Play Like a Kid

Monday we had Jay and for the record he rocks!  This man will push you beyond your limit, have you playing like a kid, and not thinking about the pain that will be headed your way as soon as you leave boot camp….of course always with a smile on his face!

Jay Bowman

We started our morning with a run to the end of the street by knuckle-up.  I use to loath this street, because I couldn’t even make it half way.  I have even cried on this street more than once and have even wanted to quit.  For the moment, I am happy to be passed that feeling.

At the end of the road there is a little loop like parking area where lunges became the name of the game.  We lunged alone and in pairs.  I am sure that is why my backside hurts quite a bit today!

We then headed down a path to the sound where we did a drill that reminded me of my volleyball days and for others their basketball days!  Sideways steps on both sides, running backwards and then running forwards.  I loved the view when we were facing the sound, and I admit running backwards was fun!  Leave it to Jay to bring out the kid in every one of us!

When we reached the end of the path, we were told to run at about a 7 with a 10 being an all out sprint.  I am all for pushing myself, but I hate when I don’t know where the end is.  The end actually was quite far for a quick pace, started off fast, walked for a second and then went back to a fast pace.  I was a happy girl to see the stop sign!

We then headed on down Kitty Hawk road for the beach where the Ocean was calling my name.  I am a water child at heart and feel quite comfortable in it.  So on a jog I went, with a water chant in my head.

When we hit the beach, we did crunches, and for me more crunches for everyone else some type of side lunge and more sideways running and then I made a pathetic attempt at jumping jacks.

For some reason my legs were like jelly and I couldn’t move them anymore.  We also had some friendly beach fun racing to marked corners, duck walking and backwards crawling to see which team could reach the other corner first.  Yes, we did get in the water…but not for long!

I have to say the hi-light of my morning was watching the folks from N.E.S.T.  around a hatching turtle nest.  I would have loved to spent the rest of my morning there checking out that adventure, but had to run on back to the gym so I could make it to work on time.

 

 

 

As I sit here with my sore legs and glutes I know I worked hard and also had fun!  Thanks Jay for bringing out the kid in us and for pushing us!  In the morning  I am off to run another round of the  Brindley Beach Lighthouse 5k Series.

Bootcamp Graduation Day

The big day arrived today, and oh what a day it was!  I have waited to write my blog today as my emotions have been all over the place.  Last night was the soundest I have slept in the last 6 weeks before bootcamp.  I only woke up twice, once at midnight and then at 4:00 a.m. 30 minutes before my alarm clock went off.  I decided to just hop on out of bed versus delaying the inevitable.

As I was eating my oatmeal, my friend Jeanne sent me a text asking if I wanted to carpool.  Couldn’t think of a better way to head to graduation, with my friend who joined this journey with me.  She may not know it, but she was one of my inspirations to hold myself accountable and show up each and every time.  If I invited her to join this journey, then I needed to be there on the journey.  We were not always side by side during our bootcamp training but she was always on my mind and I was rooting for her success in my mind.   So Jeanne – thank you for being my dear friend and for taking a drink of the kool-aide with me.  You mean the world to me and I am so happy that you are part of the journey.

What a site it was to show up at Aviation Park and see all the red shirts around.   In this six-week journey, we have all become a little leaner and a lot more healthy looking.  What an amazing group of people, strength and determination.  We started the morning with a warm-up lap and then stretching.

Photo Credit: Jay Bowman

Jay then had us line up, and he called my name to lead one of the lines.  That was an awesome feeling for me.  We then headed to Holy Hill aka Wright Brothers Memorial.  Jay then sent us on a “Matt Mile” around the monument.  Jay asked us to give it our all and to “own it”.  With that mission in mind I headed off to give it the best I could.  I am still not a strong runner, but I am starting to feel like I may actually become a runner.  I have this internal battle with my brain that say’s “you can walk Lisa” and then my subconsciousness takes over and say’s “you better run!”  I have estimated in the past that I ran/walk 15 minute miles.

