Week 1 done - Yay!!!!

What an amazing week! I do believe this is the hardest thing I have ever done. Everyday holds new challenges - from being incredibly sore and not knowing how it's possible to run one more lap or do one more push-up to missing my family like crazy! But, it's all been soooo good! I have been pushed harder than ever and driven to the point of tears more than once this week. I think the toughest thing for me was intervals on Wednesday. Chad decided that for my interval session I would do laps around the track, walking the sides and running the corners - WHILE HARNASSED TO HIM AS HE WAS PULLING AGAINST ME. So, there I am - looking like some sort of farm animal, pulling a grown man around the track. I didn't realize just how difficult it would be. I was running and pushing so hard, but barely moving. It took all my strength and concentration just to get around each corner and by the end I was so winded that it hurt to breathe. As one of my housemates aptly describes it - "it feels like your lungs are being scrubbed with scrub brushes." And that IS really the best description for it! After 6 of the corners, I asked Chad "how many more?" "Just two," he replied. JUST two???? OK. I got through the first of the last two, and cried my way all the way to the second. Chad was very encouraging and assured me that I could do it or he wouldn't be pushing me that hard. After I was done, ALL my energy was spent and literally all that was left to give were tears. I'm not sure what the tears were for - agony, frustration for being so out of shape, or maybe the joy of being done and a pretty nice feeling of accomplishment. Chad then told me the thing I really needed to hear. He said he knew I would see major results because I was working so hard. He said that he loves training me because I'll do anything he asks and he knows I'll give it my all. I'm paraphrasing, but that's the gist of it. And believe me, I'm not tooting my own horn, I'm just saying that when you are working THIS hard, it is the best thing in the world to get that kind of feedback! It really motivated me even more. I told Chad that I knew it was a BIG sacrifice for my family for me to be away this long, so when I came here, I promised them I would not waste a single day. And when I don't feel like doing any more, I just remind myself of that.

Everyday was hard. I wake up feeling majorly sore - all over. Muscles I didn't even know I had are sore. Making it to the end of Thursday was a great feeling because I knew that Friday would be our all day hike!!!! Oh - but not before weigh-in and boot camp! Weigh-in - well, it wasn't great. I cried - AGAIN! I wanted to see a big number after all my hard work, but not so much! I got over it, though. I decided that after only 4 days, it wasn't so bad, considering my body is probably still in shock and trying to figure out what the heck I'm doing! After weigh-in was boot camp and then we packed up for the hike. We drove to Buckskin Gulch. It was simply amazing! I didn't expect it to be so hard, though. It was mostly flat, but trecking through a dry river bed in fairly deep sand or navigating over all sizes of river rocks proved to be a challenge on the legs - a good challenge. The pay-off was great though! Wow! The scenery can't even be described - even the photos won't do it justice, but check my facebook if you want to see some anyway!

One thing that wasn't hard was the food. It's remarkable how easy it is to eat healthy when there are no other options! But seriously, I haven't been hungry at all and it's not like I've been choking down food that is barely tolerable. The food is great! We do all our own cooking and we count every calorie. We basically eat clean - lean protein, fruits, veggies, whole grains - you know the drill. We also try to eat about 5 times a day, which I think makes it easier to eat smaller portions. My goal is to stay between 1250 and 1350 calories and sometimes it's hard to get them all in.

The weekend is time to rest and recover. I started out with coffee (yay!) and a massage (double yay!), did some shopping with my housemates, who are now my buds, and went to a movie. The best thing about today is that I felt great! I expected to feel beat up, but instead I felt energized and well, just great. I'm actually looking forward to next week! Whadya' know?

Until then, thanks everyone for staying in touch! God continues to prove himself faithful and merciful.

Much love, Jenn