On Sunday morning I woke up feeling much better, we were up before our 6am wake up call as well! Off we went for some more technique work, this time it was clean and press! I tell you what - that Commando Steve can certainly move his body well - WOW! Once he was happy with everyones technique, it was then time for another team challenge - suicide runs with paired clean & press. 2 people would run while 2 would do the press & another 2 resting with the spare person filling in for any team member as required. Sally & I didn't stop - we just kept going the whole time-I've never done so many presses in my life - 40kg at that! We smashed it - AND our team didn't come last this time YAY!
Time for breakfast & the unnerving worry of our still remaining 100+ burpee debt.....after brekkie, it was time for ABSEILING! We were split into 2 groups - team 1 & 4 and team 2 & 3. My group went to gear up for the abseiling task first whilst the other team went to do the leap of faith.
Team #4 all geared up to abseil!
Everyone knew that my last attempt to abseil didn't go off as planned - I failed to do it, so I was quite nervous & my sister was in the other group so I was on my own with my new Commando team mates and trainer Nick. I was the 5th person to do it, I was so nervous. Nick was fantastic, he just kept telling me "just listen to my voice and do as I tell you, I promise you won't get hurt, you're 100% safe" - I'm thinking he must have hypnotised me while I was up there LOL I leant back and took my first step down & everyone was cheering for me & I was even cheering out loud for myself too! I was so happy - AND THEN the cliff face totally disappeared - there was a huge indent & nowhere for my feet to go! I panicked big time, but managed to calm down and reach the ground. Morgan (my Friday night burpee buddy) was at the bottom & she gave me a big hug - more tears - at least not painful ones! I walked back up to the group as we all had to repel twice - except there was a catch for the 2nd time - whilst leaning back at the top, we had to touch our heads - yes that's right - not holding on to the rope - putting our trust in the brake person at the bottom of the cliff and also Nick. I freaked out more the second time than the first, but again Nick got me through! I flew down the second time - it was so much fun! Check out the middle right photo of me touching my head! Scary stuff!
Leap of Faith was a different story - I attempted it 3 times, getting further up the pole each time, but I just couldn't do it! My body felt so weak from soreness that I was shaking, my palms were sweating & I just couldn't keep climbing up on the small pegs :-( Trainer Dan really tried to get me through as did another team mate - Clive, he actually inspired me to try for the 3rd and final time & wanted to climb up behind me but for safety reasons of course, he wasn't allowed. On my 3rd attempt, I'd gotten about 3/4 of the way up & then I did a sideways jump off the log so I still had the suspended feeling.....although I then came back towards the log and had to put my foot out to stop myself from crashing into it and then I did a bit of a penguin slide in the bark LOL I can laugh now! It's on my list to conquer, but I was happy that I'd conquered the abseiling.
Before my 3rd attempt - I was so nervous!
7 metres high & only a small plank to stand on before the jump off!
Getting there, sweating bullets!
C'mon Raels, you CAN do it - Clive tried so hard - he's a great guy!
My graceful face plant in the bark!
Time for our last lunch.....all still wondering "what about the burpees".......in comes Nick & announces that if our strongest 4 burpee people can do 50 chest to ground, hand release burpees in a row to a strict 5 second count, our remaining debt of 137 would be wiped, but if they failed, we would ALL have to do the 137 burpees anyway. Up stood Clive, Morgan, Tracey & Kirstan - absolute powerhouses! We all walked down to the matted area feeling guilty, hopeful, happy, nervous.
THEY SMASHED IT! Celebrations - burpee debt wiped by 4 amazing people! We all couldn't thank them enough AND it was 37 degrees!!!
Commando Steve did his wrap up chat, presented each of us with our Commando Steve t-shirts, took photos with all of the trainers and then had him sign a photo - Sharon had found a photo of him looking more like a supermodel than the Commando on the internet & it made him crack up laughing when he saw it!
Troy, Dan, Commando Steve & Nick
Sharon & I with Nick & Dan
Cheeky Commando
So - what did I gain from this camp?
1.New friendships with some amazing people - we are still in daily contact already! AND we are doing a 50 burpees a day challenge - yes we are MAD!
2.I experienced this with my amazing sister Sharon, who inspires me everyday with all of her achievements, not just the fitness ones-she really is the best sister & friend that a girl could ever hope for.
3.I learnt that it's ok to fail at something as long as you try your best (Leap of Faith)
4.I conquered my fear of abseiling & now want to go back to that Brisbane cliff & be rid of that demon forever & maybe even try a bigger one!
5.I pushed myself way outside of my comfort zone on little sleep, hard training & exhaustion!
6.I was completely NOT in control of my life for the whole weekend - we never knew what we were in for from one minute to the next
7.I learnt a lot about form & technique & will never squat or deadlift the same way again!
8.Nick & Dan are just as, if not more inspiring than Commando Steve - yes, that's right! Don't get me wrong, CS was amazing at camp & is amazing at what he does in his career BUT Nick & Dan were always in the thick of it with you egging you on. And Nick guided me to abseil so he's my favourite hahahaha
9.I learnt what it's like to have to carry a 1.5 metre pole around with me ALL day! Once we left camp, Sharon actually looked for hers - that's how used to them we were by Sunday afternoon.
10.I did more burpees over that weekend than I have in probably my whole life!
11.My mind does give in before my body most of the time BUT on Sunday during the Leap of Faith - my body was done - listen to your body when it's telling you enough is enough, but don't use it as an excuse when you're feeling ok.
12.It's ok not to have a shower for 2 days due to time constraints as long as you are with people just as sweaty as you are! Hahahahahahaha
I could go on and on & I'm still processing a lot of the things we went through so I'll keep you posted on any further ephiphanies as they arise!
My next blog will be - The Aftermath & DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) from the camp - ie.how I couldn't lift my arms or roll over in bed for 2 days! LOL
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