Getting Commited

Or being committed...

Let's just say comitment.

After the Ultra Beast in September alst year I saw my level of commitment to fitness and health go downwards fast. First it was skip a workout here and there. Then eat a pizza or a fast food meal on the go. Soon enough I was drinking a bottle of wine every night, eating everything in sight and not working out at all. I have excuses yes, stress from full time school, kids, husband losing his job, etc... But no excuse is ever really a good excuse. Life isn't something that should get in the way of your dreams. Life should be the road to your dreams. It's not a new year's resolution but more happenstance that it's the new year and i'm recommitting myself to find that drive I had not so long ago. It's slowly coming back. I need to let go of the fact that I am not where I was 4 months ago and build back up. The two major things I need to focus on is being ready for all the races I want to do and eat healthy.

This year I'm committed to doing a lot of races. To keep me on track I have registered to do the 13 in 13 challenge present by Margaret Schlachter from Dirt in Your Skirt . That is 13 races or events, if you will, in 2013. In April we will receive a medal to commemorate our dedication. I start my 13 in 13 challenge this Saturday with a 5k at Fort Drum presented by BOSS (Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers). This is a free event and is always a good time. If the weather is warm as it has been I will be running with the kids in the stroller. 

I've been looking at different racing opportunities. Since I have a season pass for Spartan Races that will be the bulk of my Race year. There are, however a few different races that I want to take on. The first is a virtual 5k obstacle race. It's an interesting concept that has come up lately. The idea of racing virtually is that you commit to a race, register and complete it where ever you are between certain dates. I am planning on traveling to the mother land of Canada to complete this with my Canadian Mudd Queens. I am also looking into competing in the spring Tough Mudder in Toronto. I really dont much care to run the Tough Mudder but it seems like it's a right of passage in the world of obstacle racing. When I talk about obstacle racing I am always asked if I've ever done a Tough Mudder, i'd like to say I did and that it was cake compared to Spartan Beasts!  

I'm also recommitting to eating well. I desperately want my children to have good nutritional habits. I think, as an adult, poor heating habits is one of the most difficult things I face on a daily basis. It seems to me that those brought up eating well aren't faced with the daily struggle of what and when to eat.  It's normal to them to  just eat what is needed and not crave a whole box of twinkies because it's Tuesday. I want that for my children. I want healthy choices to be second nature. I am recommitting to lead by example and give them that. 

And there we have it. I will work out and reach my racing goal and I will fuel my body properly to attain this.

2013: Family, Race and Routines.

We are family:
2013 is lining up to be another crazy one. If you know me then you know I thrive on pressure. The biggest news is that my husband has accepted a job in Iraq for a year. He is no longer a service member and will be going to serve as a civilian. While this will be difficult on the family it will also be a great benefit. It will also make it difficult to race as much as I want since. I will have to bring the kids with me and have someone to watch them. I will make it work! My son will be turning 4 this May and therefor be able to compete in the Kids Spartan Races! He is so excited, maybe just as much as I am. His Grand-Maman bought him real racing shoes and he's been practicing his running! The family that races together stays together I suppose. Did I mention that I am also pursuing my Associates degree? I am only one math class shy of my degree which I am taking online this semester. If I can get an "A" in this class I will be graduating in May on the President's list with a 4.0 GPA. Between all that, races and training I think I have plenty to keep me motivated this year.

Races:

The winner!

I posted my potential list of races here. These are pending I can work out the logistics to attend. What will make it easier is that I won a free season pass for the US Spartan Races! How does one do that? It was part of a team pumpkin carving contest at Halloween. Not only did I get a pass but I got passes for 3 other very deserving people. I will be trying to squeeze in local races and I have been toying around with the idea of running a marathon at the end of the year.

The workouts:
My plan so far is to focus more on strength training. One of my biggest challenges at races was my lack of upper body strength. I have a tractor tire, a rope and sand bags at home that I will use to supplement my workouts. My formal plan is as follows and I quote...

