Progress, almost 4 minutes down: 4/15/08

I ran the Georgia Tech Pi Mile this past Saturday morning. I finished the 5K in 27:45! I was shocked when I saw the clock at the finish line because I really felt that I wasn't doing a good job of keeping pace. I'm sure you can imagine how happy I was to see the official race time. Saturday's race was an interesting one for me. It's the first race that I have run by myself without my boot camp instructors. It was different to say the least. It just didn't feel right not having anyone from boot camp there with me. At least I was able to prove to myself that I can complete a race on my own and should never use the excuse of not having anyone to run a race with me.

The past couple of days at boot camp have been exciting. Yesterday, we had our midpoint test. I ran a 7:53 mile! That's 4 seconds faster than my previous time two weeks ago. I'm at the point where my mile time is only going to improve in small steps like this. I've got to continue to push myself and work hard in order to keep shrinking my mile time. It's going to be a while before I build up the endurance required to consistently run that fast of a mile.

We played war today at boot camp. Some folks might even call it capture the flag. Everyone was divided into 2 teams and had flags around their waists. We used the flag football type flags that are attached to a belt and can be easily pulled off. We chased each other around an enclosed area and tried to rip the flags off. When your flag was taken, you had to go to prison and do different excercises. Whichever team one got to celebrate by doing victory jumping jacks while the losing team did pushups or burpies. It was a very fun way to get a good cardio workout. You don't realize how much sprinting and running around you're doing until it's all over.

The Sprint for Cancer 10K is this Sunday. This will be my second 10K and I'm looking to beat my previous time of 57:25. Barrett and Sean are both running it as well. I think there are several other boot campers running the 5K. We're hoping to have another large presence of American Boot Camp Company campers at this race. If you make it out there, stop by our booth and join us in the fun. For information about the race check out http://www.sprintforcancer.com/.

I want to run...what's wrong with me? 3/26/08

What an interesting past few days. It's the typical Atlanta early spring weather. Freezing temperatures in the morning and mid 70's in the afternoon. It's made it very interesting at boot camp this week. By the way, this is our last week of the March session of boot camp. I will be completing my fourth month of boot camp and have made some incredible improvements from when I first started. I'm hoping to break an 8:00 minute mile this Friday during our final PT test.

We did the long run around Atlantic Station yesterday morning. We ran a distance right at 4 miles. My legs were aching when we got done. I was really in pain. I think it was due to a lack of stretching after working out over the weekend. Upon finishing the long run, I gave my legs a good and long stretch; they felt fine and haven't bothered me since. I was real proud of some of my fellow boot campers. This was the first time that some of them had run this distance. Everyone did great! They've all made great strides during this month of boot camp. I hope they will keep up the good work and return next month for another session.

I had a strange thing happen to me over the weekend. I was sitting around on Friday evening watching television. I had missed boot camp that morning, and I really needed to get some exercise on Friday. About 7:00, I got up off the sofa and went and ran 2 laps around Memorial Park. I don't know what happened to me! I just had the urge to go out and get some exercise. Anyways, I felt great afterwards and really enjoyed the jog.

I decided to not exercise on Saturday due to the fact that I had to travel out of town for Easter and spend time with my family. I tried my best to watch what I ate over the weekend, but it's really hard turning down all of that good cooking that you usually get with an after-church Easter dinner. I returned to Atlanta on Sunday afternoon and found myself in the same situation that I was in on Friday. I was sitting around the house and had not exercised that day. So, once again, I got up and went and ran 2 laps around Memorial Park.

What is wrong with me? Why am I getting up off a very comfortable sofa to go run 3.5 miles? Have I lost my mind? Actually, nothing is wrong with me. Exercise and eating right are becoming a regularity in my everyday life. I don't feel right if I don't exercise or eat something I shouldn't. It's amazing what is happening to me! I guess these things are becoming habits of mine that my body has slowly gotten used to over the past several months. I never expected any of this stuff to become habitual, but, obviously, I was wrong. Both my body and my mindset are changing due to boot camp. I guess it's just easier to see the results in my body as opposed to the changes inside my head...

I'll keep you posted on how I do this Friday with my mile time. I'm also planning to run in the Sprint for Cancer race on April 20th. It is being held at Atlantic Station and both a 5K and 10K are available to participate in. Check out http://www.sprintforcancer.com/ for details. I'm planning to run my second 10K at this race, and several of my boot camp compadres will be running their first 5K. You should come out and join us...

Boot Camp Indoors: 2/14/08

We had a nice indoor boot camp workout today at the gym located on The Howard School Campus where the West Midtown boot camp is held. Thank God! It was freezing outside. I think it was about 25 degrees this morning when I left the house. Luckily, we have access to a gym and were able to take advantage of it. We did a nice workout working the legs. We ran some suicides, did some sprints, some shuffling up and down the basketball court, and even used some basketballs in some of the exercises. It was nice to get a good indoor workout for once.

