A little bit of Joy and Pain

So, this week has been a week of craziness.  2 weeks out from the Spartan and just got the "official" pics.  I will put them at the end of today's blog.

Last weekend was some downtime and this week too.

So now to explain the heading of this one.

I have this blog for a couple reasons.  One is to give me some place to ramble all the thoughts that I have as I go through this journey in hopes that I don't totally prattle on to all my friends and family endlessly. (Although, I suspect if you know me in real life, I am often prattling on about it...sorry.)

The other reason is that I hope it inspires others, encourages them.  That this open and honest blog helps other people who don't "look like" a runner or a OCR elite sees YOU CAN DO IT.  I have had a number of people let me know it does just that.  

Well.....this week it got recognized in a big way.  A coworker of mine nominated me for an award at work for being a HealthE Champion.  I work for a large organization (over 30,000 employees).  I was selected to be one of the 25 winners for either being a HealthE Champion or an Environmental Champion.  What she wrote touched my heart!  She has been on her own journey and has made amazing changes in her life.  For her to nominate me was amaizng but to have won.....that is just crazy.

Now I am challenged to answer these questions - 

1.      Tell us about how you practice a healthy lifestyle at work and at home.

2.      Describe what motivates you to live a healthy lifestyle or what inspired you to make changes to practice healthy behaviors.

3.      Do you participate in the Healthe You program?  If so, how has it helped you to live healthier?

4.      What insights or advice have you learned about living healthy that you would like to share with others?

 I am thinking on it.......

Now, for the pain.  I have pushed myself hard lately.  I am not the best at taking care of myself.  I don't stretch post runs or lifting.  I have IT Band issues and am terrible with my foam roller. I have the knowledge, the tools, no excuses and I just don't do it.

Well, it has now not only been affecting my runs, it has been ruining my sleep and then crazy dreams.  (Yup, dreamed that I finally went to the doctor for the knot in my one thigh- the dream then took a crazy turn when he just sliced right into it and pulled out a bag of ball bearings and bb's.)

So.....today I decided to take a little time and give myself a birthday gift. I went and got a 90 minute massage.  For those of you picturing a nice relaxing time....NOPE, I go for deep tissue.  The gal I see starts w/ you on your back so she can do legs first.  I prefer it as my back gets super tense while she does it because it hurts like HELL.  She found a few knots in the left and was like "Well, that is a first to find more than one and that size/location."  I warned her the right was worse.  HAHAHAHA......  when we were done, she warned me to drink lots of water, stop and get some biofreeze or salonpas  and to start taking care of myself.  "How the HELL do you run when your right quad is nothing but knots and pain?"

So.... trying to remind myself that if I want to continue this journey i need to start taking care of myself and my poor quads.  (and glutes)

So... that is my little lesson for me and for the rest of you---  Remember to take the time to take care of yourself.  Stretching is important. If something is sore, DON'T IGNORE IT.  Take the time to work on it when it is a small little thing, not when it is waking you up several times a night and making anything you do painful.  Fitness is all facets of life, not just the miles you cover and the pounds you move.

This is my new best friend lol

As promised, more spartan pics.

                                     

Courage, fear, and SPARTAN!!

Sunday, September 28th- I faced my fear of failure, fear of injury, fear of not being "enough" and did the Chicago Spartan Sprint.  It took me until today to be able to figure out what to say in this blog and to decide what picture to use for the start of it.

So, let's start with this picture I chose.  This is me, at the finish line, just got my medal.  And I am crying.  Tears of relief.  Tears of PRIDE!  This was the toughest thing I have ever done.  It was physically ROUGH.  It was emotionally even ROUGHER.

Why?  Oh so many reasons.  We all have the baggage of our youths we carry, the little voices we hear in our heads.  We have that image in the mirror and the number on the scale.

So, here is the recap-

Sunday the weather was BEAUTIFUL- 80 degrees, sunny, nice little breeze.

First part- You are never alone in a Spartan- yes it is a competitive race.  It is timed.  BUT, the Spartan creed is you help others, you leave no one behind.

