I need your help to raise donations for Thailand Charities for The Tour de Thailand BEFORE NOVEMBER 29, 2009

http://www.support.operationsmile.org/goto/donnagauthierthailand.

Hi, Everyone!

I’ve been talking about it since this past Summer so now it’s time to get a move on. From December 8th through January 3rd I will join a group of about 50 cyclists on a 1438-mile (2300 KM) tour of Thailand, starting in Chiang Mai and ending in Phuket. Besides touring the beautiful country of Thailand, the Tour de Thailand raises funds and awareness for Thailand charities. This year the beneficiaries of the Tour are Operation Smile Thailand and Foundation for the Blind in Thailand. In fact, on Dec 18th, from Ayutthaya to Bangkok (56 Miles/90 KM), The Foundation for the Blind and Cycling Clubs from Bangkok and other surrounding areas will come out and join us as we ride around the temples of Ayutthaya and head south to Bangkok. I can barely cycle with all my capacities so to be riding with seeing-impaired cyclists will no doubt be inspirational to all!

I decided to do a tour of Thailand in this manner so that I can not only see a huge portion of Thailand but see it in a manner that helps me continue my fitness goals. Most of you know of my fitness and weight loss goals that I’ve been pursuing this year, so this is a continuation of those goals. The Tour de Thailand is a 27-day tour. We will ride about 3 or 4 days at a time and then take a day off. The rides are anywhere from 47 to 90 miles a day. I’ve been training for this in Mandeville (north shore of Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans) since mid-October. I’m not very fast but I do have good endurance. I can’t believe the start of the tour is so near! I am confident that I will be able to complete the entire 1438 miles…I’ll be at the back of the pack, no doubt, but I’m determined to stay on that bike!

I hope that I can count on all of you for a donation to one or both of the Thailand charities which will benefit. My goal is to raise US$3000, or nearly 100,000 Thai Baht. This is the 7th year of the Tour de Thailand. In prior years the cyclists have raised over 5,000,000 baht for Thailand charities.

Operation Smile Thailand has enabled me to create a donor page on which you may make donations via credit card. The webpage is http://www.support.operationsmile.org/goto/donnagauthierthailand. Regrettably The Foundation for the Blind in Thailand does not have a donor page, thus if you’d like to contribute to that, you may mail a cheque to me (please make it out to Donna Gauthier but specify the charity in the memo) in San Antonio (‘cause that’s where my bank account is) before November 29th. For my Bermuda friends, I still have a bank account there and thus if it’s easier to make a direct deposit or transfer to that bank account, please do (let me know as soon as possible so that I can send the account number to you), noting in the description either “Thailand Bike Tour” (which means you’re donating equally to both) or “Thailand Blind Fdtn” or “Thailand Op’n Smile.” If you'd like for your donation to be in honor of or in memory of a loved one, please let me know, and I will wear a bracelet (kind of like the Livestrong rubber bracelets) with his or her name on it for the entire ride, and then I'll send the bracelet to you! I can't wait to not only get started on the tour to see Thailand, but to also take photos, meet new people, make new friends, and write about it, hopefully in a daily blog (here and in Facebook).

You may see the 27-day itinerary at http://www.tourdethailand.com/tour-de-thailand-itinerary.html. I will try to blog about this experience in the same way that I blogged about my fitness camp experience earlier this year.

Thanks for all of your support earlier this year. I hope that I can make all of you proud by completing this journey across Thailand.

Much love to all of you!
Donna

Day Eighty-Three (Monday) – THE LAST DAY!!!

Monday’s Schedule:
• Final Weigh-in, Measurements, and Photos
• VO2max test & Body Age test
• Tennis Ball class (having to do with muscle massage)
• Spinning (1 hr)
• Lunch & Home to pack

This is it…my official last day at LIFE fitness boot camp. I awoke with mixed emotions….excitement, sadness, and anxiety. I was excited because it’s the last day and I’m eager to implement all that I’ve learned in the real world; I want to prove to myself that I do have the self-discipline to watch what I eat and the motivation to move my arse every day. I was sad because this has taken up 3 months of my life and has become an extremely significant part of my life and I was going to miss having the trainers and staff taking such good care of me. I was anxious because I was fearful of what my last measurements would be (‘cause I knew I hadn’t reached my goal of 50 lbs), and I wanted to look nice for my “after” photos. I put on a little bit of makeup and left my hair down, and I practiced the side poses that you Body and Fitness girls do (Betty, Ryall, Renee…I was watching you closely back then!) while deciding what to wear.

I headed to the gym and met with Nicola to get started. I stepped onto the scale with trepidation, and deservedly so….I GAINED a half pound. WTF??!!! How is that possible? I went jogging…like…FIVE times since the last weigh-in! Talk about a very poor start to my very last day Omigawd. I was not happy. Alright, out comes the measuring tape. An inch-and-a-half in my boobs. WHAT??? I’m so confused. Doesn’t an inch-and-a-half weigh SOMETHING? I actually lost 2 ¾ inches since Tuesday…how can that possibly show a weight GAIN? And NO, it wasn’t muscle weight!!! I was dunked a little while later and that showed that in the two weeks since my last dunking, I had lost mostly fat lbs but also a pound of lean muscle mass. So, this leaves me with 42 lbs lost in 12 weeks. Alright…I’ll stop whining about it, because the GOOD thing is that I lost 65 ½ inches. Do you know that I’m only 63 inches tall? Here is where some of the most inches were lost:

• Chest 7 ½”
• Waist 6”
• Bellybutton 11” (thanks to this my hourglass shape is back!)
• Hips 9”
• Butt 7”
• Upper thigh 4 ½”
• Right Calf 3/4“ (I swear there is no fat on my calves; they are solid as a rock; I cannot wear knee-high boots as a result, or at least find any that I can slip up above my ankles!)
• Neck 1 ¼” (one triple-chin gone, one to go!)

So this explains why all of my clothes are too big and that little black dress ALMOST fits. In fact, the inches lost were soooo good that I went down THREE sizes in pants and FOUR sizes in tops! I even tried on a dress that was FOUR sizes smaller than what I was wearing 12 weeks ago. YESSSSSSS! I am really thrilled about that. I am also thrilled with my improved fitness level. I’m still in the “FAIR” range for my age range, but I’m not that far from “good” and thus I will continue to jog and cycle and do other cardio exercises daily to improve that. OK, I digress…Nicola next took my “after” photos. I’m not going to post my “before” photos just yet because they’re disgusting. I think when I get to about 65 lbs lost, then I’ll post them. For now, you can see my “after” photos (how’s my side pose, Betty, Ryall, and Ranae?) The first photo is at 5 weeks, the second at 7 weeks, and the third at 12 weeks.

I still had some exercising to do this day, plus I had to do my “Body Age” test later. So, I did the “tennis ball” class with Schuyler. While standing on the mat, we each used a tennis ball and rolled it back and forth on the arches, on the toes, and up and down the sides of our feet. Then Schuyler took this giant foam roll (kind of looks like a big fat foam water noodle that doesn’t bend and is short) and rolled it up and down our legs, back, sides of our legs, and front of our legs. For some this was very painful as it presses on the tissue around the muscles. For me, I actually liked it (MASOCHIST ALERT!). It felt like a massage except that I didn’t have to get naked, for which I’m sure the other clients and Schuyler were very thankful! Following this I did some stretching and then had a spin class. I should have had a shake before this because I struggled with this spin class. Spinning has grown on me. I still have to work on standing while pedaling and pedaling quickly while standing. And I need to invent a more comfortable seat. Damn, that thing hurts, and this time I DON’T like it.

After spinning it was time for my “Body Age” test. This is a new service provided by LIFE (Live In Fitness Enterprise fka Camp Technique) and I was glad to be able to do this before leaving. The first part of the test involved answering a questionnaire about various health risks. In my family there have been strokes, high blood pressure, mental illness, skin cancer, heart attacks, and diabetes (brought on by obesity). Regrettably I have no control over those inherited risks so that bumps my age up. However I have never had high blood pressure, I take extra precautions with my skin, I’m not crazy (though some of you might beg to differ), I have good cholesterol numbers, I have no problems with diabetes nor my thyroid, and in the last 12 weeks I’ve strengthened my heart so that I can max out at 170 instead of 139. I am still very much overweight and my body fat percentage is still too high. It has dropped by 6% in twelve weeks, which is REALLY GOOD, but I still have a lot of work to do. The machine/computer/contraption also measures blood pressure, and mine was normal, despite just finishing the spin class minutes earlier. There were two physical tests as well. First, I had to stand on what looks like a scale and pull up on a straight bar using only my biceps. I had to pull up as hard as possible; I guess the thing measures the pressure exerted by my “brute strength.” I tried twice and the second time the reading was “good.” I have no doubt that if I had been able to work out my upper body for those 4 weeks in April and May, I would have done better on that. The second part of the test was a BREEZE for me; it measures flexibility. Hah hah, I am the Queen of Flexibility in this joint. I had to sit on the floor with my legs straight and feet flat up against the side of the machine. Then there was a bar on a cord which I had to hold while I was sitting up straight, and then I had to lean forward as far as possible holding the bar. Hah…I was literally “off the chart” ‘cause I could bend forward so far. I get asked if I’ve “always been that flexible.” As far back as I can remember…YES, I have always been that flexible. I started dancing when I was only 4 or 5 years old, and I did try gymnastics when I was around 9 or 10, and even tried it in high school when I was 14. I can’t remember at what age I was first able to do splits and other stretchy things, but it has felt very natural to me all along, even when I didn’t exercise for over 4 years. I can still do a perfect split without warming up (although it does hurt) and even after no exercise for several years. Since I’ve been here, though, I’ve been stretching almost every day. Sometimes I only do it for a few minutes at home, at other times we either have a stretching class or if I have a free half-hour I’ll just go on the mat and do it myself. It just feels plain GOOD to stretch! Doesn’t it feel good to you when you wake up in the morning and you yawn and push your arms back and straighten your legs and point your toes? See, even you stretch every day! I really cannot recommend enough how important it is to stretch. I find I can stretch further if I’m already warmed up, but if it’s the first exercise of the day for me, I take it slowly and if I have time, I do the whole routine, from bottom to top, twice. And, while I am more flexible than most, I do have a weak spot, and that would be my quadriceps. Hamstrings? No problem! But my quads always need extra work.

