I survived SEALFIT! For those of you who don't know, SEALFIT is a program for civilians and potential Special Opps candidates to experience NAVY SEAL type training. They help us regular people reach or at least see, our true potential. The program is a total immersion. You eat, sleep and breath the Navy Seal life.
What really attracted me to this type of training was the very first page of the book, The Unbeatable Mind. To paraphrase, it stated, if you are sick of being mediocre, and sick of everybody around you settling for mediocre, then this training is for you. I was riding in the car with my husband, when I read this first page. I didn't need anymore convincing. I read that page out loud and said to him, I HAVE TO DO THIS!
My 2 friends/clients brought SEALFIT to me about 10 months ago. These 2 guys walked into my gym with this crazy idea and wanted me to train them for the SEALFIT comprehensive academy. This is a 6 day total immersion in the Navy Seal way of life. There are strict physical standards you must reach before going. I started doing research and creating a training program. The training program was intense. We trained 5-6 days a week. We worXed out 3-4 hours during the week days and long worXouts on the weekends. They guys immediately started telling me I should do this with them. It's quite the commitment and I had lots of reasons why I could not do it; I am a mother of 3, I own a business, it's expensive...however, I knew I Really Wanted to Do This! So,7 months later, I turned off my mom guilt and signed up.
When I signed up I only had 2 months to train. As soon as I pushed that button and there was no going back, I immediately felt a little sick. I've always heard, if your goals don't scare you, they are not big enough. I have never experienced this feeling until I signed up. It was the most amazing feeling of my life. I was scared to death and jump out of my bed excited! Something changed, I had LIT A FIRE! Everyone around me felt it. I could not wait to get up and train in the morning. I could not wait to get our long worXouts on every weekend! I have never experienced this and now I want more!
We killed it in the gym. Over and over. My worXout partner and I worked well together. We always showed up for each other and pushed through our weakness together. It was the most fun I have ever had training. (and that says a lot, because I really like to worXout). Finding a good worXout partner is like finding a unicorn, its rare,you must hold on to it and never let it go. We were both LIT. Working toward this huge scary goal.
As the date got closer, I was actually sad. I was worried, how will I keep my Fire Lit, when I return? What will keep me going?
We leave for San Diego on a Friday morning. We arrive at 10am. It's sunny and very nice there. I notice it's dry, I am very thirsty. We explored Coronado and stopped by the SEALFIT headquarters. When we stop by there are a couple of guys worXing out on the "grinder". They are shirtless. They are fit. I immediately notice there is something different. They are quiet. They are intense. (not to mention very good looking). These guys were doing cleans, and there was no noise, no dramatic drop of the weights. I couldn't even see or hear if they were breathing hard. This was a level of intensity and focus I have never witnessed. WOW, I wanted that focus, that clarity. This was also very intimidating. We thought we were fit. Oh Crap, what have we gotten ourselves into? We had a quieter ride to Temecula.
The next day we were to report at 3pm to Vail Lake. We arrived about an hour early. I see there are 3 port-a-potty's outside and I think, those must be for when we are outside...
The other guys start to arrive and we greet each other nervously. At 3pm sharp a truck arrives. Two guys get out and start to take stuff into the bunk house. They don't say a word to us. They were definitely setting the tone. We stand there waiting for instructions. They finally tell us to come in and move the bunk beds into the other room and set up tables in the other room. We do as we are told. They put me in the closet because I was the only girl. It was like a little suite. I would have happily bunked up, especially because I brought my 2 friends with me. I felt safe. They put me in there and I happy obliged. There was even a hole in the ceiling, they covered it with a trash bag and duct tape.
It turns out, the port-a-potty's are our only source of toilet. OMG! (In 34 years, if I saw a port-a-potty I would try to hold it) I'm all in, let's do this! We have no running water. The showers are outside. They are a make-shift hose with PVC piping.
Okay. So I have never even camped before. I really don't like to be dirty or hike. I was not expecting the austere conditions. However, I had an open mind and I was up for anything. I was certainly NOT GOING TO BE A WHINEY GIRL. I was there to pull my own weight, everyday, no matter what.
They tell us the change our clothes, get into our uniforms and meet on the grinder...
More about SEALFIT next post!