In like a lion, out like a lamb!

The Rain

Hello Fam - today was the first day of "Couple's Boot Camp" a.k.a. "Lover's BEATDOWN", and as promised, I'm back here to give you an update on the Gilmore's experience.

The day started for me around 4:30 a.m. as Marley Dog started to stir as a result of the strong downpour of rain. Can you say perfect "sleeping weather"? But, luckily, I was able to hold out and not completely awaken until 4:44 a.m., one minute exactly before my alarm clock went off.

We rose and headed to the Y to start our hell! We arrived at 5:10 a.m. and this is good b/c the first rule of "boot camp" is to NEVER EVER arrive late.

Chris is really big on stretching and judging by my lingering soreness from my race (one month ago), he may be on to something. So, I decided to join him in a quick stretch before we began class.

Shortly after my my 45 second holds on either leg, in came our two leaders, husband and wife, Swain and Melissa Lewis. Instantly the gym felt like a torture chamber!

Swain and Mo started off by telling us the "rules of the game", you already know #1, so I'll skip to #2 to keep the story going. #2 KEEP MOVING AT ALL TIMES #3 FULL RANGE OF MOTION AT ALL TIMES #4 DON'T WEAR YOUR FAVORITE OUTFIT, IT WILL BE RUINED! #5 LISTEN #6 NEVER, EVER SAY "I CAN'T". Got it? Okay.

Now, the rain afforded us the pleasure of staying inside. We began today's activity with 5 laps in line, cutting no corners and listening to Swain yell. We then moved and did relays up and down the court a few times...this is the warm-up. We were told that today is an "assessment day", so we relocated to a larger track to run our timed one mile run. Now, this is when my tummy started to hurt and I began to sweat.

Some of you may remember that I had a similar experience in my first boot camp back in spring. My first day's run was over 14:00 minutes, finishing boot camp with a 10:00 mile. Well, if you think that's hot, listen to this. My hubby took off like a lightning bolt or even better, like a lion and completed his 1 mile timed run in 7:40. "Damn!", I said as I was going around the curve trying to complete my 7th lap. "That brother is moving!" So by now, I'm dying because I don't particularly like the pressure of folks passing me and then turning back to yell my name. I know...they are only screaming to encourage me, but it makes me extremely nervous and stressed out. Not a good feeling when your heart is already racing from carrying too many pounds around the track.

Back to to Chris, so once I completed this sucka in about 11:37, I ran over to congratulate him. Roar! I'm like..."that's my boo!"

We then headed downstairs to have a little more fun. Timed sit-ups and push-ups. In 60 minutes, Chris did 39 sit-ups and 33 push-ups. I did 22/13. Now, I know full-well, based on my previous boot camp, that what we did today, will need to be improved at the end of the 6 weeks. So, I'm thinking with the stats that Chris' created today, he'll be a machine in October.

Keeping with rule #2, we returned to the smaller gym for a little punishment as one of the couples arrived late...yep, on the first day. Our punishment...suicides. Yuck. Nothing worst than suicides...especially after your heart rate has not recovered from anything that you've done today...let's just say...it took everything in me not to throw up in my mouth.

Back to #2....we were told to go to another track for 400 meters of lunges and this is when the "lamb" appeared. In my husband's words, "this shit ain't gonna happen!" 400 meters, turned into 300 meters and by then, our "drill sergeants"dismissed class. That was a good idea, b/c the black dots were starting to connect in our heads. It's now 6:40 a.m. boot camp is officially over.

HOME WORK...BRING IN A ONE GALLON JUG FILLED WITH WATER, DON'T BE LATE!

I will keep you posted on our progress, and most likely it will never be this long again. I will leave you with a few pictures that document our return home.

Marley licks Daddy's wounds

Hi!

ROAR!!!

'NUFF SAID