BOOT CAMP

This weekend was boot camp which made everyone nervous leading into it. The coaches generally don't make a big deal out of working us hard, so when they went out of their way to call this weekend "BOOT CAMP", you just knew you were in for a serious ass kicking. This is what the weekend consisted of:

Saturday (San Francisco)

Open water swim at Aquatic Park.
Out and back swims from the shore to buoy's with strength exercises in between.


Afterwards we packed up and headed to Sports Basement in the Presidio and proceeded to do a 15 mile ride with lots of hills. Upon returning we were ordered to put on our running shoes and to run a little over one mile to the Lyon Street Steps.
Once there the beautiful yet evil Elaine was there to have us run the 293 steps hitting every one and then back down. Then she sent us back up, this time skipping every other step. Once back she sent us up doing bunny hops (feet together) hitting each step to the top and back, then it was repeating that move with only your right leg, and when you got back it was your left leg's turn. That took over one hour. On the way up you would suffer while your teammates would come back down and cheer you on. On your way down you would watch them suffer. It was surreal.
After 5 laps around the culdesac doing the lunge walk, it was back to SportsBasement where we did a 45 minute spin, then a 3 mile run, another 45 minute spin, then a 2 mile run to the monkey bars where once again, Elaine was there to have us do strength for 30 minutes. After the 2 mile run back we were finished. 8 hours total.

Sunday (San Jose)

We met at Gunderson High School, one hour swim, one hour run, one hour bike, strength/run for 30 minutes, spin for 30 minutes, strength/run for 30 minutes, spin for 30 minutes. Done. 6 1/2 hours.

Afterwards about 5 of us tore off our shirts and jumped into the pool, cycling shorts and all. It wasn't long before the rest of the team, coaches included jumped in to cool off and celebrate this massive accomplishment. As crazy as it all sounds, it was such a great feeling to know that you were capable of doing all that, it was absolute elation when it was over. Everyone was laughing and goading those who didn't want to jump into the pool until they finally did. Some were diving into the pool while chewing food, it was hilarious.

There were several times where I didn't know how I was going to finish something, or times when I wanted to stop. Waking up Sunday morning with aching legs knowing I had to swim within the hour, and not sure how I was going to get through that much less everything else. Somehow I would end up going to some other place in my mind and eventually I would get through it every time. For a while I thought the Ironteam was changing me or turning me into someone else that way. Creating a steel resolve that would suddenly be available when these tests became overwhelming. But now I feel like it hasn't changed me at all, instead it has released something inside of me that was always there. Call it survival skills, determination, or basic instinct, but whenever life has challenged me in a major way, that strength has always been there to save my ass. Now it's getting me closer to Louisville.