Alright…lunch was next and then I was scheduled for cardio and the Santa Monica Stairs. And we were having a Memorial Day BBQ later on. I still had to pack, however, so I blew off the rest of the day with every intention of packing ‘til about 5pm and then heading downstairs for the BBQ. But alas, my body said “NO” again. I started packing another duffle bag, but pretty soon I was crashed on the sofa. Y’know, when your body absolutely, positively wants to sleep, it’s going to do it whether you like it or now. I actually crashed on the sofa all night long. It was a good thing. My body needed it, and I also think that the physical stress of the last twelve weeks just finally released itself.

So, that’s it! 83 days (should have been 84 but I missed the first day thanks to the snowstorm on the East Coast). I will write an “epilogue” of sorts for “Day 84.” I’m a day behind, but it’s giving me a chance to think about all that I’ve learned and accomplished and to think about my disappointments and thrills. I’ll write about that tomorrow. Hope you all had a fun holiday weekend.

Days Eighty-One and Eighty-Two (Sat & Sun) – The Final Weekend

Saturday:
• Group Circuit & Interval Training (2 hrs)

Sunday:
• 3-mile jog on the beach (50 minutes) immediately followed by
• 15-mile bike ride on a new (to me) bike path (1 ¾ hrs)

We had to start earlier than usual on Saturday because the flag football workout was scheduled early due to the field not being available at the normal time. The ones who don’t participate in flag football (me!) get to do a circuit training workout in the gym. I was actually glad for this because I’d rather finish earlier on a Saturday then at 3pm as we usually do. I think there were 6 of us ladies with Arleigh. Arleigh chose 13 stations which were a variety of weight machines and “body-weight” exercises. As usual in group circuit workouts, we were at each station for 2 minutes and then moved to the next with a 30-second break. I quite liked this workout; it worked upper and lower body and had a mix of cardio in there. We even had to jumprope. Now….I canNOT remember the last time I used a jumprope. I’m sure I was in grammar school, so we’re talking around 35 years ago! I tried as best I could, only managing about three jumps before I’d trip up on the rope. I was spastic! And it was amusing. But, it’s a good cardio workout. The other exercise with which I had trouble was the crabwalk. Now…I had not done the crabwalk in a good 5 or 6 weeks because I wasn’t able to do it with my left shoulder problems that I had been having. For the uninformed, a crabwalk is when you’re on the ground facing upwards with your feet in front of you and hands in back, and your butt is off the ground. Then you walk forward with your hands and feet. Hah hah…I’m glad no one was filming this ‘cause I was also very spastic at this. While the other ladies could walk across a couple of times in the 2-minute period, I couldn’t even finish one crossing! It does show that one of my weak areas, besides my abs, which I mentioned yesterday, is my upper body strength. With all the biking and jogging my legs are pretty darn strong, and I hope the swimming has been helping my shoulder and back strength, so I will concentrate on upper body and abs on my own.

This circuit workout lasted about an hour, so Arleigh put us through some cardio interval training next. I like this, too, because while it is exhausting, you’re changing what you’re doing every 30 or 40 seconds and the time passes very quickly. We each started on a cardio machine – I stick with the elliptical whenever I can because it has less impact on my knees and ankles but I can keep my heart rate up in the right zones. We either go very fast or use a lot of resistance, depending on what Arleigh calls out to us. After the first 40 seconds you jump off your machine and do squats for 40 seconds, then we did pushups for 40 seconds. This whole process what repeated three times before Arleigh changed it up a bit for a second round, and then again for a third round. I sweat A LOT during these interval workouts. I like it!

Following this was lunch but we had to wait for the flag football people to return, and after lunch would be the beach boot camp which is usually first on Saturdays. I stopped doing the beach boot camps a couple of weeks ago, so I’ve been cycling instead. My INTENTION was to go home, have lunch, change clothes, and then go for at least 25-30 miles on the bike. However, my left knee was very sore for some reason. I don’t remember doing anything to it, but I wrapped it up in my ice pack wraps, and CRASHED. My body said, “no, un unh, you’re not going anywhere.” I did some housework instead and committed myself to a bike ride on Sunday.

I haven’t mentioned it in a few days, but I’m still having trouble STAYING asleep. I think I actually did get about 5 straight hours of sleep. I awoke, and before I looked at the clock I was SURE that it was at least 6am. BUT NOOOOOOO, it was 4:19am. Gee whiz! Aw, man, what is it going to take to get a good 7 hours of sleep?! Grrrrrr! Anyway, I had breakfast and my vitamins and prepared my gear for the workout. My plan was to bike to the beach (3 miles), jog the entire round-trip (2.7 miles), and then hop on my bike right away and go for a long bike ride. And that’s what I did! I managed to jog the entire length of the beach both ways without stopping -- woohoo. Back to my bike where I quickly had a protein shake and hopped on to get on my way. I decided to go the southbound route again, so I was about 4 miles from where I was to the entrance of the bike path. However, this bike path does split to another route that runs along a creek or a canal (which looks like the one used for the drag race in “Grease”). As I had never biked down this path, I decided to give it a shot. It passed under the main road a few times, so there were several steep drops which led up to steep inclines. Yikes, it was a little scary going so fast while riding down the drop but that helped me UP the inclines. There were fewer cyclists on this route; it’s not scenic at all, really, and hidden from most public view, so I admit I was a little apprehensive during some parts of it when there was no one ahead of me nor within my sights behind me. The path only went for about 5 miles before ending, so I turned around. All in all I did just over 15 miles. Too bad there wasn’t a swimming pool nearby else I would have jumped in and swam a mile, too. Ah well…we’ll see on Thursday; I’ll try for the swim/bike/run on my last day in Marina Del Rey.

Most of my family are all together in New Orleans (specifically, Mandeville) to celebrate my aunt’s retirement. They were eating crawfish all day!! I swear I could smell it all the way in California. And my evil cousins were posting photos of the crawfish and all the family. Torture!! Oh how I wished I could be with them today. I can never eat enough crawfish! Anyway, Mom called while they were all together and I just missed it, so I called back and she asked how I was doing. I said, “I just ran for nearly 3 miles and cycled for 15 miles without stopping.” She said, “We’re eating crawfish!” Cruelty, I swear! It’s late in crawfish season so it’s unlikely I’ll even get any when I’m there in a few weeks. Waaaaaah!! I can’t even get raw oysters! I’ll just have to have fried oysters, but I’ll have to control myself and only have, like, THREE (maybe FIVE, heh heh). Oysters are my all-time favorite food. There is no way that I won’t eat oysters. Raw, fried, poached, roasted, baked, grilled, steamed, yum yum yum!!! Damn, as I’m writing this I’m craving all that right now. NEXT year I’m going to be in New Orleans DURING crawfish season, I mean it!!!

I’m packing now. I really brought too much stuff with me. A lot of it was never used! I’m going to have to figure out how to pack lightly for my Bermuda/New Orleans/San Antonio trip. Tomorrow is my last official day at fitness camp, but I’m still going to workout on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I can pack lightly enough for those days, but I have done a little bit of shopping while here. Hah..I’ll probably need to go buy another piece of luggage. I could probably open my own luggage store with all the extra pieces of luggage I’ve bought over the years. The luggage shipping service is collecting my luggage to be shipped early on Tuesday evening, so I still have Monday and Tuesday afternoons to get it done. I really want to minimalize all my belongings but the stuff just keeps reproducing ;-)

In the US, have a Happy Memorial Day and please don’t forget the reason for the holiday…to remember our fallen military. In Bermuda, Happy Bermuda Day (well, that was TODAY) and enjoy the half-marathon if you’re watching, and if you’re running, I hope you do as well or better than you hoped. Be sure to post photos! Have a great Monday everyone!

Days Seventy-Nine and Eighty (Thu & Fri) – The Light IS At The End Of The Tunnel

Thursday’s Workouts:
• Beach Run (2.25 miles jogging, 6 miles biking, 1 ¼ hrs)
• Progress Meeting
• Swimming (less than one hour, 52 laps)
• Final Nutrition Session
• 45-minute cardio
• 1-on-1 session (1 hr)
• Acupuncture

I awoke Thursday eager to give the beach run another try, so I rushed to get to the gym. As usual, however, breakfast was running late (we can either order breakfast and have it prepared and delivered at home the night before, or we can have it hot at the gym Mon-Fri. I prefer to eat at home so that my stomach has time to settle before the first workout) and most of the people in the group meant to go for the beach walk/run weren’t ready. Schuyler suggested that I bike to the beach…what a great idea! So, I did. I biked to the beach, jogged for about 45 minutes, and biked back to the gym. I had no trouble with the jogging…kept my heart rate pretty steady. Due to lack of time, though, I only jogged to the pier and back. I’ll try again on Tuesday and Thursday of my last week in Marina Del Rey. I had to get back for my final progress meeting with my coach, Marco, the nutritionist, Karen, and the counselor, Claire. We talked about what worked for me and what I want to continue to work on once I leave. I’m fairly confident that nutritionally, I’ll eat better than I ever have before, and I’ll be able to watch my portions. But I’m having some wine, dammit! In moderation, of course, but most of my Bermuda friends know that I was not a heavy drinker ‘cause I was usually driving my car. I have a pretty good cache of exercises that I can do for cardio training and circuit training, but I did mention that I felt my abdominals were my weakest area and I asked Marco to show me some more exercises for that area. And emotionally/mentally, I guess I’ve learned to not be as hard on myself as I usually was. I think we’re all our own worst critics, don’t you think? We should all try to cut ourselves some more slack.

