Marshall Ramsey

The fat lady didn’t sing because she isn’t fat anymore. Stick a fork in it, PLS bootcamp is done. Today was the final workout and it was a tough one. Fatigue made pushing the towels up and down the basketball court a little harder than normal.  And I really wasn’t quite up for running 7.5 mph on the treadmill. But I did it.  I did it for why I always push when I’m tired. I didn’t want to let my team down.

So now, let me say, I was blessed to work out with amazing people this past 12 weeks. Line one was amazing.  It wasn’t a line full of egomaniacs. Nope, they’d compete. But would also lift you when you fell.

Damn, more of life needs to be like that, you know?  Seriously. I firmly believe we are on this earth to lift others up.

I know the workouts were much easier because I was lifted up.  The past 12 weeks have been a blessing.

I want to thank Paul Lacoste and Clark Bruce for continuing a program that changes lives for the better. I want to thank the other coaches who did a great job motivating and pushing.  I am very proud of everyone who stuck with the program. It was hard — very demanding both physically and mentally. I’ve seen so many success stories.

Up next, the PLS 5K tomorrow night at the State Capitol (at 6).  It’s free — go to www.paullacoste.com to register.

Now to get some sleep. And continue my exercise odyssey.

Just another day at the gym.

You have to learn to perform when you are tired. You have to be able to push your body and mind. Hell, I won’t lie to you — why would I lie to a person reading my blog? I have nothing to gain from it. I’m freaking exhausted. It has been a long 12-weeks of pushing myself before most people even get up to take their first pee of the day.  Add to it an insane professional and personal life and I’m drop-dead exhausted.

I know, I know — wah!  Let me change my diaper and get my pacifier.

Because we’re all tired. You don’t bitch about it folks. YOU TRAIN FOR IT.

Life is not sunshine and unicorn farts. It’s hard. But we have a secret weapon: We’re human. We overcome. We kick butt when the odds are against us. That’s how Navy SEALS survive a week without sleep in training. That’s how women keep having kids. We stare pain in the face and say, “To @#$ with you!”  We pushing forward and living. That’s what it truly means to be alive.

We had our fitness test today.

Here’s a few of my results (from my memory):

100-yard short shuttle (like a suicide): Old 22 seconds. New 22 seconds.  No improvement. But I will say slid all over the place. I should have found another second in there somewhere!

Pushups: Old – 28.  New- 50.  I need to work on that one. But I’m heading in the right direction!

Sit-ups: Old 50. New – 100. I wanted to double it and I did.

We did squats and step-ups. I can’t remember the number but I improved both and did it with a heavier weight (45 lbs.) instead of 25 and 35 lbs. So for the sake of bragging, I did better.

My old record for the mile (I am slow, remember this, OK?) with PLS is 8:10 minute mile.  I did 8:53 at the beginning of the 12 weeks.  Today I shaved over a minute to do a 7:52. That’s over a minute. I think 7 minutes is on the horizon for me.

And I did all this butt kicking on about three hours sleep.

So there. You now know my goal for this 12 weeks —  what I truly wanted out of PLS — I needed to learn how to perform when I am mentally tired and want to quit.  I didn’t quit. I pushed through it.  And that’s a valuable skill that will translate into my busy, hectic life.

Congrats to all my team mates who saw equal improvements. I’m proud of you. It has been an honor to train with you.