Growing up as “the girl with asthma”, I’ve always shied away from sport and exercise because I was constantly paranoid that my lungs would explode if I were to do anything beyond my physical level and frankly, it doesn’t feel great to always be the last person in every single sports I did!
Fast forward to December 2013, my colleagues and I had overindulged over the run up to Christmas and by January 2014, we “repented” and were desperately trying to find ways to get back into shape. One of them found Steph on Gumtree and (literally) dragged myself to my first session and the rest was history.
When I first started, I could barely complete the warm up sessions, let alone running around the hill carrying a tyre! Fortunately, Steph and the rest of the Bootcampers had and have been incredibly patient with me. Slowly but surely, I’ve been able to swing a kettlebell which I could barely lift when I first started and the list goes on.
More importantly, Bootcamp isn’t all about physical training! It also trains you mentally. I learnt that exercise is not all about competing with someone else, and if it is, it’s one between my speed and strength yesterday vs today. Many times when my body felt like it’s going to melt after the endless burpees, squat jumps, push-ups, dibs and runs, the mind continues to push me to complete that extra lap or squat or swing to get to the finish line.
I don’t know what went into me when I signed up for Tough Mudder, but I’m so glad I did it! I refused to watch any TM related videos before I went so I didn’t know what to expect until the day came.
Surprisingly, although the obstacles sounded scary based on the descriptions of others who’ve done it before I found some of them bearable, as Steph, Brooke and Sal had done an incredible job in preparing us for the challenge during the sessions beforehand! Anyone who’s done a few sessions at Bootcamp would have been able to walk while carrying the tyres above their head at one of the obstacles at TM!
After I sprained my ankle at the 4th mile, I was worried that I would not be able to complete the journey and obstacles. However, a combination of adrenaline + Bootcamp spirit of never giving up + constant encouragement and support from everyone in the TM Bootcampers team carried me along the rest of the 8 miles and I’m extremely happy to be able to now say , “I DID IT!!!!”
One of my favourite obstacles is definitely Everest 2.0! At first, I was going to skip the obstacle because I would have to run as fast as I could up the slope to grab hold of the hanging rope and we thought it might aggravate my broken ankle. However, having seen so many girls with my size and height completing it, I had to give it a try! Thankfully, I managed to grab on to the rope after a run that seemed like it would last forever, and before I knew it, the team and other TM participants had pulled me up to the top!
Overall, it’s been an extremely rewarding experience to have been able to train and participate in this event with the amazing team!I never would have thought my body is capable of completing a 12-mile journey and over 20 obstacles in such a short period of time. And if I can do it, anyone else can! Bootcamp has definitely changed my live and motivated me to live a better and healthier lifestyle!
Thank you Team Bootcamp SE16!
Jayvian Hong