Clearly...

...the initial plan has not succeeded.  Ah, well - spilled milk and all; ever onward and upward!

Boot camp was quite an experience.

There was a lot of yelling and hustling (in a couple senses of the word) and no small amount of sweat produced during the 10 weeks of training.

All in all it was a good experience; it was quite humbling at times and at other times empowering.  I learned that my limits are not what I thought they were.  In my age range, males are required to run a mile and a half in under 14 minutes and 30 seconds.  I was able to run that time prior to boot camp; as of my third and final physical fitness assessment I had it down to 11 minutes and 40 seconds.

There are parts of boot camp I miss, there are also parts I don't.  I don't miss showering with 10-15 other guys, but I do miss the camaraderie of my division.  I don't miss the 16 hour days and oftentimes four hour nights, but I do miss the feeling of satisfaction in proving to myself that I could handle any task thrown at me.  I don't miss the bickering and backbiting between the members of my division or the complaining or grumbling, but I do miss those shining moments where we'd come together as a team and rock the heck out of some seemingly impossible challenge.

I think that's one of the main things I've taken away from the experience: facing new challenges.

Right now, one challenge is posting to the blog regularly.  Stay tuned, though, and you'll see content!

Be back soon!