Every 5k I have participated in, I have arrived at the finish line after 45 minutes.  As I was running I heard Jay yell “Look at you Lisa, look how far you have come!”   He is right, I actually look like I am running versus a painful walk/run combination.  As I headed into the last part of the mile I heard “you can do this, come on and get in under 10 minutes” so I went for it and came in at 9:45.  A new PR for me and one I will take, because that means I have improved.  At that moment, I could have walked away from graduation happy!

After our last Bluefin runner completed her mile we met up with Team Stingray to conquer Holy Hill.

I am the 3rd Person over from the flag.
Photo Credit: Jay Bowman

It is difficult to describe Holy Hill.  It is an uphill challenge that makes it very difficult to actually run in parts.  I try to run where I can and fast walk when it is really steep.  My ultimate goal is to be able to run all the way up the hill without walking.  I know that day will arrive one day in my journey.

Outer Banks Bootcamps Plus Graduation Class
Photo Credit: Jay Bowman

At graduation black bracelets are handed out to first time boot-campers.  Red bracelets to 3 time boot-campers.  Honor graduates are named and pride is in the air.  This is a big moment and everyone has worked so hard to reach this part of the journey.

As I was sitting there, all I could feel was pride for myself.  I have been a part of 3 boot camps, but I have only completed two as I had to leave the last one due to injury.   I will admit this was the first boot camp where I put my heart and soul into the training.  Nothing was going to get in my way and what a powerful feeling that was to have!  I now understand and live by 15.23.14.9.20. and intend to keep on owning it.  The coaches are correct, two days a week is not going to help you see the results you need.  It takes full commitment.  On my off days I mixed it up with kickboxing, Friday runs and walks.

After a motivational talk from Matt we headed back down Holy Hill and on our way home.

Me!

This is me headed back down the hill, when I first saw this picture I hated it.  I know how women can be especially hard on themselves and I am my own tough critic.  My first thought was, “yikes how many chins do i have”?   I will admit I cried when I saw this photo because I realized how much further I have on my journey.  I then realized, I need to love me and love what was accomplished today and for the last 6 weeks.  In the end, we aren’t there for beauty, we are there to better ourselves.  It’s hard to look good at 5:30 in the morning!  I know since I started my journey last October I have lost 25 pounds, and that is what I am proud of.

Today was a celebration and I felt the love from my family and friends near and far.  My friends left me supportive messages and my dear friend Jeanne left me this message on Facebook that made me cry.  ”I never ran a mile before so never had a time. 10:08 mile….thanks to coaches and to you Lisa, you are a great inspiration. I would NEVER had done this without your encouragement! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!”  I also want to take time to thank my friend Sandy for her hugs before boot camp, they help more then you know and for Ann Marie “Re” for being the go-getter that she is and motivating the rest of us to do our best.  Thank you to all for every word of encouragement you have sent my way.

Another bright spot was I heard from my best friend from high school who had been reading all my posts.  It touched my heart that she reached out to me to share with me how proud she was.  If I get to feel this feeling every 6 weeks and continue to improve myself, then I am in for a lifetime!  My journey will continue, I am now training for a tri-relay team and working on my swimming skills.  I will continue with kickboxing and I am looking forward to several races through the summer starting with the Wine Down 5k on Sunday night.  Monday (Memorial Day) will be the start of my 4th boot camp but the 3rd one I know I will complete.

Thank you to Matt, Jay, Christine, Adam, Diane, Jody and all my new friends at Outer Banks Bootcamps for all the support and love.  I look forward to our next leg in the journey.  15.23.14.9.20

I love this photo because it shows are fun side
photo credit: Jay Bowman

Forgot to thank the most important person -  my biggest fan…My Husband!! Without his support this journey would not even be possible. He is the reason I am able to participate in boot camp, kickboxing and swim training. Thank you honey!!!

