I get up every morning at 4:15.  I hop into the shower, jump into my sweats and then I'm off to Bradford Beach. Typically, all that activity before sunrise would send me straight back to bed; however, I'm on a mission - a mission to get fit.

Don't get me wrong. I'm no couch potato and I do exercise. As a matter of fact, my bicycle and I are inseparable; however, our friendship has become one-sided.  I give it all I've got, but the pounds that have crept on since moving back to the land of cheese, brats and frozen custard continue to leave me well-upholstered.  Unfortunately, all that biking seems to be no match for age, gravity and the occasional Kopps.  And, so ... I've decided to fight the good fight and attempt to head north, the various parts of me that are heading south.

When I first decided to register for Milwaukee Adventure Boot Camp, images of Stripes' Sgt. Hulka and his big toe came to mind. I waffled between, "How hard could this be?" and, "I'll never be able to keep up!"

Well, now I don't have to wonder. Boot camp is tough!  It's challenging! It's early! It's empowering!

Never mind that I'm a baby boomer, decades older than many of the women in the program. Never mind that my muscles have been talking back, urging me to find a less strenuous outlet for my energy. For one hour each morning, as the sun comes up over Lake Michigan, I'm a machine!