Monday: Triceps, back and some abs
Tuesday: Smaller run (or cardio)
Wednesday: Biceps, chest and some abs
Thursday: Smaller run (or cardio)
Friday Shoulders, some legs and lots of abs
Saturday or Sunday will be longer run or intense cardio. The other day will be rest.  As much as I love winter running, it wont always be possible with the jogging stroller.

 I have a membership at my local YMCA which provides free child care, an essential for a fit momma!


And there we have it. I don't know if it will work, or if i'll be in one piece by the end of the year but I will give it my best shot. I will keep blogging but I'm not sure at what frequency. I'm not sure where my blogging niche is and if it's of interest at all to anyone. Again, something that only time can tell.

The Workout: There and Back Again.

Pre Workout

 30 degrees, high wind advisory and uncleaned sidewalks. If this is the recipe for a great run then I don't know what is. I had the brilliant idea to run the YMCA to do my workout today in those conditions.I must imagine that running in the snow is like running on a beach. I must because thinking i'm actually running in the snow is depressing. The snowy sidewalks provided great resistance and the piled up snow from plows on the street corners were perfect hurdles. I managed to run the 3 miles to the Y and only face plant in a snow bank once.So yeah, success!

Tough Girl there at the Gym

Here is my token tough girl at the gym picture. I was told on Facebook that not only must I announce my workouts in my status  to make them count, but also i must take a picture in the mirror with the weights. There goes one thing off my bucket list. I'm not going to go into detail with how I blasted my shoulders but needless to say it was great. It's crazy how fast you can fall out of shape and lose the bug. I think i've been sitting on my butt since Thanksgiving. Coincidentally that's the time my husband became unemployed. I don't want to say that it's his fault but it's his fault right?! Apparently we like to eat and be merry when we are together. Like I've said time and again, there is no use crying over spilled milk. I've put on 15lbs and lost my umph. But, eh... I am putting that aside and will focus on racing again.  I won a Spartan season pass and I really want to make it count this year. My goal is that by the end of the race season I will be able to actually place well in my races. It wont be easy. I am in my graduating semester at school and my husband is leaving for Afghanistan in February (tentatively). It will be a challenge with a 2 and 3 year old but I have plenty of support to make it happen. Hopefully i'll find my waist line while hubby is gone. So here I go again on my own...

Back again.

Back home again after 3 miles of beach like snow obstacle running. If Spartan Races ever happened in the snow i think I'd own it. My workout plans are to go to the gym Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I will run or do cardio Tuesday and Thursday. One weekend day will be for a long run or what ever I can squeeze in. Here's to a great 2013!

Races for 2013

I am setting a lofty goal for races in 2013. I haven't planned any road races over 5 miles. Today is day one of training. I regretfully let myself fall behind on my lost of priorities but that is over. I'm going to work hard, run and hit the gym like a mad woman this year.

Here are my OCR Plans. (Updated March 8, 2013)

April   

13       Citi Field, Ny

20       DIYS Virtual 5k Ottawa

May    

4          Mudd Queen Camp here

11       Tough Mudder Toronto

25       Tremblant Montreal Sprint

June   

1&2     Tuxedo, NY Sprint

15&16            Ottawa Sprint

30       Temblant Super

July    

14       Toronto Beast

21       Ottawa Beast

Aug
17        Colour Run Montreal

Sept   

7&8     Tri-State Super, NJ

21&22            Killington Beast (Ultra?!?!?)

Ultra Beast DNF

To get it out of the way, I didn’t finish the Ultra Beast. I know what you are thinking, what everyone has told me, is that I should be proud of what I did accomplish. It’s hard to explain I suppose. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the attempt to make me feel better nor is it that I am not proud of myself. It’s the fact that I did not do what I set out and trained to do. It’s like going all day thinking about eating a chocolate chip cookie. At the end of your work day you go to the store and buy the biggest one you can find. You drive all the way home, sit down with a big glass of milk and chop into it. Then you realize it’s an Oatmeal raisin cookie. Sure it’s tasty and you’ll eat it but it’s not what you have been longing for. I guess to conclude this analogy I will have to say that I just need to get back to the store and buy the right cookie. I think pregnant women or women that have been pregnant will appreciate that analogy most.