Week 6 – Monday – The Return of the Red Solo Cup

Oh what a difference a week makes!  Today’s work out felt great!  The last couple of weeks I felt so exhausted during boot camp, but today I was energized! I kept to my usual can’t sleep, up and down all night rhythm before boot-camp but since I started my routine early I must have snuck in more sleep.

Collage Creation: Ann Marie Burroughs Haywood

Today we revisited the red solo cup.   How little most people know how much a red solo cup can make your arms ache when filled up with sand.  Keep that in mind the next time you are drinking beer or helping the kids build a sandcastle on the beach.

We headed out this morning with a light run down to the beach.  When we arrived on the beach we filled up our two cups with sand.  In Jay’s words “snow cone sand”.  While keeping our sand filled cups in front of us, we were able to appreciate the sunrise and reflect on the numbers 15.23.14.9.20  and the 4 legs of the stool.  Let’s just say, my arms were up in the air so long that I started to get the shakes, which is a good thing!

During this time we cheered for the stingrays as they came running down the beach with logs.  (Another group of true athletes that are owning it, I hope to be a part of their team one day when I am ready.)  Jay also touched on some accomplishments of our Bluefin teammates.  This group has come a long way, and I am proud to be a part of this group and extremely proud of my teammates success.  It is going to be fun to continue working out, becoming stronger and healthier together.

With our cups (full of sand) we started a series of drills that including running up and down stairs, duck walking, lunging and I think one other thing but I can’t think of it.   We then broke into two teams and proceeded to race to fill a huge bucket with sand 3 times.  We did this drill at the beginning of this boot camp and the progress everyone has made from that first drill speaks to the hard work and commitment of our team.

We then ran down the beach with our cups full of sand following the man with the bucket (aka the one and only Jay Bowman!)  Jay headed off the beach so we followed.  Our next part of the morning took place next to the Bucchaner Motel.  I am sure if people were sleeping in at the motel, we might have woken them.  We  did a series of running drills and then started back to Knuckle-up.  On the way back, we ran up the road and at every intersection we did squats.   We ended our morning with 81 squats as a group.

I must say I am tickled to be at week 6 with graduation on Wednesday.  I have hit my goal to attend each boot camp and also find time to exercise on the off days.  By setting this goal, nothing could stop me from accomplishing what I wanted to do in this six weeks.  I am already signed up for the next 6 weeks.  I am not an early morning person, so for me to keep moving forward when I could be sleeping is a huge progress for me.  I can’t wait for what the future brings!

Outer Banks Bootcamps Plus – Week 5 – Monday

William Wallace: Aye, fight and you may die. Run, and you’ll live… at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin’ to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they’ll never take… OUR FREEDOM!

For this mornings boot camp we were instructed to show up with our war faces on and since Braveheart was referenced last week I went with the William Wallace look.

Actually putting on the face paint this morning at 4:30, was pretty difficult for me.  I am the girl that doesn’t like to dress up for Halloween.  So, I felt quite crazy placing black glitter stick and blue glitter face paint all over my face.  Yes, it’s funny that all I had was glitter products!  I bet no-one has ever sported a glitter war face.

We started our morning with a run down to the beach.  We did stop for push-ups along the way.  When we hit the beach we started what I will just call the up and down drill.  Otherwise known as I’m up they see me, I’m down!  Great way to become sandy sugar cookies in the morning.

photo credit: Christine McMaster Da Mosta

After frolicking in the sand, we headed to the ocean which was a refreshing temperature of 56 degrees.  It will take your breath away, but will also wake you up and soothe sore muscles!  Team Bluefin (my boot camp team) formed a long chain with each of us holding onto the person in front of us.  We then proceeded to walk through the ocean down the beach.  This is quite challenging when you have a human chain and you cannot let go as waves come crashing down.  The hardest part for me was when Jay instructed us to face the beach and not look back.  It’s hard to not look back to check for an incoming wave.   Thank goodness for my amazing teammates on both sides that helped keep the chain strong.

