Boot Camp

I just finished my first week of boot camp classes. The class is in Phoenix Park and I have to say, the setting is gorgeous. We've actually had decent weather so far which is amazing. On Thursday the sun was shining and with the Wicklow mountains off in the distance it was really gorgeous. Of course it's the one time during the week when I don't have my camera. When I registered the instructor told me the first class is always the hardest and she was right!

Not having a car is a total downside to this class. The first day I figured I'd get the Luas to Heuston Station, then walk up to the Papal Cross. Unfortunately, the shuttle bus has stopped running and there's really no easy way to get up there other than walking or driving. I knew it was far, but holy geez, it's actually about 1.75 miles! Of course I was running late so I had to power walk it. As my mom said, that's a lot of exercise just to exercise! And there's no toilet located anywhere near the Papal Cross. Well, I could ask Dan Rooney if he'd let me use the one in the American Embassy, but it's a long shot. I'd go in there waving my Terrible Towel, but then I'd be a Crazy. I have to say, the lack of toilets in Phoenix Park is a huge negative about the park. It's a HUGE place, bigger than Central Park, and there are three places where there are toilets. Hopefully Dan wasn't looking out his window on Thursday or he would have seen more than one full moon.

After that first night I've reassesed the bus situation cutting down my walk time to less than a mile and I've learned to use the facilities 'au naturale'. I'm not proud of that last one, but I blame the park for forcing me to do that. These two things combined have made my boot camp experience MUCH more enjoyable! For the warm up we have to run around the Papal Cross twice. This is only about a quarter of a mile and oh my god that first night were my lungs burning! I was definitely the last person and I had to walk some of it. By the third class I'm happy to say I can already see an improvement! I'm no longer the last person to finish the warm up, I can run most of it, and my lungs burn a little less.

This is only a 4 week session and I surprise myself by feeling little bummed about that. She does run a winter session, but it's at an athletic club that's too far away. Guess I'll have to find some other way to torture myself over the winter!