Today we jog up 45 flights of stairs

I'm participating in Sgt. Roy's Bootcamp. It's a one-week intense exercise program lead by Sgt. Roy Lewis, a real Army drill sergeant.

Today we're supposed to jog from the Dowd YMCA to the Bank of America building. Then we're supposed to jog up 45 flights of steps. I'm excited and nervous.

I'm pretty sure this will be the most physically demanding exercise I've ever done. Sgt. Roy says it's okay if we don't make it to the top. He says it's okay if we only get to the 18th floor as long as we try our best.

It's not okay with me. I just hope my body agrees. We'll see.

(Did I mention, we have to jog back to the Dowd YMCA after we run the steps?)

Day 2: Tears and disappointment at bootcamp

Day 2: Sgt. Roy's Bootcamp - The Rope

I'm participating in Sgt. Roy's Bootcamp. It's a one-week intense exercise program lead by Sgt. Roy Lewis, a real Army drill sergeant.

Today's workout was tough, but tomorrow's will be hard.

This morning we separated into groups of four. Each group had a rope. We jogged one long single file line. We had to jog as a unit and we couldn't drop the rope or leave a teammate behind.

We jogged about a 1/4 mile then stopped for calisthenics then we jogged a 1/4 mile and stopped for more calisthenics. While jogging, Sgt. Roy also made us do a "wagon wheel." The lead group circled around to the back and then jogged to the front. We did this for 30-45 minutes.

Did I mention we started with 100 jumping jacks for our warm up? Yeah, it was that kind of day.

By the end of the workout, we had our first set of tears and one guy felt like he let his team down.

Sgt. Roy used both moments to encourage us to dig deeper. He said it wasn't important to finish first. It was important to try your hardest and finish. He congratulated the man who felt like he'd let his team down because at least he came to camp and tried his best.

He was a little less gentle with the young woman who cried. Apparently, she plans to enlist in the Air Force. He told her to get all of her crying out at this camp. He said she couldn't go to basic training acting like girl.

She stuck her tongue out at him.

Boot camp with a real drill sgt.

I spent my morning crawling and lying in wet grass and yelling things like "Bulldogs train to win!"

Today was my first day at Sgt. Roy's Bootcamp, and it's unlike any other I've attended this summer. Sgt. Roy Lewis, a drill sergeant who trains drill sergeants, runs the one-week camp. He applies military technique to his camp.

We started the morning in formation and we respondee to questions with "Yes, drill seargent." Sounded cheesy until we responded incorrectly. That cost us an extra set of exercises.

Lewis pushed us firmly, but gently. We spent the morning at Dilworth Elementary School crawling and sprinting in the cold grass. We finished by doing too many pushups and crunches.

This is my first time, and I'm doing it with my friend Road Dawg. I don't think she likes me anymore. She was looking rather salty by the end of the first days camp. Something about being covered in wet grass didn't appeal to her. Oh, and the sprinting and pushups weren't a picnic either. Deep down -- way deep down -- I think she likes it.

Many of the participants have attended before. Thankfully, they know the correct responses to his orders.

The class is a mix of people in their 20s and up. One woman is working with her two teenage daughters. Very cute.