‘This can not be good for me,’ I think to myself as I gasp to catch my breath. My lungs feel as if they’re about to explode and I’m pretty sure I’m going to puke any second. And yet, I continue to force one foot in front of the other because that’s what you do at boot camp.
I recently joined the hard core fitness group, which meets 3 mornings a week, in a desperate attempt to evict the last 10 pounds of baby blubber from my body. But after the first day of running in circles for nearly 45 minutes on an indoor track, I’m already having second thoughts, especially since I’m the slowest. runner. ever.
Okay, who am I kidding? What I do could never be classified as running. One might refer to it as a sluggish skip. Or perhaps, a walk with a half hop every second step. Whatever it is, it’s pretty pathetic. And to prove it, I was lapped again, and again, and again, by every person in the class.
And it’s not as if I’m completely out of shape. I bike 10 to 15 miles a couple times a week, and I also take kick boxing and weight training classes from the gym I attend several times a week. I just had no idea how slow of a runner I was until I joined this boot camp class. And now that I do, I really wish I didn’t. I mean, who wants to be the slowest. runner. ever?
But don’t worry. I may be a slow runner, but I’m not a runner who quits. I’ll run every lap the rest of the boot campers do, it’ll just take me a little longer. Okay, who am I kidding? A lot longer.
If it’s any consolation, it is probably genetic. I’m a very slow runner too! Believe me there are a lot worse “conditions” than being a slow runner and fortunately it doesn’t come up very often.
Tasha – I have to tell you my sophomore year of high school i thought it would be a great idea to join the cross country team to get in shape for soccer. The first day I thought I was going to die, literally. I had never for that long in my life! I stuck with it, but I SUCKED! At one point the coach pulled me aside and told me that he wished he could take my heart and dedication and put that heart into this no. 1 male runner’s body, who would skip out on the distance days to go adn smoke cigarettes behind the tree! Pretty sure I got the looks from the crowds, like “Oh look at that one, isn’t it sweet they let her participate!” I am proud of you for sticking with it, at this point in my life, I would just quit when everyone else got finished no matter how many times they lapped me!