After this we headed for what I thought was going to be my final swim of the camp. Even though Monday is officially my last day, I’ve obtained permission to join them on Tuesday and Thursday of my final week for the ride to the pool. I really like the swimming. It’s low impact, but if I keep going steadily without stopping, I can keep my heart rate in my fat-burning zone and burn some decent calories. So, I asked to go for two more swims, and I’m going to look for pools in Virginia, San Antonio, and New Orleans while I’m visiting there. Any Saltus swimmers in Bermuda reading this? I need to chat with you about going for a swim there – unless there’s ANOTHER pool somewhere in Bermuda where I can do laps. The ocean’s laps are just too long ;-) OK, back to Thursday’s swim. Catherine is a new client; she’s only 19 and was a varsity swimmer in high school. She usually swims in the fitness pool, so I asked if she didn’t mind if I split a lane with her because I didn’t want to have the same experience as I did on Tuesday. That worked out well for me. I was able to get lots of laps in. Catherine at one point said that I had good flip-turns. I was pleased to hear that ‘cause I only taught myself how to do that by watching others do it. She gave me a bit of advice about how to make it even better, and so I’m working on my technique for that. I told her, too, that I’ve always wanted to learn how to do the butterfly stroke, and she was more than happy to show me how. How sweet! Well, can I tell you (non-regular swimmers) that the butterfly stroke is HARD! Dang, it was difficult to coordinate my arms with dolphin kicks at the same time. I did it for one lap and that was enough for me. I felt and looked very awkward, I’m sure, but at least I know how to do it now. I returned to my freestyle laps and managed to get 52 laps in. We had to leave a little earlier than usual and thus didn’t have a full hour to swim. Grrrrr…. Like I said, I’ll just try again on Tuesday and Thursday.

Back at the gym I had my final personal nutrition session with Karen, who gave me my “maintenance binder” which we all get when we leave. It has loads of information, such as grocery shopping suggestions, portion sizes, vitamins and supplement info, and the recipes to our meals! That’s my favorite part. I can’t wait to start making these at home. You hear that Mom…I’ll do the cooking while I’m visiting! I’ll do some for you, too, if you want, Nan, and Arlene!

After this I had a 1-hour cardio session, so I decided I wanted to burn more calories by going for ANOTHER run. This time I went behind the grocery store across the street to jog on the path as I had done on Monday. Well…I was not as successful with this run as I was this morning. My legs were tired. I guess I ran for a total of 30 minutes and walked 15 minutes. Still managed to get about 2 miles done, and I did finish with jogging all the way to the gym. This had me warmed up for my 1-on-1 session with Marco. We did lots of various yoga ball and bosu ball exercises that incorporate both upper body and core/abs work. I do have my own yoga ball so I will be able to do these on my own. I think once I’m settled into an apartment somewhere I’ll get my own bosu ball, too. Marco took some photos of some of my exercises, and I’ve included them here.

Usually I have cardio & a movie scheduled for Thursday evenings, but it was not on my schedule, presumably because it’s so close to the end for me and I guess they’re tapering off my schedule. This was OK ‘cause I had a final appointment with my acupuncturist this evening. I actually wasn’t in any pain and was feeling pretty good, so I asked Dr. Chen to work on my left shoulder area just ‘cause it tends to get a little tighter than the right side. I also asked to have the cupping down, this time without the bleeding, ‘cause I really like how it feels. It feels like the cups are sucking the tension right out of my back. Dr. Chen took a photo for me, too.When I returned home, I was pretty tired so I only wrote one day’s blog. Still playing catchup right now!

Friday’s Workouts:
• 1-on-1 Session (1 hr)
• Bike/Run/Bike (9 miles biking, 1 mile jogging, 9 miles biking, 2 ½ hrs)
• 30-minute cardio
• Group Circuit Training (boxing and a few minutes with Mistress Nicola)
• My last massage ;-(

Friday is usually Sand Dunes day, but it was not on my schedule because (1) they know how much I HATE doing it and (2) I WAS going to have my final weigh-in and photos. Before this, however, I had my final 1-on-1 session with Marco, who gave me some more abdominal and core exercises. He also took a few more photos where I was doing some light-weightlifting while balancing on an upside-down bosu ball. Check out my one-legged heel stretch balance!

Following this, since I wasn’t going to the Dunes and I wasn’t going to do my final weigh-in and photos (‘cause I wanted a few extra days to try to lose another inch or two), I committed to doing a bike/run/bike. My plan was to bike 9-miles to Manhattan Beach (about an hour), jog for 45 minutes, and then bike back to the gym. Alas…the bike ride wore my legs out! I walked for several minutes, alternating with some jogging, so I guess I managed about 20 minutes total of jogging and several minutes of walking. Lesson learned! Gosh, how do you triathletes do it? I can see how the transition from swimming to biking isn’t to taxing ‘cause for me, anyway, I use my arms more when swimming, and then obviously I use my legs for biking. But you also need your legs for the run, and mine were whipped. Ah well…I will try again on Sunday, although I think I’ll jog on the beach first and then go for at least 15 miles on the bike.

After this we had lunch and then cardio on our own. Then, four of the trainers came out from a meeting “all gangbusters” – we were broken into four small groups and each group was assigned to a trainer. Jess and I started with Marco to do some boxing. Marco’s so cute when he boxes ‘cause his face really gets into it and you forget that he’s sweet Marco. Now he’s the Boxing Animal. I have my own gloves ‘cause I really liked the boxing classes, but I hadn’t boxed in at least four or five weeks due to my left shoulder injury which slowed me down for awhile. So, I had a little bit of trouble with some of the boxing drills, but it was fun to do anyway, if anything just to watch Marco’s face, hah hah. After 30 minutes of this, all the groups rotated and Jess and I were sent to Mistress Nicola. Uh oh! She was having us do leg work, and my legs were toasted after the bike/run/bike earlier followed by some cardio on the elliptical only 45 minutes early. Thankfully Mistress Nicola didn’t pull out her studded leather whip and I barely managed to get through her session. Next, we rotated again, but I was going for my final massage. Woohoo! I liked this kind of group workout though….I think it was going on for two whole hours without stopping, but since it was split among four trainers, at only half an hour each, it went quickly, I’m sure, and was rather exciting. Damn…I wish they hadn’t waited ‘til nearly my last day to do something like that ‘cause it was fun!

My final massage was not with Nina, unfortunately ;-( A second massage therapist has been hired because the gym gets busier in the summer. So, Nina was off today and the new therapist, Deanne, gave me my massage. If you have a regular massage therapist, then you know what it’s like the first time you start with him or her ‘cause he or she needs to get to know you a bit, and after awhile you don’t have to tell him or her a whole lot because he or she knows what to do. So, as this was my first massage with Deanne, it wasn’t quite as relaxed as I would have liked (not Deanne’s fault, it was me), and she has different methods from Nina, so it was different from what I was expecting.

Home on a Friday night. I still miss happy hour and the chance to catch up with friends. Since leaving Bermuda my Fridays have been quiet, and this one was no different. Since being at fitness camp, though, by Friday night I am wiped out and I usually just collapse on the sofa. Normally I would stay up a little later to catch a movie, but the Saturday schedule was changed and we were starting at 8am instead of the usual 9:30am. This was OK with me ‘cause I’d rather finish earlier, so I headed to bed quite early.

Hope you’ve all had a great weekend so far, and are ready for the holiday on Monday. Whether you’re doing the half-marathon in Bermuda or just hanging out with family and friends in the US, have a great time, and remember the reason for the holiday…to remember our soldiers, sailors, Marines, and Airmen (did I get them all?).

Day Seventy-Eight – Wanna Be On “Survivor”?

Wednesday’s Workouts:
• NONE! I auditioned for “Survivor” instead!

During Day 77 I had been toying with the idea of going to the Open Call Auditions for the CBS reality show, “Survivor.” I would not say I’m a HUGE fan of Survivor. I’ve watched fewer than half of all the seasons, though I did watch most of the season that just finished this past Sunday. I stated before that I’ve never really wanted to be a contestant on Survivor. I’d much rather be on The Amazing Race. I remember when the very first Survivor aired. I had absolutely no interest in watching a series that showed people backstabbing and fighting with each other. How embarrassing! However, whenever the commercial for the Open Call Auditions would appear, I admit that I became intrigued. When was I ever going to be this close to an audition opportunity like this again? I did an internet search for the location and found that it was in Pala, California, which was at least a 2-hour drive south of Marina Del Rey. This meant that I was going to have to take an entire day off from fitness camp if I was going to do this. I asked a few people at the camp if they wanted to go do it with me but there were no takers. I also checked with Claire and Nicola to see if they thought it was a good idea to give up a day of working out, but they were all for it. “Go for it.” Now I had to figure out transportation. By now it was 5:30pm. I called a rental car company who was closing at 6pm, so I had them come get me and then set me up with a car. It was definite now…I was going to do it!

When I returned home, I called Shella to see if she was available to join me for this little road trip, and happily she was. The auditions were scheduled from 9:00am to 3:00pm (i.e., you had to be in line by 3:00pm to get an audition). I felt it was important to get there as early as possible so that I could be at the beginning of the queue. I did not relish the idea of standing in line for several hours but I assumed it was going to happen. So, we made plans for me to collect Shella around 6:00am. Next I went online to search for any blogs or news articles about anyone’s experience at previous Survivor auditions. I did find a few, including one as recent as April in Baltimore. In Baltimore, it was cold and raining the day of the auditions, and people waited in line for 5 hours in that weather to get their 2-minute video done. I also read that most people start lining up at 5:00am to be early in the queue at 9:00am. Yikes!!! This had me very worried that if I didn’t get there ‘til 9:00am, the line would have been horrendously long and I might not be able to return the rental car in time. Then I had the bright idea that perhaps I should drive down TONIGHT so that I wouldn’t be too sleepy in the morning. I called Shella back to see if she wanted to do that with me if I could get a hotel room. She was willing (and had to hurry…by now it was after 9pm). So, I called the Pala Casino, Resort & Spa where the auditions were being held and asked if they had any rooms available. They did, so I booked it, hurriedly packed a bag, a blanket for sitting in line, a shawl to keep me warm, my meals, and camera, and headed out to collect Shella. By the time we actually got on the road it was 11:00pm, which is waaaaay past my bedtime!

