6:00 AM dynamic stretch.  This morning’s dynamic stretch with Sam actually felt good.  I am 100% more flexible then I was last Monday.  At the conclusion of the stretch Kent and I both realized that we are going to have to work twice as hard to try and lose another 10-15 lbs.  Neither one of us was sweating at all at the end of the stretch.  Last Monday we both had to change after Sam’s dynamic stretch because we were both swimming in sweat.  After the stretch I think both of us had it in our mind that we would have to be vigilant about our performance this week.

8:00 AM Hike Winding Way, so far this was the easiest hike I have been on, it was a bit disappointing.  The hike starts along a neighborhood road which winds down a low ridgeline, and eventually connects to a dirt trail.  The trail itself wasn’t very difficult.  Most of it follows a creek, so there are several creek crossings, which lead to an amazing waterfall. 

Josiah our guide worked hard to make the hike more difficult, he provided us with several bonus hills to create more of a challenge.  One of the bonus hills was interesting because it was different from anything else we have worked on during the hikes.  The grade was steep, which almost made us have to use our hands, when coming back down we had to use the shrubs as handles.  Apparently the shrubs we were pulling on get cleared out by the park service because they are prone to burning quickly.

On the hike back Kent and I started talking sports; this didn’t sit well with Sharon.  She started jogging, and of course we started jogging with her.  If not for this return jog and the bonus hills this hike would have been a complete waste of time for those of us left over from last week’s Van 5.

I am truly thankful for everyone who was in our group last week, after the today’s hike it’s clear that the culture created in our group was unique.  Tracey, Tara, Lora, Lynn, Stephanie, Mary, Debbie, and Jill we miss you all, and hope that after last week you are motivated to pursue your fitness goals.  An update for you all Kent is now in Van 7 with the runners, Sharon and I are in Van 6, and Sherri is in Van 3.  Like a championship baseball team we had to get broken up at some point. 

Kent, Sharon, and I got back early from the hike, we felt guilty so we all spent 30 minutes in the gym doing cardio. 

11:15 AM Stretch.   This was a great class taught by Tina.  I felt completely uncoordinated in this class but it was a pseudo yoga class which was very relaxing.  When I get back home I may do some research on yoga classes, at the end of the class I felt very loose, limber, and relaxed.  It would have been perfect as a last class for the day.

12:00 PM Personal Training session with Sam.  FUCK!   It was not what I expected! 

I got my ass kicked for 60 straight minutes.  I think Sam appreciates my drive, and empathizes with my current situation, having been my weight within the last year he is driven to push me beyond my limitations.

The session started with what he calls the “Miracle Mile”.  Last week we did it on the elliptical trainer, today it was done on a treadmill.  I have not run since I was 21 years old.  I am HEAVY!  It is very hard to pick up my knees to run.  The opening Miracle Mile was tough, I have never wanted to quit any activity as much as I wanted to quit this mile.  I finished it in 14:36. 

The miracle mile was just the warm up.  The rest of the session was focused around boxing.  He took me outside down a slight incline, little did I know this “slight” incline would be my demise.  He started with basic punching techniques, basic footwork techniques, and basic breathing techniques.  The video below is an example of the type of work I performed.  At the end of these drills I was told that he would call out a series of combinations, I would then punch his hands drop to the ground in a push up position and run up the hill and back down as fast as I can, after the first one I was ready to drop.  We did 9 more. 

On the 10^th and final sprint I was told to wait at the top of the hill.  Initially I thought the session was over, and felt good about the work I just put in…when Sam reached the top he tells me “Let’s go back to the gym…”

After all the work I performed I was told to close the session with another Miracle Mile, and specifically told to beat my opening time.  It must have looked, and sounded like an epileptic having a seizure, while dying from a rattlesnake bite.  I wanted to go to my happy place but I was in so much pain that my mind couldn’t focus on anything other than the distance I had remaining.  I finished the mile in 13 minutes. 

I have not felt that drained ever.  I returned to my room, where I dry heaved over the balcony.  I have never vomited or dry heaved from physical activity ever in my life.  Today’s beautiful dry heaving session was brought to you by Sam.

2:30 PM Core Training with Michael Castorgiovani.  The atmosphere was loose, calm, but very tough.  We opened with 5 minutes of crunches holding a barbell straight up in the air.  Towards the end of the five minutes of crunches he ordered us to perform controlled holds. Michael would tell us to get up, and then count down the crunch.  The rest of the session was similar; he would instruct us on an activity then give us a timed period to perform that activity.  Towards the end of the time he would give us a controlled set were he tells us when to come up, go back down, and hold the position.

3:30 PM John in the Pool, yeah!   I don’t like John as an instructor; he is not my cup of crazy.  At the end of the session he had all of us hold our arms up, hold hands, and then gave us the awful touchy feely, pep talk.  Angela and I were holding hands, laughing our asses off, Angela is a hard worker, she’s motivated, she’s a great person, but getting overly emotional is not in her personality makeup.  So this moment with John bothered her as much as it bothered me.

4:30 PM Cardio and Weight intervals, the first day of this class is always a cluster fuck. , Nobody knows where to go, and most people don’t have any idea how use the equipment.  Angela, Sharon, and I stayed an extra 20 minutes after the class ended.  We just continued to work down the assigned numbers. 

At the start of my second week, I have more energy than I ever anticipated.  I am more motivated then I ever thought I would be, after dinner tonight I went into the gym and spent 30 minutes stretching.  After my calculations last night which revealed to me how hard it’s going to be to lose 5lbs a week when I get home, I am committed to giving everything I have this week so I can lose another 15lbs. 

I am committed, I am motivated, I am going to work harder than I did last week, and I am going to push forward.  I am really starting to feel like a skinny guy.  When I stand straight I feel like I’m in a fat suit.  It almost feels like I could unzip all this fat and step out of the fat guy suit in my lean body.

Everyday I am working to expose that lean body that is underneath all this shit.  I can see myself being able to take my shirt off and not feel like ass.