Boot Camp – Day Five

Speed.  What’s the big deal about doing things fast?  Hasn’t Jim ever heard the proverb, “Slow and steady wins the race?”  Oh no, it’s all about speed.  “Walk faster with higher resistance or you’ll do 10 extra mountain climbers, Kolette.”  “Run from machine to machine, Kolette.” “Do jumping jacks while you wait.”  “Breaks are for Gold’s Gym.  We don’t take breaks here.”

Jim is obsessed with speed.

Unfortunately, although I have been getting better each day, I am not the fastest exerciser in our class.  I get tired, for heaven sake!  My goal, up to this point, is to try and just stay ahead of the person behind me so that they don’t have to wait for me to finish limping along in my effort to do the correct number of reps.

After doing the elliptical for 20 minutes on cursed “performance” level (which is like climbing up a very tall hill) then he put me on the bike.  I hate that thing and I especially don’t like it after I just did my cardio.  Nevertheless, there I was, on the bike working my way toward the half-mile mark.  In parting Jim said, “Keep the speed up to 8.0 or you’ll do an extra .2 mile.”  Ughhhh!  My worst nightmare.  I have never gotten it above 8.0 much less for an entire half mile!

But today I did.

I know, I almost can’t believe it myself.  But I pedaled that bike and watched the numbers as I hit my goal for those few minutes.  I couldn’t do that last week.  As of today, I have conquered a small step in this process of becoming more fit by keeping up to speed.

But if Jim tells me to go faster one more time I’ll………oh, who am I kidding?  I guess if he mentions speed again I’ll just try to do what he says.  I’ve got nothing to bargain or threaten him with so I’ll humbly submit to his all-powerful “need for speed” and hang in there.  Faster is not always better — but it’s the holy grail in Jim’s world so that means that it’s time for me to embrace speed and get going.

Run, Kolette, Run.