Sunday 11 December 2011

WOD #4--Boot Camp Begins

Wow, that was HARD.  Maybe I'm just out of shape.  I haven't been jogging for over 2 months now.  I'm a little....confused?...with all the discussions on the evils of chronic cardio.  But I know I love jogging.  Because...its.....HARD.  But that was awesome.

This weekend, the WOD that Steve dreamed up was to cover the same 6 1/2ish km section of the Seaton Trail army-style.  We were going to jog it, march it--generally haul ass and get through it in 45 minutes.  It is very rugged.  I think the suggestion that the trail is 6 1/2 km is "straight as the crow flies" and doesn't measure the topography.  Hiking at a typical brisk pace takes about 1 1/4 hours. 

I have never, I really mean never, run on anything more rugged than pavement.  This was a first.  And it was -3 out there today, with a light wind.  So we threw on our winter running gear, and hiking boots.  That's right.  I don't own fancy trail-running shoes.  So I ran in hiking boots.  At least I had ankle support.

I'd be lying if I said we ran more than we hiked.  I had an asthma attack or two.  We ran a bit less than we walked.  But we were CARRYING BACKPACKS LOADED WITH FIREWOOD.  Yea.  I did say army-style, right?  Where the trail was relatively level or not coated in ice, we jogged.  Where we couldn't jog, we dragged ourselves up steps built into the hillsides, slipped on muddy half-frozen slopes, stumbled over tree roots and rivers of rainwater where it was flowing in the sunlight and slipped on it where it wasn't.  Ahhh.  And now I'm smiling from ear to ear.  Maybe that's because I've now had time to sit down and eat a bowl full of leftover zoodles. 

We did it in 47 minutes.  And don't laugh at me too hard--I charged the kids playground and could not do a single chin-up at that point.  I needed Steve's assistance.  I did two, with help.  Yup.  I'm pathetic, I know.  I'm new to this training thing.  But everyone has to start somewhere.  I definately don't have what it takes-yet-to complete any Spartan Race.  I couldn't pull myself over an 8-foot wall if someone was shooting real bullets at my ass.  But this is where I begin.  Now I've set the benchmark.  We can only go faster, longer, heavier.  And lets not forget, winter is coming.  Soon it'll include slogging through snow, too.

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