My Dad, step-Mom and a great friend were willing to drive all the way from Rockford, pick me up, drive me there, wait for me, take tons of pics, ride home with my STINKY self and just be all around AWESOME!!

The team from Chicago Spartan welcomed me OPEN ARMS and I was never alone.  Pablo and his Wife. Christopher Mulvey and his awesome Girlfriend Yogi, Sarah, Jes, so many others.

An awesome guy named Ken who was running it solo and happy to let us step up on him, boost us up (and nearly CRUSH him when I fell off a wall)


The COURSE- You start out climbing a wall which then basically locks you in the starting corral.  They go over the rules (speed talking the boring safety part since we obviously were not scared off by the warning below on the packet) and the remind us WHAT IS A SPARTAN.

We are off.

Nice little run......

Then the mud starts.....  yup, over and under things, In and out of mud, moving right a long and feeling good.

First thing that made me question my choice- the barb wire.  It is NOT too far off the ground.  Was not low enough at one point and felt it grab my hair.  GOT LOW THEN!!!  Rolling did not work in many places so it was flat belly arm crawl. (Note-if you are considering one- wear something covering your ENTIRE legs to your shoes and arm sleeves- you will thank me for this after the barb wire crawl)

Got done with that and then....HUGE CARGO NET.  Not your average one made of rope. Think the kind you see holding things in air planes.  Flat Canvas between two trees that you see sway.  Straight up, over and down.  YEAH.....  got up NO PROBLEM (Thank you AJ my trainer- squats and high box step-ups make these things so much easier!).  OVER?  OMG.... That is NOT easy.  Finally just wrapped my arm around the top and went for it.

Spear throw--- ALMOST- it hit the hay with the tip-- if only I had given it a little more UMPH!  30 burpees.

The exact order of other things are a bit of a blur.....  

Atlas Ball......that was a BITCH! (excuse the language but really, truly was).  The balls were somewhere between 65 and 80 pounds BEFORE the day started (there seems to be a bit of a disagreement)..... well, since many of the gals could not lift them they would instead ROLL them..through dirt/mud.  SO...who knows what it weighed.  Doesn't matter- was able to help my friend get hers lifted, got mine- carried it to the drop point (mandatory 5 burpees for all)  Helped my friend get hers up again, got mine up, off we went to drop it at the other end.  (TRAINING TIP- weighted front racked squats and medicine ball wall throws with a squat)

Tire drag- NO PROBLEM-  All the time we spend with the TRX at the gym, not even a hesitation

Hercules hoist- OWNED THAT!  Up and down w/o a thought.  Worried for no reason.  (Could have done that all day long....)

Short walls- Got those.

Log Carry- GOT THAT

The hills..... OMG, the natural ravines and hills...... UP and down and up and down and up and down.

Then we finally were in the home stretch.  Around 1/2 mile and the last obstacles and this was where it unraveled a bit. (Training tip- LEARN TO DO PULL UPS AND MUSCLE UPS.  Can't do them but will before next year!!! Aroo!!)

Traverse Wall-  SERIOUSLY?  Yeah, tried and tried and failed.  Could not fit my big fat feet on the blocks and I could not.  30 burpees!

Inverse Wall- Tried and couldn't get over, tried and couldn't do it, tried and FELL OFF IT FLAT ON MY BACK AND ON TOP OF  THE VERY NICE MAN TRYING TO HELP ME OVER.  30 burpees.

Rope Climb.... in slippery, waist deep water... right after those burpees and falling off a wall.  You guessed it- 30 burpees

Water swim---AHHHHH, this was LOVELY- nice cool water to just paddle across.  It was HEAVEN!!!

8 foot wall-  PHEW- got a boost, got over it.  Slipped coming down- hit ribs on the up right.  That left a mark.

Under the Wall- Ok- the water was gross.  It was thick.  Had to go totally under the water, pull yourself under the wall and come out the other side.  More mental than physical but got it done.