 

But here is the story anyways. I don’t much feel like telling I but I owe it to those that have supported and sponsored me. I drove out to Vermont Friday. After singing my heart out to 80s music I made it to Killington around 16:00.  I went straight to packet pick up. I met up with my running partner Andy to be and his lovely wife Trish. We grubbed on the overpriced meal offered there.  I had not eaten all day due to nerves so I forced as much chicken down my gullet as I could. After a little while of not hearing each other over the band we parted ways for the evening. I went to the camping grounds to set up camp and met up with a friend from AIT (Army job training) and his crew. We laughed over a campfire and I learned more than I needed to know about male medical exams. I went to bed around 22:00 and slept like a baby on a wood floor in the middle of a forest.

Race day started at 5:30. I would have slept longer but dreams of being late kept me up. I got ready and went on the first important journey. The quest for coffee. Once the nectar was secured I made my way to the mountain. I got all my gear ready and made my way to the grounds balancing my bin and coffee.  I met up with Andy and Trish to wait for the race to start. A little nervous but mostly excited to hit the mountain. Of course the race started about 10 minutes late just to let anxieties build. Then cue the smoke and release the hounds. Maybe a bit too much smoke, I got lost before I even left the pillars. Thankfully Andy yelled out to me and I could follow his voice to victory. By victory I mean the start line. Baby steps I guess.

The race is really a blur to me. I wish I could retell it like I did the New Jersey Super.  There are a lot of guesses as to what the course actually was. I’m going with the Ultra beast being 27.62miles, a change of 24,187 feet and 70 obstacles.  I’m going to note the obstacles I remember because I either failed or conquered when I previously couldn’t.

Monkey bars : 30 burpees here. There was one bar a bi higher than the others and well I failed.

Traverse wall: I owned this one. I had never seen this till the Super but I figured it out this time.

Rope climb #1: I failed the rope here, my arch nemesis as you know. I got less than half way and I just couldn’t muster the upper body to get higher. 30 burpees.

Tarzan swing after a nice 40 degree swim: 30 burpees. I didn’t see many people actually complete this.

Tyrolean traverse:  got on top of the rope, pulled my happy butt to over the water, someone got off the rope ahead of me and I fell in the water. 30 burpees. This one is a nemesis I found in basic training.

Rope climb #2: Made this rope mine!! There was no way I was going away without succeeding at the rope.

Spear throw: 30 more burpees for good measure.

45 degree wall:The excess amount of soap was a nice touch. Although the wall wasn’t a challenge The soap stayed with me for the next few hours. It was bubbling up in every water obstacle.

This marks the end of loop one and our twenty or so minute break at the bins. It took us 6:45. This is where the realization that we wouldn’t complete it set in. To make the mental battle tougher, as we sat at our bins, Andy and I saw people cleaned up and removing their bins. Many had decided one time was enough. When we were letting our piggies air out it was clear than no matter what we were going to push on as far as we could. So we redundantly changed our socks and headed back out. We were going to have to be taken off this mountain kicking and screaming. We pushed hard but I really had very little steam left in the tank. Andy was such a gentleman and stuck with me. This made me realize that I had weighed him down this whole time. I can’t help but feel he might have made it had he not needed to help and wait on me. One of my favorite moments happened here. I was hiking uphill and it was very slippery. I hear someone slip behind me and then a slew of traditional French Canadian swear words. I felt right at home. After a couple miles of climbing we got to the top and looked at the amazing view. I asked him to take a picture cause he was brave enough to bring his phone in a double ziplock. This point we were enjoying what was around us more than just the sneakers in front. 

Yep that's my pink head.