The rest of the morning we did different drills.  Jay had us carry 6 spears to the beach that he strung with string for obstacles.   We then dug in the sand, buried 3 team mates and then proceeded to hop over, crawl under, run and military crawl through the 3 lines of obstacles.  I was happy not to be buried in the sand, that would have been harder for me.  After 3 rounds we than dug out our teammate, carried her down the line and then lifted her over our heads.  We also had push-ups mixed in when we weren’t fast enough.

photo credit: Christine McMaster Da Mosta
The Lady in red was our teammate that was buried and then rescued! She did great!  The gentleman behind her was the other teammate that we carried.

 Jay then picked out three gentleman for each team to carry in a relay.  What good sports they were, to have all of us carrying them as we were doing all we could to hold them up and finish the relay.

We finished our morning with a run down the beach, a variety of abdominal exercises, planks and 2 more dips in the ocean.  All in all, it was a fun morning!  I know for a fact I would not come up with these adventures on my own, nor would I push myself as hard as I do f I didn’t have my boot camp team right beside me working hard.  I couldn’t think of a better way to start the day!  15. 23. 14.9.20.

Tomorrow I start my Tri-training with The Swim Lady.  Make it a great day!

Thank you Christine McMaster DaMosta for the awesome video!

Bootcamp Week 4

I am a little behind on my updates this week, been a bit busy but I wanted to take the time to share my adventures this week.

On Monday – we played a little boot camp poker which resulted in 46 bicep curls for every heart card drawn, 46 tricep kickback for every diamond card drawn , 46 flies for every spade card drawn, 46 burpees for every club card drawn, 12 dips in the ocean head first for every face card, 4 Wild Cards, Four 30 second breaks for the # 7 drawn.  I tried to remember which cards were used for what, so I hope I guessed correctly!  We also did some crawling, jogging, duckwalks and jumping jacks.

This was a  great way to start my Monday!  I felt like I accomplished so much and had fun too!

photo credit: Christine McMaster Da Mosta

Tuesday I headed over to Knuckle-up for lunch time kickboxing.  Amanda is a great kickboxing instructor but for some reason  I had a hard time in the class, I felt like I lacked energy. It frustrated the hell out of me as I have felt like I have been going forward full force for the last several weeks.   I had at first thought that I ate the wrong breakfast, eggs instead of oatmeal and then I realized that the blood donation I gave on Monday might be affecting my energy.

Today we headed over to Jockey’s Ridge for our Boot-camp.  I need to come clean and admit that the last two sessions of boot camp that I was a part of, I managed to avoid Jockey’s Ridge out of total fear.  With my determination to “Own It” I knew this was the one I needed to tackle and take away the fear.  If you are not familiar with Jockey’s Ridge it is the tallest natural sand dune system in the Eastern United States.  Running in sand is a huge challenge, running up dunes is a tough challenge.

The morning seemed to start out quite rough for me.  I hit the first hill and had a tough time getting up the hill.  I was still feeling like my energy was zapped.  I don’t know how many times we went up and down the dunes but I finally was able to pick up my momentum towards the end.

The coaches also threw in push-ups, sit-ups, backpack lifts and leg lifts for good measure!   I know my favorite part was military crawling down the hill.  As my friend Jeanne said “makes me feel like a kid again”.  Yes it did!

I can finally say that I took on Jockey’s Ridge and even though we didn’t complete the whole park, I was able to put a check in my mental list that I participated in Jockey Ridge day and survived!  That’s the beauty of it, just believe in yourself and listen to your coaches, we can do this!  I do want to give a shout-out to Jay Bowman & Matt Costa for their encouragement to move this morning!  It really does encourage me to do better for myself when you have coaches that belive that you can take on the challenge.

Thank you to all the coaches and Outer Banks Bootcamps for the journey so far.  15.23.14.9.20

On Thursday I plan on heading back to Knuckle-up for lunch kickboxing and Friday joining the group run.  Come and join me, you will have fun!  Our next Outer Banks bootcamp plus session starts May 28th, come on and give it a try….you will love it and your life will change.