Positive Thoughts and Persistence Pay Big

Yesterday I took my allergy meds and headed to Marina Del Rey Beach for our weekly beach boot camp. At the beach there is a bird sanctuary that is surrounded by a large fence or cage (not sure how large the area actually is - at least several acres).



Boot camp always begins with a timed walk around the bird cage.

It’s not easy…we’re walking in the beach sand which is hell on your calves and lower back. It’s like walking or running in quicksand because you sink deep before you come back up only to plant another foot in the sand and sink deep again.

I wear Under Armour sneakers which have holes in them for ventilation. The ventilation is great, but the sneakers quickly fill up with sand and my feet feel like they are being strangled. So…I do beach boot camp in bare feet.

Okay, so we begin the workout with a timed walk around the bird cage and I timed in at 14:34. As a veteran of beach boot camp I already know that when we are being timed to do the first round slow because every time we do it again the trainers expect us to beat our previous time.

Next up was a G R E U L I N G round of stations:


Station 1


1. sprint to the 1st cone, drop and do 20 push ups


2. sprint to the 2nd cone, and do 20 squats


3. sprint to the 3rd cone, drop and do 20 burpees


4. sprint to the 4th cone, drop and do 20 full pushups


5. sprint back to the very 1st cone and repeat steps 1-5 four more times



Station 2


1. sprint sideways with right leg leading to 1st cone


2. sprint sideways with left leg leading to 2nd cone


3. drop and do 20 burpees


4. sprint to the 1st cone and repeat steps 1-4 four more times



Station 3


1. grab a partner, wrap a band around them and hold on to the ends.


2. the partner sprints in the sand for 40 yds. with you pulling them back (like Jillian does on The Biggest Loser


3. switch places


4. repeat steps 1-3 two more times

This was all followed up by doing the bird cage again. And we had to beat our 1st time.

My plan was to keep my girl Desi in my sights. She beat me by 1:30 last time so I knew if I could stay close to her heels, I’d beat my time. I rounded the final corner and Trainer Schuyler yelled to me that I had 30 seconds left. I sprinted full out to him. When I arrived at the finish line he had a big grin on face and said, “I lied. You killed it! Finished in 12:12!”

I took almost 2:30 off my first time. Who knew I could do that? I certainly didn’t. Schuyler’s trick just proves that our minds control our bodies. I thought I only had 30 seconds left and I sprinted to beat that.

Yes, I was gasping for air. Yes, my heart rate was very high. Yes, I did it!

And you can too. Your positive thoughts and persistence can take you anywhere. Where do you want to go?