The 100 Man Class

I certainly slept much better last night than the previous night because I only got up once to go to the bathroom. The cold medication I received from one of the other instructors certainly worked much better. I not only slept better but my nose did stop running through the night. I was hoping to get a good night’s sleep because today was Day One of the 100 man PFT Class. I woke up a little before 6:00 am and now there are four members from my dorm in the class instead of two from the previous class. Interestingly enough none of them with the exception of my Bunkie asked me to wake them up. I did wake up my Bunkie and noticed the other three were waking up as well. One of them was eating his breakfast in the dorm because he needed a few hours for his food to digest prior to working out in order not to get sick. I thought this was a very good idea on his part and I too would like to employ this strategy but I have become accustomed to eating my hot cereal in the dining hall prior to the classes. Besides today was coffee cake and oatmeal day. I like to take the crumbs (cinnamon) and mix them into my oatmeal.

There was no need for early chow today because it was the first day of class so we all went to chow at the regularly scheduled time (9:10am). A quick aside - my Bunkie who is very young (lets say he could pass for being my son which really makes me feel old!) normally struggles to get to breakfast but not this morning he was the first one out the door. I think he was excited about the PFT class. This brings up an interesting point because I have noticed some inmates are not excited about the PFT class while others are very excited. In my opinion the PFT class should be a very exciting time because it marks the first serious step in getting to fire camp. There are so many positives about fire camp and nothing negative I can think of. I do realize that not everyone has half-time like I do so they are not entitled to the reduction in their sentences to one-third once they get to fire camp. Inmates who are serving 80 and 85 percent sentences cannot have their sentences reduced once they arrive at fire camp. However, the reduction of sentence is not the only positive about fire camp. The fact of the matter the inmate is being trained to become a fire fighter for the California Department of Forestry and is no longer considered an inmate of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. This in and of itself is very positive and each inmate is learning a very valuable and productive skill. Yet many inmates don’t take the training very seriously which is unfortunate.

I did make my way to breakfast for the coffee cake, oatmeal and hardboiled eggs (which I couldn’t give away fast enough!) also on the tray was a green apple which I adeptly tucked under my sweatshirt in order to eat it later. The C/O who searches everyone as they exit the dining hall knows me very well since I started my vegetarian meal. He is the one who gives me my “special” (mostly peanut butter and jam but sometimes the yucky cheese sandwich) lunch. The C/O is extremely nice to me maybe due to the vegetarian lunch and wearing the “PFT Instructor” uniform. Whatever the case he has never searched me. Up until these past two days he has no need to search me for “absconded” fruit but after speaking to the lead instructor I realized I needed more fruit in my diet. The only way for me to have more fruit in my diet is to take it (I guess it is stealing, please forgive me) out of the dining hall. The lead instructor gave me some “pointers” on getting the fruit out of the dining hall. I must say having a banana yesterday and today having an apple at lunch did make a difference. It truly is a shame we cannot have fruit because some inmates use this fruit to make pruno. I guess one bad apple does spoil the lot!

After breakfast I made my way directly to the basketball court where everyone was lining up for the start of the PFT class. As I was waiting for the class to start many of the “students” were coming over to me and the other instructors with questions. It was very nice to answer their questions and encourage them. For the most part a vast majority of the students had positive attitudes regarding the class. Of course there were some “sour apples” who were being negative about everything. I don’t let them get me down in fact I try to offer them words of encouragement and hope some of it sticks. Being in this class is a privilege. Some of the students understand this while others may never understand. This will not deter me in encouraging everyone in the class. I do have a rewarding position and I won’t let those “sour apples” bring me down.

Prior to class starting the “Coach” had a meeting with all the instructors. In this meeting he discussed his philosophy and the class’ philosophy. It was a very interesting and enlightening meeting. The “Coach” is very demanding but he has every right to. He has a great philosophy which unfortunately is not shared with the rest of the prison system’s staff. The “Coach” will not turn a blind eye to anything which is the right way. His job is to ensure everyone who graduates from the PFT class can function as a firefighter. He has failed students for what may seem like trivial reasons yet are very meaningful. This class of 100 men poses some challenges for the “Coach” and he does have an assistant (due to the large number of students). Unfortunately his assistant is not exactly qualified because he is a Math Teacher. Please don’t get me wrong, his assistant is a very nice man but according to him he has no idea why he is even out there. I spent a few minutes speaking with him when I found out he was a math teacher and in his six months with the prison system he has had four different jobs. I guess that is how it goes in the California Prison system but the opportunity available here at the Sierra Conservation Center is certainly an excellent one for the inmates.