This is the first time in over ten years that I have driven any more than 40 mph and more than 15 miles. Bermuda is only 25-26 miles long and I worked from home, so I rarely drove more than a few miles every week. I had to remember to stick to the right side of the road, too, heh heh. I had a Pontiac GT105, I think. It was OK, but I know for sure I never want a car with a rear spoiler on the trunk; I’m short and that thing gets in the way! We were comfortable nonetheless and found our way to the state highway that led to the Pala Casino. By now it was nearly 1:00am and this road was dark with few street lights and had many blind and winding curves. It was a precarious and nerve-wracking final leg of the trip to get to the Casino. We arrived safely and checked in quickly to get to our room. I was still concerned about waiting in the long lines and whether we would be able to get out of the room by the 11:00am checkout time. I called the desk clerk and asked about a late checkout. They were able to accommodate us with a half-day rate, so we were safe ‘til 6pm. I was happy with that ‘cause I was knew that I was going to be very tired after the audition and might need a nap before getting back on the road. It hadn’t occurred to me though that I wasn’t going to get the car back to the rental company on time – too tired I guess! The desk clerks had mentioned that people were going to get in the queue at 5:00am, so I set my alarm for 4:15am. OUCH! As usual, I had difficulty getting to sleep, this time because I was in a different environment and I was anxious about the day ahead. I struggled to get out of bed; thankfully I had already showered so it was just a matter of freshening up and making it look like I was wide awake instead of feeling like a zombie. I grabbed my blanket, one of my meals for breakfast, some water, and my camera, and headed downstairs. Shella was still sleeping.

The signs for the Open Call led me to an auditorium where there were about 125 people already seated in the center section and more following me. We were directed to stick to the middle section so I found a seat and waited. The atmosphere was very lively despite the ungodly hour. There was a live news camera crew from CBS2 in Los Angeles, so they were getting the people cheering and singing and randomly interviewing potential contestants. Dang, had I know I would have set the DVR to record! There were several live spots and the camera was all over the place, so I was in many of the crowd shots for the live reports. The reporter played a sound clip which included suggestions from previous Survivor contestants on how to get through the audition. The repeated suggestion was “you gotta do something memorable.” Yikes, I had to really think about what I was going to do in only one minute!! The reporter also had an iPod so he was playing music for us in between spots, and if he saw anyone singing the song playing he would RUN to them and give them the microphone. Around 6:00am we were told that around 7:00am we were going to be given, in groups of 50, paper bracelets of different colors which indicated our callback time, so that we didn’t have to sit there all this time. Rather, we could LEAVE; they suggested going gambling. Hah…I was going for a nap! I just had to stick it out for another hour. The news reporter continued to keep the crowd going until about 7:00am. Then a producer or casting director or some guy from Survivor (who was actually pretty funny) spoke to us about the procedure; we were to come back later and do a ONE-minute video (usually you get two minutes but as they were expecting so many people, they cut it to one minute. Dang.). It was all very civilized, I must say, and almost painless. The bracelets were handed out to the people in the rows in front of me. As I was there so early I was happy to receive a bracelet for the third group which had a callback time of 9:45am. Yaaay! By now it was about 8am so I headed back to the room, told Shella to go back to sleep, and I set my alarm for an hour’s nap (‘cause I wanted to put on makeup and work on what I was going to say and do for my one-minute. I also had to finish my application.).

The hour passed too quickly; I’m sure I barely dozed. This time I put on some makeup and headed downstairs. Again I thought I was going to have a long wait. I’m such an idiot…forgot the camera, so I texted Shella to bring it down, thinking we had plenty of time. WELL! The two groups ahead of us were apparently finished, so they took our group to another area of the hotel where rooms were set up with cameras. I texted Shella to hurry ‘cause it looked like it wasn’t going to be a long wait….and I was right. We waited to reach the registration table where our applications were assigned a number and a camera. The registrars told us that we would stand in front of the camera with our application held in front of our chest (the number was pretty big), give our name, and then we could drop it to do our one-minute spiel. There were two cameras going at first and the line was moving quickly. Shella arrived just in time as I was entering the room for my one-minute of fame. Shella used the opportunity to interview a couple of other applicants; Shella does some freelance writing and figured this was some good material. The girl ahead of me was very quiet. We could barely hear what she said. So the funny casting guy from earlier said to speak loud and proud. I, of course, have no trouble projecting my voice, and I said something like this (keep in mind I was very nervous and as I had only just decided to do this thing about 15 hours earlier, I hadn’t prepared anything crazy):

Hi, I’m Donna Gauthier. I’m a proud Cajun, Southern-Belle from New Orleans, Louisiana. I’ve just spent 11 weeks at a hard core fitness boot camp where I’ve lost nearly 50 lbs, but I need to lose 50 more, and I want to do it on Survivor! I’m kind, friendly, well-organized, and very flexible, both mentally and physically (at this point I did a heel stretch). I would love to be on Survivor!”

Now, please don’t write about what I should or should not have done. It’s over and done with and I don’t want to have any regrets about coulda, woulda, shoulda. According to the FAQ, they will only contact me if they want to do an interview. As there are thousands and thousands of people applying for each season, I do not expect to be called. I did this just for the experience of doing it. It was a fun experience and I can check that off of my list of “things to do” – although I admit applying to be on Survivor was never on that list ;-) The whole process was pretty good. The application was the most difficult part. Some of the questions to be answered were (and my responses – the ones that I can remember):

• If you could hold any political office, what would it be and why? Mayor of New Orleans; it’s my home town, and I would work to rejuvenate and renew her. It’s the best city in the world to me.
• Name three of your favorite hobbies. (1) Scuba diving (2) Amateur Theatre (3) Gourmet restaurant dining
• List three adjectives that best describe yourself. (1) Tenacious (2) Perseverant (3) Compassionate
• How would you friends describe you? Thanks to all of you who made suggestions. I used many of them! Fair, Bodacious, Determined, Intuitive, Effervescent, Spirited
• What are your pet peeves? I can’t remember exactly what I wrote, but I think I put down (1) Ignorant people who don’t read instructions (2) In the real world, dishonesty and disrespect
• What is the accomplishment you are most proud of? Creating the most popular website in Bermuda -- I did elaborate on this some more
• If you watched any or all of the previous SURVIVOR cycles, which SURVIVOR contestants do you most relate to? Why? Rudy from Season 2; he was a no-nonsense kind of guy
• Describe your perfect day. Spending a day with family in New Orleans with a big crawfish boil, telling stories, playing games, and laughing laughing laughing – if I was in New Orleans this weekend I’d be doing that ‘cause they’re celebrating my Nan’s retirement. Wish I was with y’all!
• Do you know any reality show contestants? If so, who and to what extent? Believe it or not, I have to say “yes” to this. One of the recent “Bachelor” guys works out with Eric, the owner. No, he did not marry the girl he chose on the show and no, it’s not the most recent guy who dumped Melissa who went on to “Dancing With The Stars.”
• Who is your hero and why?Condoleeza Rice – she’s a class act. I wrote more than that but I can’t remember all of it.
• List three non-survival related items you would take with you to the remote location, if allowed, and why. (1) American flag (a big one), to remind us that we are free, but ALSO because Cody had one with him on Season 2, I think, and they ended up using it as shelter. (2) A Voodoo doll – to freak out the other contestants (3) a cast iron skillet – for cooking and hammering
• What would be the craziest, wildest thing you would do for a million dollars? I can’t remember what I wrote!! Probably something boring like, “I go on Survivor and be humiliated in front of millions of people.”
• What would you NOT do for a million dollars? Steal, kill
• What skills do you bring to SURVIVOR that would make you a useful member of the group? I’m drawing a blank on what I wrote for this one. I think I mentioned the mental and physical flexibility and that I was a good organizer.
• If you were stranded, who would you most want to be stranded with? I wrote “Steve Martin” – who I have loved since I was 12 yrs old (remember “King Tut”?)
• What is your primary motivation for being on the show? What is your secondary motivation? I can’t remember which one I put first, but I probably put “to win a million bucks” first and “to be challenged” second.
• Why do you believe you could be the final Survivor? I think I wrote something like, “I’m kind and friendly enough to get everyone to trust me, but I’m beguiling enough to convince them that I would not vote for them and then I would. I would use my Godfather philosophy: “It’s not personal, it’s business.”

As we finished so early (I was out by 10:45am) and I had already paid for the room ‘til 6pm, we decided to get a couple of spa treatments. The spa was lovely and had this wonderful scent throughout. I didn’t recognize what it was, but I liked it. Shella had a stress-relief massage. I had two treatments – an apricot & shea body wrap (for hydrating and moisturizing) and a lava-shell body massage; both of our massages were done by the same man. That was the first time I’ve had a man give me a massage without it leading to baseball! The atmosphere was my favorite part. The treatment rooms also had outdoor showers and outdoor bedding and were exposed to the mountains (but not to any perverts out there, unless there was a pervert on the mountain with a telescope). We also enjoyed the steam room, hot tub, and just relaxing. I was absolutely exhausted by this point and tried to rest, but I was concerned that we were going to hit Los Angeles traffic, so we left the spa around 3:30 and were checked out and on the road by 4:00pm.

