me. I was surprised because she is a runner so she is one of the BiG DoGs. Yeah, anyone that can run without walking must be in their stride, and have a level of fitness I am working to achieve for myself. I haven't personally jogged with any runners before. They usually run in packs with themselves, and that seems very understandable and reasonable.
I'm going to call this comrade "the Little Rocket", because she often is the first one out of the gate on sprints and most exercises, even before Brian blows his famous whistle! :) She says every little extra lunge and power squat will burn that many more calories so she's goin' for it!
But today, she gaited herself to my pace and she calmed my fears of the breathing and the full mile assessment that would be coming soon. When I told her about my fears and concerns she asked me, "Do you practice running very often?" I replied, "Not very much....I usually go on the elliptical trainer".
The Lil' Rocket just laughed in good humor and said,"Well, we all feel the way you do when we start"! And then she said something I know and have heard before, but really stuck in my mind this time; To paraphrase, she said "Your perception can become your reality if you let negative thinking get in your way. If you think you can't, then you won't. Be aware of what you tell yourself".
The Lil' Rocket had such a calming effect on me that I jogged around the parking lot 1 and a half times more than ever before while we talked, and she stayed with me the whole time. My breathing was under control. Wow! Look what a little unexpected support from a veteran comrade can do! It was uplifting that she took the time to assuage my anxiety. A BiG DoG came to talk me up! :)
When I started my 1 mile run, my breathing began to get labored at about 1-2 minutes. I thought about the Lil' Rocket and her smiling face, her calming influence, the encouragement she gave me, and I deliberately tried to slow my breathing, my thoughts, my pace. I thought about the message she had conveyed to me: "Believe in yourself! You can DO it"!
It was then that I realized that the Little Rocket had just handed me a new tool to put in my toolbox. I needed to think "calm"; I needed to slow my breathing; and I needed to talk to myself the way she talked to me. I focused on the calm aura she provided me, and then......I provided it for myself.
My comrade warrior had been a great role model for me, and though I didn't break any records, I was very pleased with my effort. I didn't run with the BiG DoGs this time; I chose the walk/jog pack, but that was exactly where I belonged. I operated somewhere in the middle of this group and I worked at full capacity.
I was so elated after my successful mile ( I did improve a little since last time :) and the hopefulness Lil' Rocket gave me, that I decided that I wanted to begin jogging as one of my cross training endeavors. I wanted to get good enough with it so that I could actually enjoy it. So while there was still a little time before our circuit training, I chose to start practicing NOW!
I thought about proper form and technique and immediately started watching the runners for clues. I was hungry! I remember Brian had said, "Your legs will follow your arms, so power your arms".
Then one of the BiG DoGs glided by me like she was floating on a cloud. Her jog was purely effortless. There was such a grace in her stride. I've never talked much with her, but I got to give her her props! I'm gonna call her "Amazing Grace" because it was amazing how graceful she moved. I noticed she rocked from the balls of her feet to her toes. Perhaps I will try her method! Then maybe they will call me "the Swan Runner"! (lol) :)
So my 1st Friday of the Adventure Bootcamp was an incredible experience, and I felt like a Rock Star! And here I had fretted and privately dreaded the mile run..... probably because I felt my physical weakness and inabilities would be publicly exposed......and its been always uncomfortable to feel vulnerable. And I was afraid I would trigger a respiratory attack. Our minds have so much positive or negative power depending on how we use them.
I hope anyone who has felt like me about the Assessment will give themselves a chance to experience how empowering it can be! I have talked to a couple of women in prior camps that would rather avoid this day, but s-t-r-e-t-c-h yourself out of your existing mentality.
It is good! It is for you, for me, and an instrument that will only fine tune your program and goals to achieve that sexy, glam figure! :)
Thank you Little Rocket......for taking the time to make a difference in my journey towards fitness. : ) And for all the campers who feel like they are starting at Ground Zero.....just remember you are all Action Heroes and you are amazing! It is the toughest place to be, and I am still there myself, one step removed. My kudos to all those who have the resilience and hunger to keep comin' back! We ROCK! :)
You can tell them.........you saw the pinK tiger at the finishline! And it was marvelous, darling! :)
pinK tiger
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