Inverse Wall- last and worst part- I was physically and mentally spent.  Went at it, made it half way and slid down.  Awesome Pablo and the Spartan Staff guy tell me "Hang on- we got you"- I get to the top.  My brain said "Enough".  Seriously- told them to let me quit, that I was done.  NOPE- that is NOT SPARTAN- they got me to just hold on.  A guy from below helped to shove me up high enough so they could grab from the other side and pull my legs OVER!!!

Fire Jump- Ok... had this fear I would trip and fall into the fire.....Not kidding.  Can't do that if you are holding onto your friends!!!

So, for those counting- it was 120 burpees.  Had friends help me with some.  Had the Spartan member at the Rope trade me some burpees for being willing to carry over life jackets to the starting of the swim.

So.... the question I keep getting is "Will you do it again?" OF COURSE- plans are Indiana Sprint in April, Chicago Super next fall and maybe throw in Tough Mudder since many of the people who did this Spartan said it was MUCH harder than the Tough Mudder!!!  Planning to find other races nearby to volunteer and run for free!

Stay tuned for MORE fun.

Knowing oneself and knowing one's limits

So, it took me a few days to get my head "right" so I could make a decision and then update this blog.

Monday I had the chance to go out to DirtRunner for a "training day" on the course where my Chicago Spartan will be at the end of the month.  The training course is a portion of the Super Course.  It was my "reality check" and I needed it.

I am 100x stronger than I was 18 months ago when I started this.  I know this in my heart and head.  HOWEVER, that course is BRUTAL.  Tons of deep ravines you must traverse, tons of obstacles that require upper body strength.

I honestly came quite near to sitting down in the middle of the course when I saw yet another ravine ahead.  It was about 4 of them back to back.  So steep you pretty much slide down on your backside and then have to climb back out.  It nearly broke me.

But I finished it.  Had to skip a few obstacles because I just couldn't pull myself over (and was not going to make the 1 guy there boost me) or because my head was not there.......  At the end, there was a Rope Swing to Cargo Net.  I knew my arms were cashed and I would not make it.  An awesome young lady who was just KILLING IT on the course told me "Oh, this is the best part- just swing out like Tarzan and drop on it.  The water is AMAZING".  So I did it.  I let go of my fear of how high it was and the fact that I had NEVER swung and out I went.  It was the most glorious drop to that water.  (And then she helped me get out of the water as it is quite a deep pit.)

Probably this is my favorite part of OCR- no matter what your level of fitness or what you look like, everyone is there cheering each other on and helping you get over that next obstacle...physically or mentally.

So.... knowing that the course was only HALF of what to expect of a Super I had some thinking to do.  I knew deep in my heart, I would never be able to finish a Super.  I have the option of dropping to a Sprint or deferring to next year completely.

It weighed heavy on me as I really, really wanted that SUPER!  But is it worth hurting myself or someone else who is trying to help me?  No, probably not.  Could I do the Sprint?  Yes, I think I can.

So........ I downgraded my race.  Dropped the Sprint.  Next year--- I WILL DO THE SUPER!
.

What's SUP?

So, in an effort to do things that I am not comfortable with, felt I was "too heavy for" etc, today I tried something new again.  SUP- or Stand-up Paddle boarding.

Here were my fears going in:
-People will start at me as a big girl in a swimsuit
-I will not be able to balance even kneeling on the board
-My upper body would be too weak to paddle for very long
-My balance would not let me be able to stand up
-I would spend more time in the water than on the board
-Once I fell in, I would not be able to get myself back onto the board
-I would fall off and hit my head on something and knock myself out
-I would end up going round and round in circles because I could not paddle strong enough
-The poor instructor would have to rescue me and come get the darn board/paddle because I would not be able to get myself back to shore

But, I signed up.  It helped that a good friend of mine was teaching the class.  And that another friend agreed to come along and be my buddy (She is the one that did the great graphic above)

So, then we get there.   As you can see, the boards are BIG..... 11'6".  And it was threatening storms.....  (See dark clouds behind me)

After a lovely safety talk in which it became clear that my fears above are VERY normal.  Ok....was feeling a little better....but still nervous.  OMG, what was this girl thinking.  (Glance at my big pasty thighs......OMG.....What am I doing in the middle of this park w/ no shorts on.)

