So this is the hosed off version of me after the August Spartan race. It is hard to explain how the whole process of preparing and running the race changed how I view myself.
Here is what I appreciate about Spartan races:
1. They are a little quirky and different than a typical sporting event. This appeals.
2. They are hard. Really hard.
3. You don't know what to expect.
4. You get to play in the mud like you are a kid.
I am not an athlete but I have set a goal for myself for the upcoming year. I want to get a double trifecta. To get a trifecta metal you have to run all three distances of race within a year. I want to do it twice. I have started training for my first race. 3 times a week I go to Smackdown - boot camp style class, once a week I train with Dan (who seems like a nice guy but is really not) who kicks my butt really hard, three times a week I run. I also zumba on occassion and spin when I can too. This past month has been hard. December is an exhausting time for teachers and plus I caught a nasty stomach flu. Just when I got my mojo back I started throwing up. Sigh. Onwards and upwards.
Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. We have plans to go out but my goal is to run 5 km on the treadmill at the gym before that and see if my stomach can handle it. Christmas Day will be busy and Boxing Day will still be too cold to run outside so I will do another 5 km on the treadmill downstairs and do some zumba at home too. On Wednesday I will do my 9 km and see if anyone wants to head to the gym to do a smackdown. Wednesday marks the beginning of the kitchen purge as well and getting serious with clean eating again.
To be honest, doing the Super Spartan in Las Vegas is scaring the pants off me right now. I don't know if I can do it. It is 13 km. I am not athletic. I will try anyway. The worse thing that can happen is that I will have to walk and do a lot of burpees. I am wondering how I will balance work, family, training and life in general. Dave will be having surgery mid January and I will be steering the home ship alone for a month until he can walk again.
This is a picture of Sherry and I before the August race. we had a good time. I guess that is really why I want to do this again. Because it was fun.
Today my goal is to run 9 km on the treadmill since I was too sick to do it before Christmas. I am now playing catch up. The windchill is still -30 so even with my new Craft running pants I think I will pass on outdoor running. By the weekend I should be able to go outside.
I am in the process of cleaning up my eating and doing a kitchen purge. Anything unclean hits the garbage today and the fridge gets filled with actual food. A big pot of veggie chili is in the plan plus roasting a turkey breast and dividing it up are in the plans today. My plan is to mix the turkey into the veggie chili in proper protein portions. Raw veggies don't agree with me when it is cold out. The Christmas stuff is coming down and everything is getting a proper cleaning. Mental cleaning is underway too which kind of sucks and is hard but part of the general house cleaning process. My friend Marshall deserves large gifts for listening to my grumbling and despair over the last couple of months. I am looking forward to the next couple of weeks of getting everything back on track and getting back the spartan spirit - aroooo!
Okay, now I am back from the gym. I stopped after a sad 25 minutes running on the treadmill. Aside from having a bad case of winter depression, the flu apparently hasn't let go yet. That was an unsuccessful 9 km. I will try outside tomorrow when it is a bit warmer. I am looking forward to my doctor's appointment next week to see if I can get a prescription for a SAD lamp. I am searching for the answer right now that doesn't involve drugs. How nice it would be to be one of those permanantly cheerful, balanced women who breeze through life without thinking about things. I also am not going to look at any spartan websites because everything I want to do seems completely unattainable and I get too caught up in what I am not instead of enjoying the feeling of being.
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