Day 1 - Wow!

Today has been the most physically and emotionally exhausting day of my life. I got up at 5:30 am and went to Yogalates...basically a stretch class. It was nice...not too hard. There were a couple of stretches I had trouble with but I could basically do everything.
Then we had breakfast.


It was a plate of fruit that had raspberries and other good stuff. I was pretty excited about the raspberries. Then there was a breakfast sandwich that had eggs, turkey sausage and veggies on a whole wheat English muffin.
After breakfast we went on our Assessment Hike. That hike is to figure out which group you should be on for the rest of the hike. I had really high hopes for myself. I figured I'd be out front, leading the group, doing really well. Well, we got up on the hike (called Barrel Roll) and I was walking as fast as I could possibly go: breathing hard and sweating, and I was dead last. For most of the hike I was so far behind everyone else that I couldn't see anyone. The up side to this is that I had my very own guide, an older man named Jim who was very encouraging but still definitely pushed me. At one point it became clear that we wouldn't make it to the top of the hike in enough time, so we had to cut across a short distance that didn't have a path to the other end of the path. I was so freaked out crossing that area because it was full of bushes (Mormon Tea and Black Brush) that looked like sage brush. For those of you who don't know, I'm terrified of sage brush - specifically tics that I know live in sage brush. I cried while I passed all of that but I did it. Then we started walking up the hill until we reached the people who were in front. At that point we turned around and headed back down. Jim told me that the whole hike is about 6 miles and I did 5. So I felt better after that to know I still did a pretty significant hike uphill over rocks for 2 hours. For people who are coming here in the future: My advice is Cut your toenails before day 1. Mine were too long which made the hike kind of painful.
When we got back from the hike I was absolutely exhausted. I didn't think it was even possible for me to do even one more hour of exercise. But...next up was a choice between Mountain (a cardio class in the gym) or Total Body H20 (pool class). I was initially planning on doing Mountain but I was in such pain that I thought the pool class might feel a little better. I was wrong. The pool classes here are every bit as hard as the gym classes.
After that was lunch. The tortilla soup was AMAZING. Everyone, including myself, eats very slow here. I think we're really trying to savor every bit of food because we're all pretty famished by the time a meal comes around. Plus, it means we get to sit down. We also had a turkey sandwich (very good) and a green salad that had pears and blueberries. It seemed like a lot of food for only 489 calories.
After lunch I had another pool class. This one was harder than the first. It's taught by Sharon who everyone says is pretty much the Jillian of Fitness Ridge. She's nice though...but still really tough. We actually raced in the pool 3 times. We were split into 2 teams. I lost it for my team once but we won the other 2 times. When I found out we won the last race I was so happy I screamed. It was cool to come through for my team.
Next on the schedule was Circuit Training. You get on a cardio machine for 2 minutes (sprinting the last 30 seconds) and then a weight machine for 2 minutes. Back and forth...different cardio machines - different weights. They are numbered so you have to do different things. On the last cardio sprint I ran at 5.5 mph. Now, for some of you that's just a jog, but for me it's a full out run. I was very proud. And since it was the last round our sprint was 45 seconds. Sharon came over and was saying "Good job, Jamie. Wow! You ran!" I was dead tired but very proud. And done. Just exhausted.
But the day wasn't over. I still had Core Training. It was all exercises that worked your abs, back and butt. I had full blown muscle failure. I could almost not physically do the exercises. I pushed myself harder than I ever have in my life and managed to do them - some I had to modify so I was capable of them, but I did them. I cried through half of that class. I just hit a physical and emotional wall. But I worked through it, kept going. And that made me feel very strong.
After class I took a shower and then went to dinner where I learned that I LOVE polenta. We had chicken, polenta and asparagus. For dessert we had chocolate covered strawberries. It was all very good. It's interesting that they manage to add veggies to pretty much every single thing they serve us.
After dinner we had a lecture on Spending Calories Wisely. Basically telling us how to eat the right foods to feel full on a lower number of calories. This is a week long lecture. We will get more every day. I think it's the most important information I will get while I'm here.
All of the exercise is to help get us in shape obviously, but also to get us to realize that we are strong and can do this. They push you to the breaking point so that you will push past it and develop the skills to push past the hard stuff once you go home. It's empowering...
And exhausting. And now I'm going to bed at probably the earliest time since I was in elementary school.
If you made it through this book, thanks for reading. :)

P.S. Sorry for the serious lack of pictures. I didn't take any on my hike because I thought if I stopped to get my camera out of my bag I may not be able to start again. Then I left it in my room for the rest of the day. I'll try to be better tomorrow. But no promises. The experience is more important than the pictures.