What Outer Banks Bootcamps means to me? In one simple word. Life. When I moved to the Outer Banks 3 years ago it was to start over, to start writing a new chapter in my life after a failed marriage and the loss of my son. I thought I would just start over peacefully and make it through one day at a time, but not 4 months after being here I met Matt Costa and from that moment my whole existence changed. He, Christine Alexia McMaster-Parks, Jay and Adam poked, prodded, encouraged and cheered me on to complete a half marathon within 6 weeks. What does that mean, Accomplishment. Pride of completing something that seemed so far fetched and out of reach. For months afterward I attended bootcamp, sometimes doubling up, sometimes not, but always out there in some form or another, through every day life and injuries, I stayed, with the help of my coaches and fellow campers I made this part of my life, I even lent a helping hand to Nightcamp. My children joined me at camp, Deanna spending her Mondays and Wednesdays working it out on the beach with her team, building friendships and memories. What does this mean? Getting and Giving. The chance to give back just a little of the encouragement you are given, to lead others on their way to a healthier lifestyle while maintaining and growing your own healthy habits. In April 2013, a little over a year into my bootcamp journey, my world came crashing down again. The loss of my daughter, was a blow that can not be described. From miles away some of the first people to reach out to me were my bootcamp family. They were there for me, driving 3 hours to be there for a few moments, just to hug me, just to make sure for themselves I was ok. One of the things I remember most .. the blue of Christines eyes and how the only thing I saw in them that day was sadness and love. What does this mean? Love. Complete raw love and caring for a teammate, the one remaining and the one fallen. I went back to bootcamp a few weeks after coming home. I wasnt there. I tried and I wanted to be but I just wasnt. I wasnt anywhere really. Lord knows Todd Parks and my fellow bootcampers tried to keep me grounded and working out but all of my passion had left me. I had no desire to be there. No desire to run. No desire to do a push up. I left camp.. I didnt go back. What does this mean? Failure. Failure to me, it wasnt a failure to anyone else but me. No one else condemned or ridiculed me for making the decision not to come back. The only thing I ever heard about leaving was, you know where we are when you are ready. (at the time I thought that would be never) Fast forward a year later on a whim, I went back, I was met with open arms, open hearts and the understanding that I didnt fail but that life had just gotten too big for awhile. What does this mean? Patience and Understanding. No one pushed me to come back, no one questioned where I was or why and when I did return there was patience (and still is) that I need to get back to where I was, not start off where I left off. In two short months I have gained more from Outer Banks Bootcamps than I allowed myself to gain in the first year, it was there before I just didnt completely open myself up to it. Friends. Trust. Acceptance. Loyalty. Pride. Determination. Love. Commitment. Healing. Happiness. Forgiveness. Family. So again what does it mean to me? Life. My life, what makes me happy, fulfills me and keeps me pushing to be a healthier happier me.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 13:09:03 +0000
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