This week's workouts have been much easier on my body than last weeks. Probably due to this being the second week of boot camp as opposed to the first. I guess my muscles have gotten used to the workouts, but, unfortunately, my body is still in the process of making the transition to getting up at 5:15 in the morning on a regular basis. I have been extremely tired during the mid afternoon and have come very close to falling asleep during a couple of meetings this week.

I've got the Chastain Chase 5K coming up next weekend. I hope I can keep up my streak of breaking my previous race times. It's going to be a real test for me to beat 29:02, but I'm going to try. Fortunately, I'll have some of my boot campers and instructors there to cheer me on and run with me. I've even talked some of my friends into running the race with me. You should come out and join us!

No pain, no gain? 2/8/08

As the old adage goes, "No pain, no gain." Well, this week has certainly proved that. We've had two days of ab workouts and today we worked our legs and glutes. My abs have been in constant pain throughout the past couple of days. Getting up out of a chair, bending over, and even lying in the bed. My abs have ached, but I've been able to work through it. Just when my abs started feeling better, today's workout left my lower body in pain. I could feel muscles that I didn't even know I had as I walked around. Luckily, this pain wasn't too terribly bad and didn't last too long. By the mid afternoon, I felt fine.

As much as it hurts, I must admit that it feels good. Knowing that my muscles are burning, reinsures me that I'm making a difference to my body...and that's why I'm doing this. As much as my abs have ached this week, they are probably the weakest part of my body and need the most improvement. I'm glad that we've focused on this particular body part. Who knows?!? Maybe I can turn this beer gut into a six pack...

I've got the Chastain Chase 5K coming up in a couple of weeks, and I'm planning to do some running this weekend. I'm going to try something new and head over to Memorial Park and go for a run around it. Maybe I'll see you out there...

First Day of Boot Camp at West Midtown: 2/4/08

Started boot camp today at the West Midtown boot camp location. The was the first group of 2008. It was tough getting up early and being out there by 5:45 a.m. again, but it felt good to be back at it. It was especially nice to see some familiar faces that I hadn't seen in a while. As well as meet some of the new boot campers. Fortunately, the rain had already moved on, but the ground was still plenty wet. I sometimes ask myself what in the world I'm doing when I'm lying on the ground working out in soaking wet clothes, but then I realize you have to make sacrifices in order to succeed.

The workout today was tough. I could definitely feel the burn that I hadn't felt in several weeks. I certainly could tell that my laziness over the past month had an effect on my body. I've tried to get up on my own in the morning and workout, but it's hard to do. It also felt good to have the boot camp instructors there with us while working out. Their constant encouragement really helps me make it through the workout.

One of the first day rituals of boot camp is doing the base line test which consists of the number of push-ups and sit-ups you can do in a minute and running a mile. My push-up numbers have greatly improved, but my sit-ups have only seen little improvement. I'm still trying to push myself harder and improve my core so that I can do more, but it's tough. My mile time did increase, mainly due to the fact that I haven't been running for the past month, but I was still able to keep it under 9 minutes. Considering that my best mile time is 8:29, I'm not too worried about reaching that point again and improving it.

This session of boot camp is going to be especially tough for me with my current work schedule, but I'm going to stay positive. I've seen great results so far and I don't plan on slacking off any. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Boot Camp Workout: 1/23/08

Met the boot camp folks this morning for a workout at Centennial Park. It was interesting working out in the middle of downtown Atlanta with all of the buildings surrounding us. I know it's hard to believe, but that place is really quiet early in the morning. The workout went great considering it was cold and wet. I think the change in venue had everything to do with that. It was nice to be preoccupied with my surroundings instead of realizing how miserable I was rolling around on the wet grass.

Some of the exercises this morning felt great, others were painful. I can definitely tell an overall improvement in my body, but there is still much to be desired. I believe my abs and legs have probably gone through the biggest transition. Doing flutter kicks and ab bridges this morning felt much easier than before. I guess my running has improved my core and strengthened my abs. I used to struggle and exert all of my energy to do an ab bridge for 30 seconds. Doing one today seemed like a breeze. It felt great!

This was the first time I have worked out in over a week. Been real busy with work and haven't been able to find time to squeeze in any exercise time. Plus the snow over the weekend and frigid temperatures haven't exactly motivated me to get out there. This morning's workout was tough due to my inactivity, but I felt great afterwards. I can't wait for the next session of boot camp to begin on February 4th. I'm ready to get back in the swing of things.