This was a bad move. We really should have left as soon as we finished the audition process. Once we were on the road we were able to see the lovely mountain scenery around the area; Shella took some photos for me. Pala Casino is on the Pala Indian Reservation. The mountains surrounding the area were rocky and partially covered with brush and trees. I liked them. I prefer the ocean over the mountains, but it was a nice sight to behold. While we were enjoying the scenery, I completely forgot about filling the gas tank. After we drove onto I-5 I noticed the “gas tank empty” light. Ok, no problem, we had enough to get us to the next exit. Except the next exit was far away. AND there was a US Border Patrol Road Block in process! It was so odd. We were heading north and I’m sure we weren’t anywhere near the border, but the Patrol had all five lanes of the interstate blocked and were glancing at each of us before letting us go. Shella and I turned to see that there were loads of Border Patrol cars along the side. We wondered what they were up to; I was also wondering if I was going to have enough gas in the car to get us to a station! The next exit, it turned out, was an entrance to Camp Pendleton. We joked about letting Shella talk to the cute military guard ‘cause she’s English (from Essex), but then I decided to use a sweet southern accent just for the hell of it. Hee hee. We had to turn around and leave, of course, but it was fun to be that close to so many men in uniform. The guard told us that at the next exit we could find a station. Neither Shella nor I paid 100% attention to the directions; all we heard was “next exit” – he MIGHT have told us to turn at the ‘big parking lot’ or ‘first left’ but if he did we both missed it. We took the next exit and kept going and going and it was apparent there was no gas station. There was a cyclist on this very hilly road (and he was older than we; kudos to him for attacking this road; it would have killed me) so we slowed down to ask him about the nearest gas station. We were heading down a dead-end road and had passed the street where there was a gas station. So, we had to go all the way to the end to turn around, and it was another entrance to Camp Pendleton. By now I’m sweating because (a) I was worried that we weren’t going to make it and (b) I had turned off the air conditioner to reduce gas usage until we bought more. So…we turn around and find the road on which we should have turned…and THAT one seems to go on and on but at least we saw several businesses so I was feeling better about finding a gas station. Whew…finally one turned up. We filled up and were back on the road. As we approached the southern outer city limits of L.A., traffic became a nightmare. And we sat in it forever. Generally I don’t let traffic bother me because it’s out of my control and there’s nothing I can do about it. This time, however, I was so tired and just wanted to get home and I needed to get Shella home as soon as possible as she had plans for the night. Needless to say I didn’t make it back to the rental company before 6pm, but I had called them whilst at the gas station to let them know I’d have the car another day. The night before it took us 2 ½ hours to get to Pala. The return trip took FOUR and a half hours! Ouch! I was home by 8:30 after dropping Shella and with only a couple of hours of dozing previously, I wanted to get to bed as soon as possible. The daily updates for Tuesday and Wednesday were going to have to wait.

All in all it was a fun experience…the Survivor audition and the road trip with Shella. I’m glad I did it. I only did it because I want to be able to say I did it and it’s unlikely I’d ever have another chance like this again. I have absolutely no expectations of being called back. Truthfully, if I was called back, I think I’d be scared. As in…”oh no, what did I get myself into?!” However, if my one-in-a-million chance pays off and I did get on Survivor, I would play to the best of my ability, befriending everyone but trusting no one, and I’d break promises about votes left and right – it’s for a million dollars, after all!

Day Seventy-Seven – Triathlete Wannabe?

Tuesday’s Workouts:
• Beach Jog (2.7 miles, 49 minutes, no stopping, all jogging!)
• Weigh-in (cue the scary music)
• Swimming (66 laps (just over a mile), 1 hour)
• 1-on-1 session (1 hr)
• Bike Ride (18 ¼ miles, 2 hrs)

I’m a couple of days behind so I hope I can remember everything! On Monday at our lunch discussion I had stated that a goal for this week was that I wanted to jog the entire length of the beach both ways. Up ‘til Tuesday morning, the most I had done was walk one way and jog the entire way back. I really didn’t plan on trying to do the round-trip ‘til Thursday’s beach walk/run, but Tuesday morning when I awoke, I just kinda felt like giving it a shot. PLUS, on Tuesday, I would be swimming and cycling – kind of my own little micro-triathlon. It was a big day ahead for me! So…we arrived at the beach, I went straight down to the rocks, reset my pedometer, said a little prayer, and started my turtle jog (I’ve attached a photo of Cecil the Turtle from the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes series…this is the “turtle jog” to which I’m referring; Cecil raced and “beat” Bugs Bunny in a couple of cartoons). Surprisingly it wasn’t that hard to do! I made it to the rocks past the pier in 25 minutes. I was feeling fine and simply turned around for the return trip. I checked my heart rate the entire time and I kept it fairly steady. I was keeping the same pace and it appeared that I would make the return in 25 minutes, but I don’t know what got into me near the end….I actually, REALLY RAN and shaved off a minute to reach the starting point. I don’t think I’ll be doing that kind of running (I’m talking big strides, arms-pumping running, people) anytime soon or frequently, but it was kind of fun to do. Shot my heart rate up, of course. That’s the main thing that holds me back now…when my heart rate gets very high, I get short of breath. So, I’ll just continue to do more cardio workouts and expand my heart rate zones and build up speed to go along with my endurance. Since I achieved the goal that I had declared the day before, I was again really, very proud.

And since I had been doing more jogging in the last few days, I was anxious to get measured and weighed. Back at the gym I stepped on the scale and closed my eyes. I didn’t want to be disappointed again as I was last week. When I opened them, I had a 5-lb loss. That was good. That puts me at 42 lbs lost. My goal was to lose 50 lbs, and with only 6 days left, it is unlikely that I will meet that goal. HOWEVER, if I lose at least 6 lbs by Monday, my last day, I will have reached a milestone with which I’ll be happy. In measurements, I lost another 3.75 inches, including a whole inch in my waist. So now I’m down 63.75 inches. I’m thrilled with that! I did bring a “goal dress” with me. It’s a simple, “little black dress” that I bought at Marks & Spencers in Bermuda several years ago and it was too tight from the start. It has a UK size tag in it, which I didn’t pick up on at the time or I didn’t understand the difference between UK sizes and US sizes, I hadn’t tried it on in the store, and I never bothered to take the time to return it. Perhaps it was meant to be, ‘cause I have tried it on and it ALMOST fits perfectly. It’s still a teeny bit tight around my hips but looks pretty good. Results, baby!

Swimming was next. My goal was to do as well or better than my best, which was 72 laps, with 32 laps swum without stopping. Unfortunately the pool was crowded this day. Typically there are 2 people to a lane and that’s no problem. However, this idiot couple insisted on getting in my lane despite seeing that I was doing flip turns. OK, fine, if you’re going to share lanes, get out of the way!!! These idiots kept lollygagging at the wall, preventing me from reaching my goal of not stopping ‘cause I had to stop to glare at them to get them to move. I TOLD them, too, that they kept me from reaching my goal. Idiots! People like this should not be allowed to breed, I swear. I did manage to get 66 laps in, but I think the most I did at once without stopping was 22. Grrrrrr. I vowed that for Thursday I was going to go to the other pool. There are two pools at the Santa Monica Pool where we swim twice a week. There’s a “splash” pool and a “fitness” pool. Both pools have lanes for lap swimming. The splash pool is no more than 3’6” deep and is kept warmer, usually around 85-degrees. The fitness pool is deeper, made for the more experienced swimmers (i.e., faster), and it’s kept at around 76-degrees. With the exception of my first week, I always swam in the splash pool ‘cause it’s warmer and I didn’t want to get in any experienced swimmers’ ways. After Tuesday’s nuisance, though, and since I’m a much better swimmer than I was 11 weeks ago, I think it was time to move to the fitness pool. Dang…76-degrees is chilly when the air temperature isn’t much more or is often lower than that. Anyway, Leg Two of my pseudo-triathlon was complete.

After lunch I had a training session with Eric (v’ball guy). I enjoy training with Eric. I might have mentioned this before, but I’ll say it again. Eric is tough but reasonable, and he’s always challenging. Most of my workouts with him work on core strength. Core (i.e., balance, stability) I got, abs I ain’t got. Eric is the one who’s helping me with the balancing on the yoga ball. I’m afraid I’ve run out of time to master the “aquaman” balance, but I’m doing fairly well with the balance on just my knees. I managed to hold it for 1:45 before my thighs were on fire. My legs were tired, too, from the morning’s jog and swim. That wasn’t good, ‘cause I still had a bike ride to do! Regardless, as always I had a great workout with Eric.

Next up was the Third Leg of my so-called triathlon…the cycling. Now, every triathlon that I’ve ever witnessed usually starts with a swim, then cycling, then running to the finish line, so I was doing mine backwards. And I had breaks in between each leg. No matter. Twelve weeks ago, it would have been impossible for me to do even half of one of those legs. Claire and I rode together, just the two of us again, as we did last Tuesday. As before we took the southbound route. The ride to Manhattan Beach is 9 miles and Hermosa Beach is 10 miles. We had hoped to make it to Hermosa Beach (on her own, Claire could have done that with time to spare) but we started a few minutes later than planned. I’ve written in previous updates that the southbound route is more difficult because it has several inclines and also has a small hill and a big hill to climb. The big hill is steeper on one side than the other. When we approach any of the hills or inclines I speed up as much as I can handle so that I can get some momentum to climb. While the bigger hill was difficult as usual, I did find that it wasn’t as hard to get to the top as it had been. Usually when I’m cycling I have my iPod Nano playing, but Claire and I chatted the entire way and that helps to pass the time very quickly. So, we made it back in 2 hours and it was time to go home. On this day, I jogged 2.7 miles, swam 1 mile, and biked 18 miles within an 8 ½ hour period, with an extra workout thrown in for good measure. And NOW there’s a crazy thought in my head that it would be cool to do them all together. HEY, waitaminute!! Where is Donna and what have you done to her?

In the last few days and most recently on Sunday night during the Survivor finale, it was announced that there would be Open Call Auditions for Survivor on Wednesday in Pala, CA. Pala is about a 2 ½-hour drive south from Marina Del Rey. Throughout the day I had been toying with the idea of heading down there early Wednesday morning, but with only 6 days of fitness camp and a goal to lose 6-lbs, I was hesitant. Not only that, I had never really thought about being on Survivor. I enjoy watching the show, but I would really rather try out for The Amazing Race over Survivor. But then again, when was I ever going to be that close to an easy audition for Survivor? It was really up to me if I wanted to do it, but I received some welcome encouragement from Claire, Nicola, and several others, so I decided to do it. It meant I had to rent a car and then leave Marina Del Rey around 5 or 6 in the morning. Stay tuned for Day 78’s update to see how that turned out!

