Mason Mill Park Boot Camp: Making a Runner out of me

Hey Sonja –

I wanted to let you know how awesome Cyndi was today on our long run. I can run. It has always been something that I can do….but, I am a lazy runner. I have mental issues which you have had to endure over the past 5 months which include but are not limited to:

I have to run with a walkman
You can’t run in front of me ( I will get all tense and drop back…literally, I stop breathing and panic)
I hate to run by myself (but god forbid if I run with someone who runs in front of me!)
I don’t like to run by the same thing twice

Today, my knee hurt and at every step, it hurt more. So, that gave me another great excuse to plod along and mentally ‘gripe’.

So, here comes Cyndi. Yes, I wanted her to go away, but she didn’t. I tried to complain about my knee and she said ‘so what’, you are out here, give it your best. I told her I didn’t have music and she told me a could pick a song and she would sing it (she didn’t like my choice though). So, through all my griping…she pushed me harder. She gave me running tips I never knew but always wanted to know! She encouraged me, got my mind off of the mental issues I deal with on a daily basis and overall, I think I had my best run in 5 months of the ‘long run’. My theory in the past was always to start slow and go slower. At boot camp, that just doesn’t fly. I am a ‘vet’ but I still have so much further to go. You think that at a point, it just becomes a plateau, but it doesn’t. The instructors will always find a spot to help you improve, to help you be your best. And that is why I come back to Boot Camp, day after day, month after month.

A big thank you to Cyndi this morning! Not only did I have a great run, but I learned some great things along the way about running and myself!

A.L.



(p.s. I am breaking a 9 minute mile on Friday J)