OK, finally we are getting in the water.  In the water nobody will see my thighs.  (Oh wait, we get right on the board.)  OK- so busy balancing I stop thinking about my thighs....(and that they are likely visible on any overhead GPS as they are so darn white)

OK......   out we go.  Hey, this paddling is not too bad.  (HMM....these things on my shoelaces are not comfortable digging in....might as well try standing up as the poor knees just don't like this kneeling and the lace cinch hurts)  HOLY CRAP-  I was able to stand right up.  NO PROBLEM!!! I GOT THIS!!! And I start paddling.  OK. This is going well too...... YES!  I am way out in front, I am across the pond.  Hmmm, time to turn.

SPLASH- got a little to cocky on the turn.  In I went.  Followed the directions that were given at the beginning of class on how to get up.  OK.... life vest and boobs are an issue.  Move a bit further back.  BAM!  And I am back on the board!

And cruising along.  It is so peaceful on the water.  My legs feel strong.  My arms and shoulders feel great.

Chatting w/ another person......  SPLASH.  YUP..... did it again- turned around to talk to someone.  Ummm, standing on a board.  Right back up first try.

All told only hit the water 3 times.  Got back up w/ no problem.  Towards the end we started messing around.  Was able to do Downward Dog on the board!  Was able to get the board out of the water myself.

Nobody stared at me.

I did not knock myself out.

Nothing I was afraid of happening occurred and instead the most wonderful thing did.....  I found a new pride in my strength.  My friend and I can't wait to do it again.  And maybe try kayaking?

Be bold, Be Brave, Be Strong my friends- you will be surprised how fun it can be!!


***IF you have an LL Bean near you, check for classes-well run and affordable- if you are near Hoffman Estates, IL- Cassi Ams is the BEST instructor!!!

Getting back on track.....

So, as I posted the other day it has been a bit crazy in my life.  Isn't that how it is for everyone?  We have the best of intentions but then life gets in the way.

So..... fitness-wise I have only done a few runs- A spur of the moment "Dirty Girl Run, The MELD run on 7-4-14, a Virtual Run and then yesterday I did a Color Blast 5k.

One of the coolest things I have had happen is I was matched through iRun4 with a Buddy.  I run for an adorable little guy named Brody.  Brody is 20 months old and born with essentially 1/2 a heart!  He is an amazing little guy and I dedicate all I do for him.  His family cheers me on and makes me feel more motivated to work out.  Brody is truly a Heart Hero!

That said, I have been inconsistent w/ working out w/ the trainer and working out on my own.  I have gotten in the miles but not the weight training I need to keep the scale moving.  My body is aching from slacking.  It NEEDS the training.

In my head I would tell myself "Oh, but w/ all the packing and moving I am getting in workouts". And my BodyMedia would show that my calorie burn was around where it needed to be.

BUT-- the scale started creeping up..... first a pound, then two.  I am now up 5 pounds from last October.  YIKES!!!  My clothes still fit so it may be transient. (It fluctuates between 3 and 5 the past few days)

But it is still up.

AND-- I am not feeling ready for my Spartan in 5 weeks.  I really, really need to find my motivation and my mojo.

One thing I did was take what I like to call "Accountability Pics."  Stripped down to my bra and panties and a few very personal selfies.  Front, side and back.  It is the first time I have ever done these but I really needed to do it.

This has helped me to realize that the belly bloat is creeping back.  Truly, our belly fat is made mostly in the kitchen, not in the gym and I KNOW my food has been bad.  Conviennce has won over quailty the last 6 weeks.

SO.... back to my supplements.  Back to MyFitnessPal and logging my food, back to REALLY being serious about working out at home and at the gym.

So hang in there my followers, I am rededicating myself to this journey. 34 days to Spartan (OMG!!!!)

OK, few pics from the last month- if you think of it, please hit me up from time to time to see how I am doing and help hold me accountable.  Food, Fitness and FUN!  Gotta get working on all three!

I think I am in LOVE with this pic!
I was actually teasing the Camera guy who
was WAY to clean "Come on, Don't you
want a hug?" but this pic just really makes me see
how far I have come physically and also self-esteem wise.
When I started this journey I would NEVER have been out in a
Tank-top and compression capris that tight nor
published the pics for the whole world to see!