Day Seventy-Six – The Turtle Jog

Monday’s Workouts:
• Stretching (1/2 hr)
• 1-on-1 Session with my personal Sadist (1 hr)
• Spinning (1 hr)
• Santa Monica Stairs (1 hr, 6 ascents), this time with Shella!
• Walked 10 minutes, jogged 39 ½ minutes without stopping, nearly 2 ½ miles total

Last night I still didn’t get a solid night of sleep, but I think I did get at least 5 hours straight, so I felt OK this morning. Before my first workout I had a meeting with Claire the counselor. These are always helpful. I’m pretty happy with myself as a person and I know what my characters flaws are, but there’s always something new to be learned about oneself, don’t you think? Following this we had a stretching session with Schuyler. We were meant to have (according to the schedule) a “tennis ball class with Schuyler” but there were no tennis balls in the gym. I think the original plan was to teach us some stretching/contouring with a tennis ball; sorry, Schuyler, I didn’t really understand the explanation! Will look forward to the class later this week. I was happy to do stretching anyway; I always love to stretch! Stretching, or flexibility, rather, helps prevent injuries and releases lactic acid from the muscles. I think you should stretch after EVERY exercise, actually, even if it’s only for 10 minutes. At least get the major muscles stretched out. As this class was shorter than planned, I had some extra time to warm up for my Masochism Session with my own personal Sadist, Mistress Nicola. I was glad that I wasn’t so tired as I was on Friday. As usual, Mistress Nicola had some new form of torture for me today. We warmed up with the kettlebell swing (i.e., feet spread apart, hands holding 15-lb kettlebell, swing the weight between the legs, then swing up to eye-level while squeezing butt and thigh muscles). Then Mistress Nicola wanted to put my core to the test by making me balance on one foot, bend over with the free leg slightly raised and bent behind me, and then do back-row lifts with 10-lb weights. FAILURE! Geez, at least she didn’t pull out her leather whip and beat me! I just couldn’t hold myself still enough to do the exercise, so she gave me an alternative. After three rounds of those, I did some chest-presses on an inclined bench. I like these and I hope that these will keep “the girls” perky. After three rounds of that, we moved to the mat and used a yoga ball. OK, listen to this…Mistress Nicola gets me on my stomach on the ball and I have to roll forward enough that the ball is approximately under my hips while my hands are forward on the mat, sort of like in push-up position. THEN she has me roll the ball towards my hands so that my ass is WAY UP IN THE AIR and my knees are tight against my chest. Holy crap! I had to do that ten times. I really hoped that the people and Marco who had gone cycling didn’t walk in on me while my butt was way up there. It was so high it was blocking the sunlight from the window! THEN, she tells me to do it sideways, where I’m rolling the ball up again but I have to twist my knees towards my right elbow. SHE’S INSANE! And I’m just as insane for agreeing to do this. It was a struggle, but I did it five times on each side. Next (oh yeah, it keeps getting better) I’m still on the ball on my stomach with my hands forward on the mat, and she wants me to squeeze my butt muscles, point my toes, and lift my legs straight and as high above my head behind me as possible. Do you know what this looks like? It looks like I’m humping the ball! That’s OK, ‘cause I good get my legs way up there, y’know. Hah. I was so good at it she made me do that twenty times. Hmmph. Then I had to do 50 crunches on the ball. That was actually a relief. I had to do all that (the butt-up-in-the-air rolls and the ball-humping and crunches) three times. And to finish up, I was on my back on the mat (barely alive at this point), hands under my butt, legs straight ahead but slightly off the ground, with a stretchy band around my ankles. I had to push outward on the band with my ankles as far as possible twenty times. Times three! This is where I’m at my weakest. My abs still need so much work. Marco and Schuyler have us do a similar exercise in their Abs/Core workouts, and I always always have trouble with it. Oy vey! I was whipped! (Hah hah…I didn’t even mean for that to be a pun related to the Sadist Mistress Nicola when I wrote it, but I guess it works). And still had a spinning class to do.

I’m getting better at the spinning. I’ve figured out how to pedal while keeping my butt off the seat, but I can’t go very fast. I’ve also managed to do the standing pedaling without bouncing my head up and down (i.e., using only thighs, not hips). Hmmm, I think I’ll have only one more spin class after this. Gosh…most everything I do this week will be the last time I do it (at fitness camp, anyway). I’ll have two more swims, maybe one more volleyball session, three or four more bike rides, and a few chances to jog. Wow….I’ve been saying that I can’t wait to get out of here, but as I’m WRITING this now, I’m a little bit sad! I’ll be fine though, ‘cause I know that I can push myself and I will look for creative ways to workout no matter where I am after leaving fitness camp.

Today was also the penultimate Stair-Climbing for me. After lunch a smaller group of us headed to The Santa Monica Stairs. We had just about an hour and my best effort has been only 6 ascents (I say “only” ‘cause Juggernaut Jeni can do, like, 16 of ‘em (probably more)) so I was hoping to do at least that amount. We start at the top (so if we want to get home, we have to climb one more time), so that’s easy the first time and I quickly descended. Last Monday I think I mentioned that during the 5th ascent I had started to feel weak and shaky, and so at that time I put a little powder supplement in my water so that I could do a 6th climb. Today, I didn’t want that to happen so I made sure to have a protein shake on the way, and I wasn’t feeling too tired, so I thought I might go for seven today. Hah hah! My body said NO. The bottom section of the stairs has 75 steps, I think. By the time I had climbed only 40 my heart rate was already high and I couldn’t move my legs any faster. As I continued through the next section, SHELLA appears in front of me on the descent. Cool! I had told Shella that we’d be there on Mondays. Now…how’s that for a friend, eh? She doesn’t HAVE to climb the stairs but she did them anyway. Just like Mom and Amy doing The Dunes with me when they visited. There are another set of stairs a few yards away, and Shella had actually already done those two or three times before she knew that there was the set of stairs which we were climbing, so she found me and looked fresh as a daisy, carrying a backpack, too. Geez, I need as little on me as possible! Anyway, she went down and up and I went down and up and after my second climb we went down and up together, chatting the whole time. It didn’t make the ascents any easier, but it sure did pass the time. Shella told me about the other set of stairs, so I decided to try it once. Yeah, won’t be doing THOSE again! They are concrete and narrower and there are more of them (190 as opposed to the 170 that we had been doing). Well, I can say I did them once at least. That was the fifth ascent, so we headed back to the wooden stairs for my sixth and final ascent as it was time to go. It was great to have Shella there; she’s going to help me go shopping next week (if she doesn’t have to work) after my hair makeover ;-)

We had to hurry back to the gym for the 4pm boot camp. I really didn’t want to participate in this for two reasons…(1) I don’t like the group workouts and (2) I don’t burn as many calories. As Marco was the trainer, I asked if it would be alright if I went for a jog instead. When I’m jogging I can keep my heart rate way up in the fat-burning or even cardio zone and thus burn more calories. With only 7 days left, I want to burn as many as possible! Marco acquiesced so I headed across the main road to get behind the grocery store. This is the way we start the southbound bike path. Along this path, however, going northward, is one of those jogging trails that has exercise stations every few yards. I had decided that I would stick to this because it was visible from the road (as I was jogging alone) and it wasn’t too far from the gym. Alright…I headed out and walked to the path; that took about 10 minutes ‘cause if you miss the traffic light at the main intersection you have a long wait. No matter…I arrived at the path and headed north. My intention was to go for at least 30 or 35 minutes, as I always want to do a little better than the last effort (and I had jogged 30 minutes yesterday). So there I am doing my turtle jog. This was the first time that I was jogging on a hard surface. I had good music on my iPod Nano and I just went for it. I didn’t want to stop at all, so when I came to an intersection at about 12 minutes into it (my plan was to turn around at 15 minutes), I just turned down the street instead of waiting for the light to change and cross. At 15 minutes I turned and returned along the same sidewalk/path. As I was approaching 30 minutes, I was approaching the grocery store where I started and I just decided to keep going until I felt like I couldn’t. Earlier in the van, Claire, who I’ve mentioned previously is a seasoned marathon runner, was telling another camper that the key to running, or doing any of the exercises, really, is to be relaxed. I think that’s why I’ve been doing OK with my jogging – because I stay relaxed. I keep my shoulders down and my head up, and rather than holding my fists up by my chest, I keep my forearms low (which prevents my shoulders from tightening up) and let my hands dangle, actually; I don’t hold them in a fist at all. Claire had advised me to do that with my hands about 5 weeks ago when I made my first attempts at jogging; that was a valuable piece of advice! Thanks, Claire! Anyway, I reached the main intersection and the damn light was red! Aaaargh! I was determined NOT to stop, so I just jogged back and forth on the corner until the light changed and then I jogged to the back door of the gym. When I finally stopped, I had turtle-jogged for 39 ½ minutes without stopping. I shocked myself! I can’t believe I did it. And I’ve never, ever done anything like that before! Well, waitaminute, when I was in high school I did march with the dance team in Mardi Gras parades, and in those we easily marched (in white knee-high boots and velvet shorts, boys) for three hours without stopping. Of course, I was only 16 at the time. Oh, and in grammar school (maybe 12 yrs old?), I was in the guitar club and we marched in a parade for three hours carrying and playing acoustic guitars and singing! Anyway…eleven weeks ago I had sworn that I was NOT going to do any jogging and now I have to eat my words. I don’t mind it though. I am SO PROUD to have done this. I know a lot of you reading this already do your own running or jogging and thus 40 minutes is a light workout for you, but for me, this was never going to happen. At the start of this I had absolutely no desire to do anything more than a fast walk – EVER.

So, what’s next? How do I top that? Well, guess what? On Tuesday, unintentionally but coincidentally, I will be doing sort of a micro-triathlon (but with breaks in between). I have the morning beach walk/run first (2.67 miles), then about 90 minutes later I have swimming (and I proved last Thursday that I can swim over a mile in an hour), and then in the afternoon I have a 2-hour bike ride in which I should be able to do between 18 and 20 miles. NO, I’m not signing up for any such thing. I’m still not in love with the jogging bit. Gosh, I did the same thing last Tuesday, but I didn’t jog as long then. Tomorrow, Tuesday, if I’m rested enough, I’m going to try the round-trip on the beach and jog all the way to the rocks and back. On Sunday it took me 30 minutes to do that one way, so I’ll need the whole hour to cover the entire 2.67 miles. Wish me luck!

