Boot Camp

So, a friend of mind asked me recently, "How is Boot Camp going?"  I replied, "It's going.  I am making it through each class.  It has helped me run a 5-K (more on that later)." 
To many, "making it through each class" may not sound like much.  For me, it is a huge accomplishment.  Making it through each class has been so much more important to me than the results of making it through the class.  Each class is 45-60 minutes of intense (for me, perhaps not for everyone) physical activity.  I have completed each class I have attended, even the first one!  Now, I posted on FB when I first started that it wasn't pretty, I did not do everything, but I did not quit.  That is still my philosophy.  I am not as winded, I am not as exhausted afterwards, I am not always the last one finished.  This is definitely not an area I have to be first or the best in.  After all, this isn't for grade...or is it?

What is a grade?  A number, a letter, a score?  Grade when used as a noun can be defined as "a particular level of rank, quality, proficiency, intensity, or value." Well, in this case,for me, it's endurance, attitude, inches and pounds.  And for once, I am okay with a lowered "grade" in some areas and a "higher" grade in others being the result of "passing" this class.  I rush up the stairs at my office without being winded.  Saturday I literally sprinted between the front of the theatre and backstage so that I could watch my kids perform...without being out of breath.  I do like seeing a little less of the tape measure required to wrap around the various areas of my body.  I do like the number on those dreadful scales to be less than the time before or that percentage of body fat to be lower. 

But really and truly, it is so much more than any of that.  It is pride in my son's voice when he tells me he's glad I am going to boot camp.   It is the example I am setting for both of my children with regards to making healthier decisions.  It is my increased willingness to be outside playing baseball, racing in the driveway or training with Austin Kieff for his first 5-K.  It's the kindred spirit shared with each woman in that class.  We are all there to be healthier, being smaller, leaner, or any other intrinsic value assigned is just a bonus. 

Any local folks who want to join me, I am sure they would love to have you.   I would love to have a familiar face in the room!!  Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Trinity Fitness.  5 a.m.  If I can do it, I know you can!  Besides,  you know what "they" say...the friends that sweat together...well, they stink...I mean stick together...I don't really know that anybody actually says that, but I needed something light to end this post on!