Boot Camp Blogger is a look into the life of Boot Camp participant Tara. Follow along each week as she experiences the challenges and successes of Boot Camp the Extreme Fit way!

When I was a kid, I played softball for many years. My dad was my coach; all my friends played. It was a blast! And every time we had a game and a thunderstorm rolled in, I was bummed because I really didn’t want the game to get rained out. So last night as I was driving to Boot Camp in a downpour replete with thunder, lightning, and raindrops the size of Bing cherries, I was thinking just the opposite of how I used to think as a child: Looks like we’re gonna get the night off. Woo hoo!!!

Not so fast.

It’s not that I don’t enjoy Boot Camp and all of my fabulous teammates, but I’m not quite into the routine yet, so just about anything could derail me at this stage. And a good thunderstorm was the answer to my last night of training this week: Class is canceled! What I wouldn’t do for a relaxing evening at home on the couch, a glass of wine in my hand, and the soothing sound of thunder and rain filling the air. I was sure I’d get there and immediately be sent home. But apparently “rained out” is not a term used by Extreme Fit trainers.

As I got out of my car, umbrella in hand, and ran for the pavilion, Coach V was setting up stations for this evening’s workout. I looked around and noticed that the last few cars from the rained-out ballgame just down the hill were exiting the park. With the rain pounding down as hard as I’ve seen it do so in awhile, large puddles were forming all around the pavilion. Some water was even rolling onto the concrete that was our workout space. At first, some of the Boot Campers looked around as if wondering whether we were actually going to do this thing. I mean, there was water on the floor! But with cones in place all around the pavilion and Valerie continuing to set up our workout, it was apparent we weren’t going anywhere, and for quite a bit longer than we realized.

This workout was one for the books. Though at first glance it seemed quite doable—a few exercises for the arms, heel-lifts for the calves, some of the usual cardio moves—the intensity of the moves was quite deceptive. And the clincher was the main station: the sideways-step-hop-over-the-ball-then-squat move. Not only is it a hard move on its face, but we each had to do 75 reps (yes, I said 75!) smack in the center of the class with all eyes gazing. And until the lead person doing the sideways-step-hop-over-the-ball-then-squat move had finished all 75, everyone else had to continue doing their stations. Whether it took the lead 30 seconds or 30 minutes, and no matter if you were doing bicep curls or the jump-up-get-your-knees-as-high-as-you-can-and-touch-your-hands move, you were stuck. THE. ENTIRE. TIME. Some moves felt like they lasted an eternity!

Needless to say, everyone did a great job, and though tired, we made it to the end of the workout. Right after a little extra cardio because Coach V didn’t think our hearts were “working hard enough,” we completed a few ab exercises and were on our way. 

The rain had died down a bit (though throughout the entire class, it literally poured), and I was the first to leave. I’m usually one of the first because I don’t stick around and chat but instead try to make it home as early as possible to put my daughter to bed. So I got into my car and headed toward the front of the park. I had only gotten a few hundred feet when I saw it. The closer I got, the clearer it got. The clearer it got, the clearer it became to me: We were going nowhere anytime soon. The only road into and out of the park had been overtaken by rushing water from the park’s rain-gorged lake. I was hesitant to be the first to try to cross it, as we’ve all seen the news where a street is flooded and some guy decides it’s not that deep and goes for it and ends up being rescued from the top of his car as he floats down the Mississippi. So I began to back up. A couple of Boot Campers soon pulled up behind me and stopped, and a couple decided to brave it. Two made it, and the rest of us decided against trying (aren’t there always a couple of renegades in every group!).

We were trapped. There was no way out of the park, and it was still raining! The water rushing across the road was deep enough that you could see fish jumping out of it. Some even ended up flopping around on the road. And it was fast enough that as it crashed into a tree in its path, it spewed into the air a good three to four feet. After one of our group decided to rush through the water in his truck and then was told by a police officer that we’d be arrested if anyone else tried, it was decided that we’d leave our cars overnight and get rides home. Thanks to Coach Valerie’s husband for getting me home, and I hope everyone else made it home safely, as well.

So on to Week 3, and let’s hope we’re not in for any more surprises (other than the much-anticipated changes in our bodies that we’ve been told will begin showing this week). How about we discuss incorporating the term “rained out” into the Extreme Fit Training vocabulary just in case the sky decides to open up on Team Helena again. Any objections?