During the meeting the head instructor gave us our assignments. Originally he split the instructors into two groups with all the experienced instructors in one group and the lesser experienced ones (me included) in the other group. He initially gave me the lead in my group but the “coach” made him switch up the teams giving my group at least one experienced instructor. The lead instructor had initially put the experienced instructors together because they were “student/instructors” and he thought they needed to be altogether. The “Coach” did tell him this was unnecessary and he switched them up. I was honored for my short-lived tenure as leader of my group and I do know when the three instructors who are technically students in the class depart my responsibilities will increase.

One interesting item the “Coach” discussed during our meeting was the role of the instructors during the PFT class. Interestingly enough he referred to the class as “Switzerland” which means the class is neutral when it comes to prison politics. During the first day this concept was clearly evident because I can speak with any student no matter their race, creed, or color. This may sound like not much but inside these four walls it is very welcomed. The great part of this is everyone inside of the class buys off on the concept. Some may not like it but for the most part everyone does understand.

The class started off a bit rocky because they couldn’t perform jumping jacks and were punished with running two laps. It seems none of the students like running but I on the other hand actually do like running and most of them know this. My comment was the “Coach” means business so we will be running laps all day long which I love to do so it is entirely up to you guys to learn the proper techniques. They finally did get the jumping jacks down and went onto the other exercises. The class is divided up into two 50 men segments and I was assigned to the group which does include my dorm mates. I would have preferred this not to be the case but I will deal with it the best I can. Like I mentioned I can’t play favorites and won’t. Hopefully they will understand this but if they don’t then so be it.

We seemed to do a great deal of power walking and running for the first day covering 5 miles between the two types. Most of the students weren’t ready for this and really struggled. It is my job to encourage them so they can get through the 9 day class. It is amazing how much self-doubt goes through their minds but if they stick with it and try their best they will be very surprised at the results. There are those that are just completely out of shape and will need more than the 9 days to get into shape. The “Coach” will recognize these students right away and I am sure he will bring them back for another class. However; a good majority of the students need to understand that 80% of their training is mental and once they realize this they will be able to pass. This is my job without being to rah-rah or Polly Anaish. The students who I know I do tell them about the mental aspects and how to overcome it. Hopefully they will listen because if the don’t they will have to retake the class.

The 9 day class is physically demanding but it is designed not only to physically wear down the students it is designed to break their will. They cannot allow this and must continue forward. Many of the students (who by the way are very young early 20’s) were complaining of side aches and cramps. I do understand people get these but they were carrying on way too much without stopping for it to be so bad. Unless they are about to collapse there is nothing I can do except move forward which is what I encourage them to do. I can’t emphasize it enough how fortunate I am to obtain this position because it is truly a rewarding job. I do get some strange looks when I offer my words of encouragement but hopefully in 9 days time the students will understand.

I was hoping to be the lead pacer for the walks and runs but the “Coach” wanted to use one of the student/instructor so he could “work them to death”. I was content with the back pace and calling out the five orders. In spite of the cold my voice was still very strong and one of my dorm mates said I sounded like a drill instructor. I wasn’t going for the drill instructor; I was just trying to be heard. It does make a difference when the students hear the cadences and reply in a like manner. It helps motivate them and it also takes their minds off the exercises of power walking and jogging.

The class started at a little past 8:00 am and ended at 1:30 pm. This effectively took up my entire day and boy did it go by so very fast. The lead instructor turned to me at the end of the class and asked me how I liked my job. My replay, “I love it and couldn’t have asked for anything better.” He agreed wholeheartedly but he (like me) is an exercise “freak” and today was his first real day as the sole lead instructor because the other lead instructor is leaving at the middle of next month. He was having a hard time not participating in any of the power walks or runs. He really wants to be a “hands-on” lead instructor but the size of his class needs a central lead instructor to coordinate all activities. I know he is having a hard time adjusting to his non-participating role but he will be fine. It is interesting because the two of us are a great deal alike in our exercise freakdom and it is nice to know I am not the only one like this. The day ended so quickly and I decided not to do any of my own exercises. I headed back to the dormitory for a luke warm shower and to do some writing. All in all I have been very fortunate in this journey and know no matter what happens I am definitely on the right track.