Oh, Those Young People!

In the afternoon yesterday, the regular PFT class was instructed by the coach to attend the PFT Plus class. In the short time I have been an instructor, this is the first time I have witnessed the regular PFT class having had to come out in the afternoon after finishing all their exercises. I on the other hand was looking forward to it because most of the instructors participate with the students by doing all the required exercises. The coach had a short meeting prior to the mandatory PFT Plus class and he stressed the importance of finishing each exercise in the allotted time frame. I need to explain the Wednesday class. It’s a circuit class – one circuit will have the burpees another – push ups – another crunches – another jumping jacks – another mountain climbers. Due to the large size of the class, we had 8 circuits of doubles. Each circuit last for 30 seconds and we are required to do as many repetitions of whatever circuit we are in, in the 30 second time frame. Then the students rotate in a clockwise direction to the next circuit while the instructors rotate in the opposite direction. There is about a 5 second interval from one circuit to another. Normally we do three rotations but yesterday we did four. It is a very fast pace intense workout. The coach did not want an Instructor to start a particular exercise and not be able to finish. This would be very bad and would give the students ammunition toward the instructor. I took his comments as personal pep talk and couldn’t wait to get going on the exercise. The only circuit which is very physically demanding for me are the pushups on the third or fourth rotation because they are performed without stopping. During all the other classes, pushups are performed in sets of 10 but not during this class.

We warmed up with two laps and then started the circuit training. I started on the pushup rotation because I thought it would be easier for me to start this exercise when I was fresh. I was right and had no problem doing 25 proper pushups. In my opinion, pushups are performed improperly most of the time by many of the students and also inmates who are working out in the yard. Most of the time the students do half pushups and never keep their bodies steady. When done properly, pushups are very demanding in the 30 seconds. Then I moved to the next station which is mountain climbers without any problems. I moved through the entire circuit and by the time I was on my third rotation, I noticed many of the students struggling with certain exercises. They were winded and tired. The coach threw a monkey wrench into the circuit training by taking one group out and having them jog one lap. Half way through my third circuit I got to a station with no students and I noticed the coach was motioning me to come to him. I went over and he told me to take a group of students on a one lap jog. I frantically ran to retrieve my stop watch because timing is everything with the coach and when I got back I took the group of students on the one lap jog. The coach wanted to time the jog so my group got back to the soon to be empty burpee circuit. As luck would have it I ended the jog just as the station became opened; the timing could not have been better. It was interesting because as I was doing the jog with the students they were all asking me when we would get a break. My response to them was, “This is your break so please catch up on your wind now before we get back.” The jog was at a very slow pace – 4 minutes per lap and wasn’t taking care of the students. When the class was over the coach told the class that the jog was their rest period and interestingly enough the coach and I never discussed this prior to his mentioning it. I guess I still can think for myself. I was very proud to be a part of the PFT Plus class because it went very well and all of the instructors did what was asked of them. This does give us credibility with the students and it does help to inspire them to continue on.

It was a very good afternoon and the coach was very pleased with how things went. I was also very pleased and the lead instructor – the one who is leaving – came up to me after the class and told me he was very impressed that I did all the exercises. Yes, it is another ego-boosting moment and I am sure some of this is going straight to my big head but it certainly does make me feel good and some did notice. Hopefully, I won’t puff up my scrawny chest and think I am something which I am not. In everyway imaginable I could not have asked for a better job in a place like this. After the class I decided not to push myself any further because I had already logged 9 miles for the day. I am not getting any younger and my obsessive personality does not lend me to possibly over-train this causing injury. I must constantly listen to my body not to injure myself and so far – knock on wood – it is working out fine.

No matter where I am whether it is in here or on the outside world the best part of my day is taking a shower after a great strenuous workout. Sure the shower is not exactly hot here but it will do especially after this workout. I also used my new razor once again and I discovered a new type of shaving cream. As I have mentioned before I don’t have any shaving cream and I have used soap, shampoo, and body lotion. Now I can add another category conditioner. Conditioner probably works the best – other than shaving cream – because I did receive a very good shave without any razor burn and not to mention I really like the smell of coconut. It was a satisfying day and the rest of the time I wrote. I wanted to stay on top of my writing and not wait for the weekend because this further delays the delivery of the letter. One letter was to someone who may possibly visit me next week. Normally a visiting form takes 30 days to process, but this person’s form was processed in 8 days. I was very impressed and needed to send a letter letting the person know. I was able to write all my letters and get them out in the mail so they don’t go out by the weekend. I stayed up past my bedtime in order to finish these but it was well worth it.

I need to take a step back and mention a dream I had the other night. Each night I have at least one dream and most times two and three. However, rarely do I remember them. However, the other night I remembered my dreams because it was about my son. This was a very vivid dream and the only thing I can remember is hugging him for a very long time. As I continued to hug him, he said to me, “Don’t worry daddy, everything will be alright.” Then I continued to hug him some more. I didn’t want to wake up because I could feel my son as if he were right there with me. Eventually, I woke up with a very broad smile on my face. Everything will be alright and I will be with my family very soon.

