Yesterday at boot camp, we did this partner activity I rather like. We ran a lap and were given a number 1 through 16 (there were 16 of us). Then, person 1 pairs with 16, 2 with 15, 3 with 14, etc. The idea is that all 8 pairs have roughly the same average ability level. I was number 16. I could have made 15, but I did want this one woman, new to boot camp this month, to be the last so I held back (honestly!). Meaning, I’m now paired with the fastest dude in the class.
So what you do in pairs for this type of approach can vary greatly. On this particular Friday, one partner would run across a parking lot to a cone, do the exercise assigned to that cone, in the quantity specified, then run back to the mats. You tag your partner and do mat exercises while they do the cone exercises you just completed. Once both people in a pair have done the first cone, then the second cone starts. The process continues for 10 cones, each increasing in both quantity and difficulty. For instance cone 1 was something like 2 squat jumps; cone 10 was a burpee with a push-up with a sexy spider with a star jump. Oh, and while you’re running between cones and the mats, you run with dumb bells straight up in the air. Love it. The idea is to get all 10 cones done as fast as possible (and beat the other teams).
So yeah, I was paired with Fastest Dude. A little intimidating and yet motivating. I know he must be competitive because in the lap where he earned a ‘1’ (and I earned a ‘16’), he was in an all-out sprint to beat this other girl who ultimately got a ‘2.’ Yikes. But. But but BUT. Fastest dude PUSHED me to do my best. He didn’t assume that because I was the slowest runner that I was slow at everything. He assumed we had it in us to WIN (which we did!). I was determined not to let him down.
When I would come out of an exercise, I would generally be very loopy. Like, blood doesn’t know where to rush because I was up and then down and then up and then down in the exercise (something called a scissor push-up, for example). I’d be walking back to the mats and I’d hear Fastest Dude yell, ‘Come on Katie, pick up the pace, I know you can do it!” And, he was RIGHT. I could. I’d throw those stupid dumb bells in the air and find my inner jog. At one point, he informed me we were in first place and that only spurred me on. We ultimately won, and “earned” a victory lap, though I had some shin splintage going on so I stretched and drank water.
See, the lesson from this, or at least one lesson, is competitive spirit with a partner really works for me. I think this is why I like Tennis so much. I play a lot of doubles tennis, and I need to channel so much of what happened that day at boot camp. For one, I need to encourage my partners more (note: I don’t have one consistent partner yet). Two, I need to help them (perhaps?) recognize why they missed the shot. Three, I need to encourage them to encourage me – especially when they’ve seen better from me in the past. I also think I need to get to know my partner more. For an upcoming match I’m partnered with Lawyer Chick, who is maybe 40+ with a couple of kids. She’s fun, athletic, good at tennis – I just don’t have camaraderie with her yet. In our last match, however, she and I won the only match for my team, which we were pretty proud of 
Boot camp is on almost-hiatus now. We have one Super Bowl themed two-hour event today, which I understand will be lots of flag football and tailgating games. I’ve invited several girls from the office to join, and I think two plan to come, plus their friends/significant others.
One week break from boot camp, then it starts up again mid-February.
Scale update: though Friday’s are my designated day, I do step on the scale daily (despite much scrutiny from others). The scale reflected a couple-pound gain from yesterday, which I GUESS is to be expected, since I had a couple of beers last night, and a heavy dinner. It’s one day, and I don’t fret about it. I just like the reminder of my progress yesterday and use it as a guide to do well today. Also, I noticed that my jeans (which typically last a few washes), were big on me after one day of wearing them. Size 18 soon?? I hope so!
