The Graduation!!!

A very happy group of campers.

I am sure that each and every one of you are just DYING to hear about the graduation cermony of Bootcamp.

I am not sure that I can even make the words to describe what it was, or is. To me graduation day is a HUGE deal, it marks another 6 weeks complete on this journey, another 6 weeks that I laid it all out there and did not die. (even though my mother thought I was going to die from some unknown disease that would not be curable by modern medicine). So I will give you a run down of the morning because it is as very worth while tale considering you have read the rest of the journey.

It really started the night before as I laid out my clothes for graduation and went to bed.. all of a sudden the panic hits! I am going to over sleep I know I am going to over sleep there is no way that the alarm clockS and the cell phone are going to wake me I am going to sleep right through graduation! Needless to say that didn't happen and I was up well before the phone or clocks went off but there is the fear of it.

So I eat my oatmeal and jelly beans (not a good combination I might add) and out the door I bebop to the car... wait a dang minute here... we are meeting less than a half a mile from my house and I am headed to the car?? It just didn't feel right, so I laced up my shoes grabbed my back pack (ps I don't know where my back pack is right now because we didn't really need it) and made my way to Awful Arthur's parking lot. I walked over and took a peek at the ocean as I was a few minutes early and over to the group I trotted. We heard a couple of words of wisdom from The General about stretching and into formation we go.

It was HUMID yesterday, it felt as if we were running in a sauna, it wasn't hot just really wet. Within a half a block I was sweating bullets and ever so slowly falling behind the main group. My little Dory heart was screaming "just keep running running running" and at no point did my brain ever say "you can't do this" or if it did I didn't pay any attention because I did just keep running even though my running was not as fast as some others running. It was not long at all before I heard Adam say 'GET TO THE FRONT AND GET THE FLAG" (Adam talks to me in CAPS in my head I think it is because he yells at me.. or maybe it is that I think he should be yelling at me, I am not really sure which) that is when the Dory heart went "Oh... dear." but with the help and guidance of a great coach and my fellow team mates as I went by them I made it to the front, only to see the flag being handed to someone and have Adam say "That is ok stay RIGHT THERE by them until the next turn." I did, I stayed right there and the flag was handed over for my turn, it is a nice feeling running with that flag even though there is some awkwardness to trying to run with the thing and not hit someone with it. After my turn with the flag I handed it off to someone else (no i don't know who) and was told to "STAY RIGHT THERE", heavens knows I tried to stay right where I was told but all of a sudden in one swoop 75% of the team passed me at one time. It was slightly deflating but I keep trudging along until we got to the monument. I will say that by the time I got there my calves felt more like hardening cement than muscles but I made it!

I don't know what was so funny.. or how I even had the energy to laugh.

As our team made our way over to the upward trail of Holy Hill we were met by the Bluefins, a team of united red shirts applauding our run to the Hill, no time to rest here UP we go! At the top we all gathered as the first Bootcamp Plus group to ever graduate and to hear the final words from the coaches. Honor awards were handed out to the select handful that went above and beyond expectation. I had the enjoyment of watching the looks on the faces of those that were handed those dog tags yesterday knowing exactly what they feeling, I remember the first thought I had was "Me??"

Drowned Rat

Back down the hill we go (that was after a very painful stand up.. I had to once again realize that maybe Bootcamp followed by 4 kickboxing classes in two days was probably a bit much before yet another Bootcamp) as we made our way I was walking or one may say hobbling with my friends and I stated "You know I was going to catch a ride back with you guys.. but I am not" I decided right then and there that I was going to finish the journey the same way I started, with all the fight and determination I had to lay on the line. I knew how I was feeling and that I was hurting but I also knew that it wasn't an injury it was just exhaustion of the muscles so off I went again following my team "The Stingrays" back to Beach Road. Up and over we went and we were faced with the beautiful Atlantic Ocean with Coach Matt Costa giving us even more words of encouragement with yet another "shark" making an appearance. The words I heard last were, we are going to run back the beach and when you get to the pier you can leave or you can wait on your team mates, I was so close to speaking up and saying "Please do not wait for me.. this could take awhile"

I kept my mouth shut and figured they would all figure it out on their own and down the beach we started, all of a sudden I hit my groove, the calves, loosened up, and bless my little Dory heart I JUST KEPT RUNNING, all the way to the Pier. I honestly could not believe it, I made it back and my team was still there waiting and it was not 9 am like I thought it may be.

The Stingray's

We took a final photo and back to our cars we headed, well me to my house, I started walking towards home and I thought to myself... WHY are you walking you moron you just ran 2 miles down the beach I think you can handle the quarter mile home. And that is exactly what I did and how I ended the first 6 week of Bootcamp Plus.


This is exactly where I am getting ready to screw this whole thing up and forget people but special thanks needs to be given to the following people because without them during this journey I would never have made it to graduation again.

Matt, Jay, Adam, Christine, Jody - for coaching me and believing in me even when I didn't.
Daddy, Ed, Missy, Christen, Amanda - for being there for me,  believing in me, and encouraging me
Special Bootcampers - Amy, Brandi, Sandy, Melissa (both of you), Lori, Steve, Mike, Ilona, Terry, Todd, Kati, Alex, Lisa, Lindsey, Joan(oh good grief this could take FOREVER because right now there are roughly 150 people that would need to be listed so let me just say THANK YOU TO EVERY BOOTCAMPER!!)
And thank you too all of you have read the blog or facebook and left encouraging words, they mean so very much!

Stay tuned next week to hear all about the first week of Bootcamp Plus Round Two!
15.23.14.9.20.
Much Love
Re