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Gaining Confidence

The first week of boot camp was rough! I have a long way to go to get myself ready for September.

A quick recap of the last few boot camp workouts:
Day 5 - Squad Leader
This workout was all about the quads.  We did every possible exercise for the quads - from squats, lunges, mission impossibles, stairs....
Day 8 - House of Pain
A full body workout consisting of 5 stations with different exercises at every station and each time through
Day 9 - Guts and Guns
Exactly what it says.... abs and arms.  This workout uses resistance bands for the arm portion of the workout.

I pushed myself each day except for Monday.  I didn't sleep much, and just didn't have it in me to push on the cardio portions of the workout.

On Saturday, Paulabeth took me out for what she thought was to be a 10 mile bike ride.  When I told her I was a non-biker, I don't think she actually believed that I didn't really bike around town as a kid. Once she found that out, she planned out a 5 mile route.

We pulled into a parking lot in Alpharetta and got ourselves ready to go.  Here comes the fun part!  After figuring out how to clip the shoes into the pedals with the shoe off, I tried to do it with the shoe on my foot.  PB was holding the bike steady so I didn't fall over trying this out.  After a few practice rounds of clipping in, riding around the parking lot, and then clipping out, we were ready to go.

As soon as we start to go, I immediately fell over.  Apparently I lost my balance trying to get my second foot clipped in. I couldn't use my other foot for balance, because it was already clipped in and down I went.  I was told this was normal - that everyone falls when using bike shoes for the first time.

Once I got started, we rode around the block one time for just over a mile. We returned to the parking lot and I insisted that we go out for another ride around the block.  Of course, as we got started, I fell again. I was a little nervous being out on the road, but we rode slow and in low traffic areas.  I'm still a little nervous, but it’s something I am going to have to get over.

All in all, the 10 mile bike ride turned into a 2.5 mile practice of using the shoes with the pedals.  It was a definitely needed outing.  I am just missing confidence on the bike. 

Today, I decided to get in the pool.  I swam 1000 yds in 16 minutes.  Considering I have only swam in the pool 3 or 4 times in the last 13 years, I was pretty proud of myself.  The swim was not easy.  I definitely felt that my swimming muscles have rarely been used in the last 13 years or so.  I need a lot more work in the pool to get my muscles used to swimming again.

For week 2 of pre-training, I think I am well on my way to a successful 6 months.

"You only ever grow as a human being if you're outside your comfort zone."
- Percy Cerutty
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Comments

  1. The Mother RunnerApril 3, 2012 at 8:59 PM

    You're doing great, Shecky!! I'm not a biker either so I totally understand how your feel.

    The Mother Runner

    ReplyDelete

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