We did more obstacles and the volunteers were being pulled off the course right behind us. We did the barbed wire crawl and it took me a ridiculous amount of time. My elbows and knees didn’t want anything to do with it anymore. We continued until we got back downhill where the traverse wall was. My arms and legs were shaking and my it band was about to divorce me. The staff had started pulling off people so we just decided to head to the fire jump and get pummeled by the gladiators. I guess we had done about 18 miles. I looked at the ginormous glow in the dark Ultra Beast medal and faced it. I had failed. I did get a medal for the Beast and I did take it. I did more than those that had got a medal so I felt I deserved it. I think Brokk would have been mad if I didn’t bring a medal back for him to parade around in.

 I did spend a pleasant evening with my now friends Andy and Trish. I even crashed on their floor. I wasn’t going to refuse the offer since it was raining. I left the next morning at 06:00. I couldn’t sleep and was looking forward to being home. I spent 5 hours driving and going through various emotions.  This is what I settled on and is quoted on a Spartan Race Blog.

“I’ve been racing for a year now, both in road races and in five Spartan Races.  I have succeeded and suppressed my goals in every race I’ve tackled.  My goal for the UB was to simply complete it.  I did not meet that goal.  What was going to be a crowning achievement in maiden year of racing was a failure. I’m settled on redemption.  I feel this is a great lesson, not only for me but for my children.  I want to show them that when life challenges you, you don’t just curl up in a ball and give up.  You take your past experience and use it to train tougher than you ever did, fight harder and go get what you want.  I’ll be training everyday with my green wristband to remind me of this.”

I did have a great time racing, as I always do. I don’t care where I am next year I will be taking on the Ultra Beast again if they let me. I have so much fire in my belly to do this and I’m starting training tomorrow. Killington took a little bit of me that day and I will get it back.

2 days: Packed and Waiting

Went for a slow 4 mile run with the kids this morning. Keeping the body moving. The car is packed up and ready to hit the road. I'm so excited to take the Dart out on it's maiden long distance voyage. I'm still in the excited stage. I'm getting stressed out that I'm not stressed out. I know that makes no sense but it's a family trait.

4000 people will run the Beast this weekend, 382 will be Ultra Beasters running 2 laps, 64 of those will be women and one of them is me.

4 days: Packing List

Because preparing for an event like the Ultra Beast isn't stressful enough I have to add in buying a new car and other fun things. I finally got around to packing my bin and camelbak today. I also went and got a new camelbak. My penny pinching solution wasnt cutting it with the amount of stuff i wanted to bring. Since I have such awesome friends and family I have the available funds to do so. Also the new car will be a lot cheaper on gas and we are saving money on payments compared to our trade in. But I digest. O.o Here is the packing list. I'm open to suggestions too. The race is unsupported so I have to prepare for any eventuality. The bin will be place at the half way point and will only have access to it at that point.

 Camelbak 100oz/3L
-4 Powerbar gels
-2 cliff bars
-Almonds
-Gerber tool
-Baby wipes
-First aid tin with band aid and antiseptic wipes
-Sharpie
-Ibuprofen
-Medical Tape
-550 Cord
-Ziplock bag

Bin 19 gallon....wait a tick...I dont think i'm going to need that fat cat. Let's try this again.

 
Bin 19 gallons
- Socks
- Knee brace
- Gloves
-Almonds
- Shakeology (incase i cant stomach solids)
- 1 gallon of water
- Bag of refill items for Camelbak with Headlamp and Glowsticks
- Windbreaker, tights and a t-shirt.
- MRE (Chili yum!)
- Ziplocks for trash or whatever
-Apples
-Larabar
-Spare camelbak bladder
-Small bladder to make Gatoraid
-Gatoraid
-550 cord
-Extra glowsticks
-Duct tape
-Sharpie
-Hair tie
-Mole  Skin, Bandaids, gauze
-Neosporin
-Topical Benardryl
-Scissors
-Towel
-Sunscreen
-Visine

Finally the outfit. I plan on wearing long sleeves under the tank or the windbreaker depending on weather.