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!

As most of you know firsthand, facebook is an amazing place to reconnect with old friends, chat with current friends, and make new friends. It’s also a great way to keep up with what’s going on in people’s lives without actually speaking to them. What facebook has done for Extreme Fit Training is offer a valuable forum to grow and expand the brand, as well as keep Boot Campers informed about daily goings-on. So last night, as I was perusing the Live Feed on facebook, I noticed a comment that stopped me cold: “Who runs a mile with a BOSU ball over their head, competing with another team? Greystone Boot Campers, that's who!!! GO team!” Rachel’s Boot Campers (you all know Rachel, I’m confident) ran a mile holding a BOSU ball over their heads. Rachel’s Boot Campers ran A MILE with a BOSU ball OVER THEIR HEADS! This single comment sent a surge of terror up my spine.

I’m not sure when it happened, my anxiety about running long distances. In my 20s, I used to run all the time. In my early 30s, I trained for a marathon! I was up to about 8 miles when I got pneumonia and was diagnosed with exercise-induced asthma and had to cease training. Eight miles: I think that’s pretty good! At home, I do pretty well when it comes to running, probably because I don’t feel the pressure of performance like I do in class. But now, whenever Valerie mentions running even a short distance, I get a knot in my stomach and begin to shake.

So when I read Rachel’s comment, I immediately e-mailed Valerie. And, as I suspected, Team Spain Park will soon be doing the exact same challenge. I think I need to lie down. As a warm-up this week, we did a chain gang run where Boot Campers, in a single-file line, jog behind the leader at his pace, and then the last person in line races to the front of the line and keeps pace until the next person takes lead. It was awful. I could barely get to the front of the line because the class seemed to be running so fast, and when I finally made it and slowed the pace a bit, the next person (I won’t name names) stepped it back up almost immediately. I was in hell! And to add insult to injury, toward the end of the run, as I lagged behind the rest of the class, Valerie yelled at me to pick up the pace and said (in the nicest way possible, as Coach Val is a very sweet human being) that I was holding up the team. HOLDING. UP. THE. TEAM.

I have expressed my apprehension about running to Valerie several times, and she’s always been quite encouraging. She tells me how strong I’ve gotten during the past three months, that she knows I can do it, how my mind is telling me I can’t do it but my body knows I can. I hear all of Valerie’s words loud and clear and try to take them to heart, but when I’m running with the class, it feels as if it’s my heart that’s telling me that I can’t do it. And my lungs. And my legs. And my red-hot face dripping with sweat. Even my arms are screaming for me to stop, lie down in the middle of the street, and pray to God that this will end!

So now that I know this one-mile BOSU ball challenge lies ahead, I really have to wrap my brain around this running thing. It has become my biggest obstacle, and I must prevail. Anything else that Valerie throws at me right now I can handle. Push-ups (the real ones): no problem. Old-school sit-ups (50 in a row): easy breezy. Fast squat lunges: Just tell me how many. Go run a mile while holding a BOSU ball above your head: Shoot me please because I’d rather be dead! I guess it’s time I sling this albatross from my neck, take Valerie’s advice on practicing at home, and get out there and tackle it with my head held high! So which night is it we’re doing this Coach? I’m pretty sure that night I have to wash my hair.