Now…another thing to ponder….Survivor is having Open Auditions in Los Angeles on Wednesday. I’ve seen the commercials on TV and I need to go to the CBS website to see what the qualifications are, but I THINK I just might TRY it. Why not, eh? And enough of you have already encouraged me to do it. It’s just an audition. I was trying to think of a special talent that I have. Hmmm…I know, I’ll do a heel stretch for them (for the uninformed, that’s when you’re standing on one leg and holding the other leg straight up by your side by the heel – I can do both sides). I might be chubby and over 40, but I can still do a perfect split. I don’t know all the details of the audition yet. I have to get to bed early tonight so I might have to look at it in the morning. I really don’t know if I could be ruthless enough to be on Survivor. Honesty and respect are of utmost importance to me – in real life -- but for a million dollars, I’m not a hundred percent sure that I’d have no problem breaking promises and telling lies. Just know that that is NOT the real me. Hmmm, does anyone know how to start a fire with just wood and brush? I’ll pay you to teach me ;-P Hey, Jeni and Shella, wanna come with me?

Alright – the Dancing With The Stars finale is on now; I’ve decided that I want Shaun Johnson to win. I don’t think Melissa should have ever been in the competition ‘cause she was already a professional dancing cheerleader. Gilles is hot, but Shaun is my choice. I have to continue packing, too. Hmmm, I’m going to have to leave a bigger than usual mess for Grace, our housekeeper. I actually never leave a mess for her – all she has to do for me is wash & change the sheets and towels, wash any dirty dishes (which are usually few ‘cause I do use the dishwasher) and vacuum (which I’m happy to let her do ‘cause I hate that chore). This time, however, there are piles of folded clothes and pieces of luggage everywhere. I better sign off and get to work so that I can get to bed early! HAVE A GREAT TUESDAY, Y’ALL!

Day Seventy-Two, Part II, plus Days Seventy-Three, Seventy-Four, and Seventy-Five – The Countdown Quickens

Gosh, I don’t know where the weekend went! Let’s see, I left off on Thursday with the confession that I am probably a masochist because I jogged further and longer than I had before and I swam longer and further than before. And I’m paying these people to do this and more to me.

After returning to the gym after swimming on Thursday and having a quick cooking class at the catering kitchen, Karen, our delightful nutritionist, made a pitcher of “Fresh” for us. I absolutely LOVE this stuff! It’s a green, all-natural shake loaded with vitamins and I swear after I have a glass of it I’m bouncing off the walls with energy. We’re going to get the recipe in our “maintenance binders” which are given to us when we finish the camp. I’m going to make this stuff every day. The quick list of ingredients (which I can remember) is (all fresh and organic): spinach leaves, cucumbers, lime juice, lemon juice, apples, parsley, mint, hint of agave syrup for sweetening, if desired, and celery. You can add a banana and/or strawberries instead of agave syrup for sweetness. It’s tart and I love it. Karen also made a simple protein shake with protein powder, blueberries, a banana, and a couple of other things, I think. The protein shake had more calories so we were limited on the amount we could have, but I was happy to have lots of the green stuff.

Next up several of us left for beach volleyball drills with Eric. There were 9 of us, so we were even able to have a little game. Personally, I don’t like the warmup stuff; I’d rather just get straight to a game, but the warm-ups are necessary to loosen our muscles and to burn calories of course. Interestingly, I run around less during warm-ups and drills, but when we’re actually playing, I’ll hustle and go after the ball and don’t mind diving into the sand to get the bump. As we were finishing up, this tall, slender, seemingly fit man who appeared to be in his 40s stopped to chat and I guess inquire about us. He let us know that he was heavy when he was younger, got fit in the last several years, had a HEART ATTACK A WEEK AGO and was walking around and feeling fine that day; he said that he survived the heart attack because he was fit. SO DO YOU HEAR THAT, THOSE OF YOU AT RISK OF A HEART ATTACK? THIS IS EXACTLY the reason I came to this fitness camp. I had no health problems leading up to starting the camp, but I knew that if I didn’t change and GET fit, I would be at risk of a heart attack sooner than later. My Grandpa Gauthier was in his mid-40s when he died of a heart attack. HOLY SHIT MY HEART FEELS LIKE IT’S GOING TO JUMP OUT OF MY THROAT NOW BECAUSE THERE WAS JUST NOW (8:39PM in California) A BIGGER EARTHQUAKE TREMOR THIS TIME THAN TWO WEEKS AGO. OMIGAWD! GET ME OUT OF HERE! I DO NOT LIKE EARTHQUAKES! GIVE ME A GOOD OL’ HURRICANE ANYTIME!!! MY HANDS ARE STILL SHAKING!!! YIKES, THERE’S ANOTHER ONE, BUT SMALLER. I DON’T LIKE IT. MOMMYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!! NEWS REPORTS SAID IT WAS A 5.0 AT THE EPICENTER!! Ok, I am totally discombobulated right now. These earthquake tremors are going to give ME a heart attack!

No Cardio & A Movie for me Thursday night ‘cause I was heading to Dr. Chen, my acupuncturist. As time passes I’m feeling less and less pain, thankfully, and the big knots stuck under my shoulder blades are getting smaller. I think the acupuncture has helped that a lot. Dr. Chen also gives me a boost ‘cause she says each week I look thinner. I love her!

Friday’s Workouts:
• Circuit Training (1 hr)
• The Dunes (8 climbs, 2 hrs)
• 1-on-1 Session with Mistress Nicola, the Sadist (1 hr)
• 1-hr Cardio
• Massage
• No community meeting for me – Yahoooo!

After LAST Friday’s absolutely miserable day, I had vowed that I was NOT going to climb that Sand Dune again. I see no point to it and I can burn more calories in more enjoyable ways and since there are others in the camp who don’t do them for the exact same reason that I don’t (‘cause we HATE it), I was determined that I was not going to do them. Instead, I would have gone cycling for three hours BUT my thighs and knees were bothering me, and I knew that I was going cycling on Saturday instead of doing the beach boot camp, so I didn’t say a word, got in the van, and went to the Dunes without complaint. Before the Dunes, however, we had a 1-hour group circuit training session, and I do find that I perform better at the Dunes if I’ve had a good workout before them. However, I hate the group workouts...I’m trying to keep my heart rate high enough and there are people in the group who just take their sweet-ass time to get from one piece of equipment to another. It pisses me off, really. It’s so inconsiderate! Get out of the way if you’re not going to hustle! I have calories to burn! Anyway, thanks to the 1-hour workout, I was feeling pretty good about my first climb of the Hell of Sand and reached the top in under 6 minutes, my best time. Each subsequent climb took longer to do, but I did manage to do eight of them, which is the same as my previous best number. And this was the last time (and here's a photo to show it). I mean it. I burned 1100 calories, but I could have burned the same or more doing a good bike ride. Ugh!!! I was exhausted after this, and normally when I have a free hour I try to do some extra cardio, but after lunch, I just HAD to take a nap. The lack of sleep over the last several weeks is affecting me physically and mentally. Besides, I needed to get myself psyched up for Mistress Nicola’s session, ‘cause she’s a maniac! You’d THINK that doing a simple leg lift wouldn’t be that hard, but it BURNS, baby! I did the best that I could, but I was truly feeling fatigued by then. After Nicola’s session, I hopped on the elliptical machine and the stationary cycle to do some cardio; I think I actually did 45 minutes, not an entire hour. No matter. The community meeting was next, but as I was FURIOUS after last week’s meeting and I had complained more than once that I hated those meetings, it was agreed that I would not attend them anymore. So my massage was scheduled at the same time. That was a good way to end the day and the week.

Saturday’s workouts:
• 3-hour bike ride, 24 miles, Marina Del Rey to Redondo Beach
• Group Circuit Training (1 ½ hrs)

So, since I did the F**king Dunes on Friday, I was not going to do the group beach boot camp on Saturday. Instead, I was determined to ride my bike further than last Saturday when I cycled 20 miles. I made sure to start a little bit earlier to ensure that I had the time to do that, and I followed the southern route again. There were more cyclists on the path this morning, but no matter…I just stay close to the right side and let them pass me (I practice proper cycling manners!). The sun wasn’t out that much so it wasn’t too hot. There were fewer volleyball games along the beaches but the surfers were all over the place!! I made it to Hermosa Beach as I had last Saturday and continued on through the path (that I had) not taken. It wasn’t that much longer before I reached Redondo Beach. What a pretty area! I wish I had time to go explore it. The marina and pier had lots to see and do. The bike path in Redondo Beach actually continues perpendicular to the pier and THEN it went into a covered garage area! How weird! By then I had gone just under 12 miles and I would have had to dismount to walk my bike again and I had biked for 90 minutes, so I turned around. NEXT Saturday I’ll try to go even further. Will have to start even earlier.

I returned home after 90 minutes so I wolfed down lunch, changed shirts, and headed to the gym for the group circuit workout. I had skipped that last Saturday since I was going to the Grateful Dead concert so I didn’t want to miss it. When I returned home, my body just quit! I barely had the energy to take a shower, but I did it, and then crashed on the sofa for hours. I had the good intention to start packing up the clothing that I wasn’t using, but my body said, “NO! SLEEP!” I also wanted to watch the final Saturday Night Live of the season, but thankfully I had set the DVR to record it, ‘cause it was hilarious. Did any of you see it? Will Farrell cracks me up. The Jeopardy skit made me laugh out loud. I actually continued to sleep on the sofa until 5 in the morning. I moved to bed at that point, but it was difficult to get to sleep, ‘cause I knew I had so much to do.

