BOOTCAMP

I started Bootcamp at the YMCA last week (it's 3x per week, M/W/Th 5:30-6:30am, for 6 weeks total, so today completes week two) under Amy's instruction (a friend and running buddy who is also into CrossFit and is now a Bootcamp instructor). It was definitely a spur-of-the-moment decision to sign up (it required an extra cost in addition to our monthly membership fee and it dramatically increases the number of days that my alarm clock is set in the 4:00 hour... which also affects Jay's sleep patterns and makes our mornings more rushed than usual), but I knew I needed something to motivate me to start working on my core strength, and in general, I know that getting stronger (muscles other than my running muscles) will make me a better/faster runner. (And I'll be honest, I knew the "culture" of the Bootcamp, a group of 20 or so women unofficially competing with each other to do more reps and eat less cake, would also motivate me to start paying more attention to my nutrition. And by nutrition, I mean portion size at meals and snacking in between, since I don't actually eat cake very often. I have a big appetite, but our family generally eats pretty healthfully.)

Our first class included a Fit Test (first picture below) where we had to complete 4 RFT (Rounds For Time). Had I known I'd be tested, I wouldn't have run 2 miles on the treadmill before class... (Cora woke us up particularly early that morning, so I went to the gym at 5:00am instead of 5:30am) After the test, we did a bunch of ab work (planks and sit-ups of various forms - I didn't even know there were so many variations...) and I learned how to do handstands (assisted by the wall - I'm not that graceful or balanced) My arms were noodles for the rest of the day and my legs were so sore the rest of the week that I contemplated running another marathon sooner than later since they hurt less and the recovery is faster... but then I ran a 5K last weekend and was so glad I didn't have to go farther than that on my lead-weight legs! (P.S. I did indeed sign up for an early 2017 marathon though...)

Sometimes our mornings look like this:

 I tend to choose the rep counts/move variations for Level 2, since many of them I've never done before, and NONE of them are things I do regularly.

And sometimes they look like this:

 This particular morning included 2-3 "mat exercises" (e.g. push-ups, upright rows, star jumps, etc.) plus a variation of running up that steep, grassy hill (sprint up, backpedal up, lunge up, or wide-legged jump up) in 8 minute sets to complete AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible). Oh lordy, was I exhausted by the time we finished... My arms were so tired and my legs were so shaky that I considered sitting down on the bench in the gym shower after. But then I realized I'd still have to raise my arms to shampoo my hair, so it wasn't worth the effort of adding another squat rep to get down and up...

Once last week, our workout was to run circles around the gym to music, and when it stopped, we had to pick a station with exciting Wild Card tasks like "do Burpees for 2 minutes" or "complete 8 rounds of 30 seconds worth of Jump Squats with 10 second rests in between" or "Plank Walk back and forth between the lines for 1 minute". Basically, musical chairs for exercising adults.

Amy is a wonderful instructor - she's well versed in all the exercises (and ridiculously strong - her demonstrations make everything look easy, until I try it...), she changes things up drastically with every single class (which is nice because there is no chance to get bored OR stress over what the next class will bring, plus we are constantly rotating which specific muscles we use), and she is highly motivating (she walks around helping us correct our form or shouting out praise, and reminding us why we're there and how we can keep up the good work on the days/hours we aren't in class with her). It's going to be a long 4 more weeks (the early mornings quickly become routine, but the lack of sleep is already catching up to me), but it's going to be worth it. What I really hope is that these types of exercises will become second nature to me and I'll keep them up a couple times per week once classes end (even if it's for shorter, less intense sessions that I'd do in Bootcamp - I don't want to lose the strength I'll gain, which is what happened to me last summer and fall due to my back issue causing me to halt all strength training). And of course, that if I do keep them up, I'll be rewarded with faster running times (and new PRs) this fall and winter (I don't race in the summer - it's too hot here)!