O, Misery!

O, Misery, thy name is Shin Splints!

Shin splints? I'm 48 for goodness sakes! What have I gotten myself into?

The back story to my latest adventure is related to donuts. About three years ago I was standing in line at the local donut shop early one Saturday morning. There beside me was a gal in a "Only the Strong Will Survive" bootcamp t-shirt. "Huh?" I thought. Donuts / bootcamp; donuts / bootcamp. What? She confided that the Start Caring bootcamp was awesome and that her fitness instructor would not approve of the donuts. Bummer, I thought.

Fast forward to March 25, 2008, 5:05 am. As I walk across the football field to my first day at bootcamp, scenes of high school drill team fill my mind and I scan the field for those wenches making my life miserable. Wait a second, that was 30 years ago! Ha! I am no longer vulnerable to the cruelty of thinner, trimmer, more coordinated girls wearing pony tails and headbands while doing high kicks and splits.

I am an accomplished woman; a wife, mother and business owner. I can do bootcamp!

Let me just say now that after the first week, the flu-like symptoms have gone away. And while I was convinced only an appendectomy would bring relief from the abdominal pain, that, too has gotten better. Turns out there are muscles in there somewhere! Who knew?

And the more coordinated girls in pony tails and headbands look a lot more like me these days. Sure some of them are thinner and trimmer. Most of them run faster and carry fire hoses further than me. But here's what I've learned after 30 years ... I'm OK. I can do some things and I can't do some things but a limp jog is slightly better than a walk which is significantly better than lying on the couch.

So, for now at least, three days a week I'm off to bootcamp -- which is right past the donut shop.