The dinner last night was some sort of beef stew over rice and for me it was one of those bad nights. I didn’t receive any extra helping of rice or mixed vegetables. I just received the requisite two tubes of peanut butter. Needless to say I was still very hungry after dinner. I broke in to one of the two soups I have remaining. Hopefully, next week I will finally be able to go to the store because I believe money from the reception center has finally been transferred here. I did include some fresh carrots with the soup and I also added some of my new Cajun seasoning. The soup tasted better and packed more of a spice but now I have to use my one remaining soup carefully over the next week. Even after finishing the soup with some baked potato chips, I was still hungry. I don’t know what has gotten into me over the past few days, but lately I have been famished. I have added the granola bars and fruit to my daily diet but maybe all the physical activity is making me even more hungry. Whatever the case, I sure do hope I can add some more food to my locker in the coming week when I will hopefully have an opportunity to go to the store. I have known what I would like to purchase for well over a month. Once I get to the store I shouldn’t have any starving issues.

This morning was once again more of the same of the previous three days of going to an early breakfast. Just like yesterday, I was able to attend the regular dining hall and the lunch was peanut butter and jam for everyone so there could not have been any anti-vegetarian comments. The breakfast was the one breakfast where I need to request the vegetarian meal because the main entrée was cream beef. The inmate I know from the PFT Plus class was working the front of the food service line and he certainly took care of me. I received the two tubes of peanut butter but I also received more roasted potatoes and an additional apple juice. Unfortunately, both of my apple juices were semi-frozen and drinking two containers was equivalent to drinking one. I certainly had enough to eat at breakfast because of all the physical activity I did in both the PFT and PFT Plus class I didn’t feel hungry until later this afternoon.

Shortly after breakfast the regular PFT class started and it was more of the same. Sometimes sameness can get boring, but for me in a place like this the sameness is a welcome relief because I am very active during this “sameness” everyday. This beats the alternative of sitting around day after day and I will take the sameness for the remainder of my term. Part of this sameness is losing my voice. I have got to learn to stop using my throat to call out the cadences and start using my chest. I noticed yesterday my voice wavering and while I was calling out the cadences on the Harvard Wall, my voice was giving way at the half way point. Fortunately, we turn over the cadences at the half way point and I was happy to be relieved by another instructor. The coach heard my voice wavering and after I was relieved he called me over and told me in the future when I feel that I am losing my voice, it is fine to switch cadences to another instructor even earlier, otherwise I could lose my voice completely. I do need lessons on using my loud voice more effectively or by Friday my voice could be non-existent. Tomorrow I will try using my diaphragm as I speak instead of my throat. A few of the other new instructors were also losing their voices today so apparently this is very common and takes some getting used to. It looks like I will need Saturday and Sunday to get my voice back so I shouldn’t complain this weekend when I am not working.

As the regular PFT class was starting their exercises, the lead instructor called me over and needed me in the morning PFT Plus class. I was sort of disappointed because this means I would miss out on three more miles of power walking and jogging – really I am all about the miles. I did not show my disappointment and ran over to the class. I lead a rotation and participated in all the exercises which is just as good as logging the three miles. This did break up some of the sameness but I was still being very active which is all that matters. As the class ended the regular PFT class had 2 laps left. I held myself back and didn’t join them on the track because the other instructors had the situation under control. I just watched them finish the two laps as I spoke with the lead instructor. Finally, the class ended and the coach can be a bit long winded but I do find him fascinating. He tends to turn a two minute discussion into a 20 minute one but it always seems to be very intelligent. Unfortunately, my “intelligent discussions” have been few and far between over the past few months so the coach always has my attention during these discussions. We finished the conversation but because I missed the 3 miles my obsessive compulsive brain told me to run a few laps this morning. My intention was to run 4 miles but I went 5 instead. Some days running is very good and other days it seems to be a struggle. Today was one of those struggle days but after finishing the 5 miles I was happy when it was over. This morning between power walking, jogging, and running, I logged 10 miles. It looks like my weekly total miles is fast approaching 65 miles and this is significant because when I would train for a marathon, the final weeks leading up to it would only top off at 50-55 miles. At this current pace, I will be ready for a marathon at anytime. Of course, this is subject to change at anytime but for now I will take it.

It was time for lunch but because I didn’t have my mid morning snack I gave up the lunch in lieu of the granola bar and banana – yes I took another piece of fruit this morning from breakfast. Lately I just put the fruit in my wool hat and carry it out. I am sure one of these times I will be caught but until that time comes I will keep feeding myself. I really wasn’t that hungry and I didn’t want to eat too much because there was one more PFT class to go this afternoon. I ate my snack and read more of my James Patterson novel while I was waiting for the afternoon yard to be opened. When it opened it was time for the PFT Plus class. I wasn’t sure if I would participate because I had a very strenuous morning but I did talk myself into doing the exercises. I did not have to lead any rotations because I lead one this morning but ultimately I did want to participate. When it was over, I had enough exercise for one day and caught an early unlock so I could take a shower while most of my dorm mates were still out in the yard.

Normally, I come back either when the yard closes at 4:00 pm or at a little before 3:00 pm. At both of these times most of my dorm mates return to the dorm so it was nice to only have very few people remaining in the dorm. Interestingly enough three of these dorm mates still in the dorm were 3 of the 4 members who are in the regular PFT class. These three individuals are all under the age of 30 and one is under the age of 25. When I arrived back in the dorm all three of them were fast asleep at 2:00 pm. It appears the PFT class is wearing them down and I guess they don’t make young people like they used to! By the way the lone remaining member of the class from my dorm is 35 and he took a nap this afternoon. Oh those Young People! I know each one of them can’t wait for the weekend so they don’t have the PFT class and can rest. Make no mistake, the PFT class is physically demanding but I am very glad to be part of it each day.