Warrior Dash, Tough Mudder and New Fitness Goals

This year seems to be all about setting high goals and achieving them. I think that my fitness regiment, although improving consistently from the beginning of the year, needs a shake-up.

I've been thinking for quite a while about doing those crazy intense obstacle course designed by ex-military. They look crazy intense and hard as hell. They scare the heck out of me to be honest. On the other hand, they get my heart pumping with excitement! I want to push myself to levels that I still think are basically impossible.

So I've tentatively chosen two to participate in: The Warrior Dash in Barrie, ON on July 20th 2013, which is a just over 3 mile (5k) race with 10-15 obstacles. It's one of the smaller races, perfect to start with from what I've heard. You can check it out here.

Next, I'm going more hardcore with the Tough Mudder race on September 28th or 29th. It's a much longer 10-12 mile course with 20-25 obstacles. This one seriously has me doubting my sanity. The finish time is around 3-4 hours on average. You can check this one out here.

On top of these two crazy things that I still can't quite believe I'm setting myself up for, I want to complete a 10k and a half-marathon before the end of the fall.

Training for all of this isn't going to be much different from what I'm doing now, although running hasn't been high on my priority list because of less than spectacular weather. I'm going to have to start intensifying upper body and core workouts, which with the help of rock climbing shouldn't be difficult to implement. Basically, I'm going to have to be much more consistent and spend more time training. I'm thinking lot's of HIIT, lots of cardio and more strength training.

Once I've set up a workout regiment I'm happy with, I'll share it here!

*Deep breath*

This is next level stuff.

Sweet Validation.

Days like this make it feel like all the hard work, sweat and emotional growth are worth it in every single way. I've had days lately where I just didn't see it, looking in the mirror and just being unsatisfied with what I see.It happens to so many of us to see ourselves in distorted ways despite most people telling us we look good! It's a psychological issue that I have dealt with most of my life, even when I was at a lesser weight. I think that most of the time we forget to look at how far we've come instead of where we want to be. 

In the last  weeks I've had 3 pairs of pants fall apart from wear. Pant shopping has never been my favorite thing to do, even when I go with only that in mind, I tend to get frustrated with fit and come home with shirts and underwear instead. Well now, I didn't really have much of a choice! I went to a second hand shop yesterday and again wasnt happy with fit. I found pants that fit very well, but most were boot cut and in my mind just disproportionate my body. Did I mention I was picky about pants? 

I spent the day with my sister-in-law and 7 day old nephew (cutest baby everr) and we passed by a shop I used to go to all the time. I mentioned needed pants and she immediately offered me some for my birthday. Long story short, I found 2 pairs that fit PERFECTLY, and bonuuuus they're a size 7!!!!!

Ahhhh sweeeetttt validationnnnn. Since my goal is to be a size 5 right now, this is awesome awesome news for me and just gave me that extra motivation to kick my own ass and keep working harder and harder. Training this week has been great! I'll write about it in my next post as I've changed a few things up. 

Moral of the story? Keep pushing it. Yes, it hurts. Yes, there will be days where you literally have to beat yourself threw your workout. But! IT. IS. WORTH. EVERY. SECOND. Never give up.

Sometimes, you just gotta kick yourself in the ASS.

This past week wasn't my finest moment, I didn't achieve any of the goals I set out to. BUT there is some light in this tunnel.

I've been wanting to update on the whole maca root use and now is the perfect time. I took it for about 2 weeks before I decided it just wasn't for me. I had bought a raw powdered from of it as opposed to the gelatinized version (no gelatin involved, it's just the term they use to say that they took out all the starches) because I really don't believe in processing a food more than just drying it. I stopped taking it because it was giving me massive heartburn. So end of story for that one. Bonus: it was a lesson learned as well, but I am glad I tried it nonetheless.

I have found another solution since, and I've only been doing it for about 4-5 days, but already I can see a difference. Last week I was so exhausted and moody, my typical PMS self. Once I started taking b12 in higher doses (I'm taking 2x 5000mg sublinguals right now), I noticed a HUGE difference in mental clarity, mood and energy levels. They still aren't perfect, but I have not felt this good a few days away from my menses start date in over a year. It's a beautiful thing!

I recently read an article about b12 and how it affected this individual's energy levels and got rid of his depression. I've been prone to depression for as long as I can remember, and now it seems like it will never come back, as long as I keep up with the b12, at least until my body has completely healed itself. I knew I had an issue with b12 because of past bad habits and had been taking it on and off on a regular basis, but the dosage just wasn't high enough to truly make a difference. I am not one for supplements (and I work in a store filled with them) but in this case I definitely make an exception since it really is something that affects most people in this sterile and stressful society.

Other news, I finaly finished my health and fitness vision board!

So goals for this week: 100% fruit fueled, at least 3 workouts. I'm setting a smaller goal simply because it will motivate me to do more.

Have a great week! Keep it real ;)