100 Days of Burpees, 2009 - 2010 Challenge

The name of the Challenge did not do it justice. This was NOT 100 days of Burpees. Yes, we did Burpees regularly, and we did ladder up from 1 through to 100. Yes, we did accomplich 5050 Burpees in 100 days. But still, that really does not begin to describe it for me.

For me, it was a Challenge on a whole different level. I started the Challenge and managed to convince a few victims to get in on it with me. Some of those people stuck with it, but most gave up on it around day 35. I hear ya, it was tough! The commitment to doing them in the first place was hard, but then to stay in when you needed a mental break from the commitment was tough. It meant doing Burpees on New Year’s Day, which is not something I would normally have any interest in. But, this year, I would have given anything to be able to do a Burpee to bring in the New Year.

The Challenge started on Tuesday, November 10. On Monday, November 30 I got the phone call letting me know that the cancer bus had pulled up and dropped off Melanoma into my life. Wow. New title. Cancer Patient. Hmm. Of course, my mind started reeling, and I got scared. But, then it was time to go workout and I needed the mental distraction more than ever. And, so I worked out for the next week or so until the two surgeries on Thursday, December 10. Then, it was time to hit the couch, hard.

Bed rest is not my strong suit, at all. I hated it. I was bored, I ate crappy food, I let my mind wander around in panic land. I realized I needed the gym mentally as much as I did physically. I started hanging around during your workouts just to keep me sane and it helped a lot. But, that darn Burpee Challenge continued without me; time does march on. By the time I was cleared to return to workouts, I was so far behind on the Challenge that I would have to do about 100 Burpees each day for the remainder of the Burpee Days. Yeah, I started to miss the bed rest then. Talk about Kill Your Coward...

I kept at it, and it sucked a lot. But, I knew that I could do it. My back hurt, my leg hurt, and I got stronger slowly. But, it was not all physical. Mentally, I bounced back even stronger than I was before.

For those of you who made it through, congratulations. For those who started but did not finish, please consider trying again. The feeling of accomplishment is amazing and totally worth work. For those who have never done it and are interested in the insanity, I would like to do it again. Truth be told, I was 500 Burpees short once the end came. I am not going to claim cancer as an excuse, but I will say I gave it my best effort. I did not fail, cancer just got in my way. So, I will see ya all in the next Challenge! Besides, I have another new title. Cancer Survivor.