Sunday’s Workout:
• Bike 3 miles to beach
• Fast Walk 1.33 miles (35 mins)
• Jog 1.33 miles without stopping, 30 minutes
• Bike 3 miles back home

I ORIGINALLY planned to take a full day off on Sunday from working out so that I could have a productive packing day, but I think what kept me awake at 5:00am is that I have only eight days left and I want to do everything possible to burn off some more fat pounds. The weeks that I did more jogging I had better weigh-ins, so instead of going to the gym, I decided that I was going to go to the beach as we do on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and do some cardio. The bike ride to the beach was a little bit precarious as I had not cycled it before and it sure did seem a shorter route than I thought (‘cause I’m always in the van when we go there). No matter, I arrived at the beach around 8:30am and got started. My plan was to do as I had done on Thursday….walk going and jog returning. This time I made it all the way to the rocks past the pier and thus I was committed to jog the entire distance back. And I did. It’s hard to do, but surprisingly it’s becoming less difficult. Hmmmm…I think I might have to try just jogging the whole round trip. Will I be ready for that by Tuesday? It STILL DOES NOT MEAN THAT I LIKE jogging, so all you runners out there…don’t be thinking I’m going to sign up for any 5Ks anytime soon ;-)

Back home, I rested for awhile before getting started on the packing. I think I already mentioned that I’m going to use (again) a luggage shipping service that will collect and deliver your luggage to a specified destination in advance of your flight. It ain’t cheap, but it costs less than what all the excess baggage fees will cost me. I packed way too much stuff; there are tshirts, sweat pants, sweat shirts, and track pants that I never wore. Early in the camp I realized that it was more comfortable to wear Capri-length (that’s knee-length for you boys out there) yoga-type pants and sleeveless tops. And as time has continued, I became more comfortable and confident wearing tank tops. I’ve worn baggy clothes to cover up my fat rolls for so long that I had to convince myself that I didn’t look ridiculous in the tank tops. And now some of those tank tops are too loose on me ;-) I do have a handful that I had packed that are still just a little too tight…I’m going to have to work hard on my own to make sure they fit for when I get to Bermuda (in THREE WEEKS!).

So, the Survivor finale is on as I write this, and as I mentioned there was an earthquake tremor, and it was stronger than the one we felt two weeks ago. I really, really, really do not like them. Maybe if I knew what to DO when they happen – aren’t you supposed to stand under a door frame? I will be very happy if this does not occur again until after May 29th when I depart Los Angeles. There’s no warning and thus no preparation. The news mentioned that it was a 5.0, with the epicenter striking about 11 miles south of where we are. Holy shit, what if the epicenter had been here?!?!?!? It is extremely disconcerting to feel your chair shaking under your butt and seeing your clothes hanging to dry waving involuntarily. I don’t like it!!!! Daddyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!

I don’t know what’s on my schedule tomorrow since I wasn’t at the gym to collect my schedule, but I assume we have the Santa Monica stairs again and I might have a bike ride or, actually, as I think about it, I probably have spinning. I have eight days to go. Here’s hoping that they are all earthquake-free, and that your week ahead is productive and happy. Ciao for now!

Day Seventy-Two – Am I A Sadist or A Masochist? Part I

Thursday’s Workouts:
• VO2 Max Test
• Beach Walk/Run (1/2 walked 1.75 miles, 25 mins jogged 1.75 miles)
• Abs/Core session (1/2 hour)
• Swimming (1 hour, 72 laps, 32 of those non-stop, arms only)
• ”Cooking” class and a “Glass of Fresh”
• Volleyball Drills (1 ½ hrs)
• Acupuncture

Yesterday after my seminar in pain from Mistress Nicola, I had quickly looked up the definitions of sadism and masochism to help me determine if I was becoming a sadist or a masochist. Thanks for pointing out the differences to me, Margaret, ‘cause I believe I did get it backwards. A sadist gets pleasure from inflicting pain, and a masochist gets pleasure from receiving pain. So, I think we can easily determine that Mistress Nicola is indeed a sadist, and I think it’s also safe to say that Schuyler, Arleigh, Marco, and Eric are also part of Mistress Nicola’s den of torture. On the other hand, since I have already admitted that I liked the “pain” that I get from acupuncture and cupping and also from the chiropractor’s jackhammer and from Mistress Nicola pressing down on a weight on my stomach, I guess I have to accept that I’m a bit of a masochist. For the most part, I can tolerate a lot of pain. Like…whenever I have blood drawn or get a shot, I have to watch the nurse do it. On Thanksgiving Day in 2000, when my scooter bike handles fell onto my right knee and snapped my leg backwards, I clearly remember not feeling pain at that very moment (but the anaesthesia from surgery made me miserable). I prefer going to the dentist than any other physician. And when I’m stretching, I like that little bit of pain that comes when I stretch a little further. Uh oh. If you think about it, I bet all women are masochists whether we like it or not. And I think we handle pain better than the boys. Sorry, guys, but I’m pretty sure it’s true! ;-P Well, if I am to accept this then perhaps I should dress the part. Do you think they have workout clothes for masochists? Oh wait, I already have some…my bras! I still have to wear my normal support bra and an athletic bra on top of it to keep the girls under control. Aaargh!

So, just to prove that I’m a masochist, I had it in my head that I was going to jog more than I had ever done before. But first I had to do my VO2 max test, which measures oxygen-intake during strenuous activity and determines more accurately your own fat-burning and cardio heart rate zones (Schuyler or Arleigh, please correct me if I’m getting this wrong). On my very first day, I took this test and showed only a 12 in VO2 max, which was indicative of a “very low” fitness level for my age. Four weeks later I took the test again and it went up to 24, which was at the top of the “low” fitness level. I’m glad to say that it has gone up again to 26.6, which puts me in the “fair” fitness level range. Now…how does this test work? OK, I’ve uploaded the photo from my test at Week 4 (so I’m a few inches thinner than this photo). You’re on a treadmill with this mask contraption and are supposed to breathe as normally as possible. The administrator of the test slowly increases the speed and the incline of the treadmill with the intention of getting your heart rate as high as possible apparently without making your heart explode right out of your chest. As the treadmill gets faster of course you start breathing harder, too. To get me to my highest heart rate, Schuyler had the treadmill at an incline of 6.0 and speed of 4.1 mph, and I had to run that for about 90 seconds. Holy crap! You should try that – well, only if YOU’RE a masochist, too. I’m not sure how it works, but the contraption also indicated that my maximum heart rate increased from 160 beats-per-minute (bpm) at four weeks to 170 bpm today. Considering that on my first day my maximum was only 139 bpm, I am REALLY pleased with this improvement. I’m going to inquire about what it will take to get into the good or excellent fitness level for my age; this would be a minimum of 29 for good or 32.9 for excellent in the VO2 max test. I’m sure it will involve more masochistic activities, don’t you?

So, why not hit the beach and give it a shot, eh? As I mentioned, I thought I might try jogging for a longer distance today. OH, and I’m doing all this with almost NO SLEEP. Last night the knot in my left shoulder blade kept me awake all night long; I awoke at midnight, at 1am, at 2am, at 3am, at 4am, at 4:44am, and then with the alarm at 6:30am. I’m being punished for something, I just know it, or maybe I’m subconsciously inflicting this on myself. So, we arrived at the beach and we had just under an hour and I knew that I could walk beyond the pier in 30 minutes, so my plan was to do that, and then jog back ALL the way. This would not have been possible if it had not been low tide so that the sand was flat and hard. I did make it past the pier and still had a couple of minutes, so I guess I made it about halfway to the rocks. From the rocks to the sidewalk is 1.75 miles according to my pedometer. I’ll measure it again next Tuesday. I kept my promise to myself, turned around, and started jogging. Remember that I jog like the Turtle in the Bugs Bunny cartoon, but I kept going. I was soooo tired but I pushed through the fatigue (yikes, signs of more sadistic behavior). It was interesting to me that the end seemed nearer than I expected, rather than far away and unreachable. When I reached the beginning of the beach, I still had a few minutes so I kept jogging, even up the slight incline to the sidewalk through soft sand, and then when I reached the sidewalk I still kept going. I wanted to get a full 25 minutes jogging time done. My heart rate had already gone past 170 but I felt OK. I was breathing heavily, of course, and I’m sure that anyone I passed would have thought that either I was going to die OR that I was some pervert breathing down their neck. I still had a minute to go once I reached the van so I kept going. Holy mackerel, I was tired and that baboon-ass was permanently tattooed on my face! In fact I think it stayed that way all day. Anyway, I really am very happy with myself for jogging the entire way back. On Tuesday I will try for longer, and by Thursday I hope to jog the entire beach, which means 3.5 miles. Geez, that’s scary….I WANT to inflict such torture on myself.

Back at the gym we had our abs/core class before swimming. This is another session in torture and we pay them to do that to us. Anyone seeing a pattern here? There were a lot of us swimming this day, so I wanted to get a lane away from the crowd as soon as possible so that I could concentrate on my laps without distraction. Some people like to chat the whole time. I do not. That is a sort of torture that I do NOT enjoy. On Tuesday I was able to swim 64 laps, or a mile, so I wanted to at least repeat that, but this time I wanted to do at least 20 laps without stopping. So, I warmed up with a set of 10 laps with stops at the end of each lap, then I did three 10-lap sets…one set with arms only and the buoy between my knees, one set of backstrokes, and one set of normal freestyle. 40 laps down, 24 to go. Now, when I say I stop, that means I usually pause at the wall, have a drink of water, and perhaps stretch my arms, and also catch my breath. Now I was going to try for 24 laps straight. I find I swim better when I have the buoy between my knees and only use my arms…the buoy helps keep the rest of my body closer to the surface and of course it really works my triceps, ESPECIALLY using the swim gloves. I was using these the entire time. I can feel the resistance working on my triceps, and that is important to me ‘cause I want to get rid of those flags that are waving down there. OK, here we go with the buoy and using arms only……4 laps done….8 laps….16 laps…only 4 more flip turns to go to reach 24. BUT, while I was doing that, I thought about the fact that 32 laps is half-a-mile. Could I do a half-mile without stopping? Why not…it was only 8 more laps past my original goal; only four more flip-turns. So I went for it. I could see by the clock on the wall that I was going to go a couple of minutes past the time we normally get out of the pool, but this was important to me. And I did it. 32 laps without stopping. Half-a-mile! 72 laps altogether – over one mile in an hour. Woohooo! Two major accomplishments for me this day. I was very happy about that!

I must dash so Part II of Day Seventy-Two will be posted later. Have a great weekend everyone!!!