MELD 4th of July 5 miler-PR at 14:00 min/mile

Door County 5k Hike w/ my Step-Mom Margi- WAS A GREAT WEEKEND!

Post ColorBlast 5k- SUPER Hot and Humid-
Popsicle not only hit the spot but matched me

Me and a few friends after the ColorBlast!
Congrats to my Friend Sandy for finishing her 1st 5k!

WOW----has it really been that long?

Today I was thinking and said to myself "I really need to get back on track.  Start logging my food, following a training schedule, blogging".  Take a little trip over here and OMG- I have not blogged here since June 1st?  How can that be?

Life has been a bit crazy.......   Since my last post there have been a lot of "non-fitness" upheavels" and they have taken their toll fitness-wise.

To name a few.....  

Needed to move for a variety of reasons since the old place was not working for us anymore-looked, found and place and moved in a period of three weeks

Health-scare w/ the kid that required a number of tests, doctor visits and sleepless nights.  Thankfully all is well and he is back to his baseline health stuff.

Lost someone that while I was not close to them, was still someone important in the family and someone close to many people I love.

Work...... that is just a constant pressure cooker- I love it more than any job I have ever had but let it get to me and wore me down...likely due to the above.

The actual MOVE.....  it has been nearly a month and my house is still disorganized.

The boy started High School..........  


BUT-- I have a Spartan in 5 weeks....(EEEK!!!!!!)  In between I have a ColorBlast 5k, a WalktoCureAlzheimer's 5k, a virtual 10 race and then the day after the Spartan I am doing the AHA Heart Walk.

Sorry for being MIA.....  I will be posting some race updates and such tomorrow........

Focus.......

Mighty May and Getting Down and Dirty!!!!

It has been a nutty time the last few weeks.  I am working on getting refocused on my diet and exercise program.  This has got me back to within 1 pound of my lowest in October and .2% body fat.

I also hit record miles this month!  I ran/walked 50.75 miles this month.  How insane is that right?  I can hardly believe it.  Goal is to up it 10% a month so shooting for 57 miles in June.

Today, June 1st was the Merrell Down and Dirty!

 This is my "warm up" for the Spartan Super this fall.  I wanted to see where my weak spots are and to help boost my confidence.

I feel great with my finish- I was able to do all the challenges.  I am VERY glad for all the step-ups the trainer has made me do as it helped me on the Ladder Climb since the first rung was around (forgive the reference) crotch high. And all the Cargo nets......   and the Rock Wall.... and the rope climb.....   And all the squats, and the lunges and EVERYTHING.  All the hard work showed today. 

**NOTE- none of these are me.  Wanted to get the blog while it is fresh in my mind so pulled stock pics off the site.

 

My weaknesses to work on?  1. Hills.  I must learn to run up and down grassy hills.  STEEP grassy hills.
2.  Faith in myself.  The ladder wall, I hit it, got up it, got to the top and FROZE!  The volunteer on the other side spotted it and hopped right up the wall and talked me threw it.  By the time I got to the Massive two-level cargo net I was feeling better.  Up the first level, roll across the flat.  Up the second level, start rolling and OMG......   Get to the edge and look down.  Gut check again.  GOT IT!

The rockwall-- I worried all night and hardly slept.  I hit it and BAM!  All I have to do it find foot placement on things and UP I GO!  These big thighs of mine hold a TON of power.  My shoulders and arms are a little achy but I didn't have to rely on my upper body for most of the obstacles.

NOW- to give you a bit of my actual pics.

Pre-race

\

Finish line

 and once I caught my breath

Got TWO medals (1 for my iRun4 buddy I am waiting on a match for)

And at first I only had a few bruises...

But now they are multiplying and getting a bit.... brighter?

I am feeling amazing though and can't wait for the next one!  And love the challenge of the OCR more than the distance running!  Might just be a bit of an addict.

(OCR stands for obstacle course race for those wondering)

Not fast... but was fabulous!