Long Lost Blog

SOOOO it has indeed been a VERY long time since I posted.. Mari has had her surgery and she has WON her Death Race.. Thanks to Spartans everywhere I still have my best friend. She began learning to walk again at Christmas time and as of my last conversation with her, she is doing better everyday. She may not be able to Burpee quite yet, but she is getting the hang of walking again.
   I moved from Indiana to Louisiana over the winter, it has been a crazy past few months. This post is really just a quick one to let everyone know I will be posting new blogs once again, so keep checking back for new stuff! MUCH more to come in the 2013 season!!

Spartan Race E-Book Pre-Launch

 Yeah, I have been slacking on blogging.. but that's because I'm out doing things.. like promoting spartan race!! The awesome guys up in Vermont have also been busting their butts to bring all of Sparta a new source of info. From the Founding Few to the Sparkles.. there is something in there for everyone.. I have already read about 10% of the book this morning and if you have ever wanted inside of Joe and Andy's heads about what Sparta is, was, and will be, this is the ebook you have been wanting. With info from the Founders themselves on training, nutrition, and how to complete or compete the choice is yours! Happy reading Spartans and future Spartans and let me know if you liked it.. and dont forget that if you are ready to start your Spartan Experience go see them here, and get a discount too!

Its Working... In More Ways Than One

                                                                      Yes,
                                                                      Yes,
                                                                      Yes,
                                                                        &
                                                                      Yes!

    Here, in north east Indiana, we have some of the worst drought conditions in our state. Today it RAINED, and I could not wait for it to hit. I took my daily run during the daytime hours for the first time since I started. I have a new found love.. running in the rain. I have NEVER liked to run, in high school gym class I would walk my 4 laps around the track weekly. I guess they should have let us do it in the rain. There is mud on my legs, my clothes are soaked, hair dripping, and my lungs were burning as I got back to the house, and I even felt myself smile when I saw how fast I did my 1.15 mile today 5:45. Speed is not my real concern, today I just wanted to test myself to see what I am capable of. I am faster now than I was at 16, for most women who are over 30 that I know, they would love to be able to say that. So while I may have a little cellulite jiggling on my inner thighs with each step, and a big burn scar on my tummy, and stretch marks on my hips I am out there doing better than most because I am trying, and everyday I am doing a little more. And for the Spartan Chicks, yes I was in my sports bra!! TOPLESS THURSDAY!!
    Merri keeps tabs on me, and I keep her updated when I am sore. She is doing a little better since her last  surgery, she is ready to take on a hike as soon as the weather is cooled off enough for her. When she calls and says today is the day I will be taking her to hike the hills and trails we used to hike. For the first time in 8 years. I will walk as slow as she needs and we will be resting often.. but she is getting out to do what she loves... She wont be the fastest, she wont be the strongest, but she isn't giving up!

I am a Quitter

    Ok, so I haven't quit completely yet.. but YET is the key word. I have had 5 cigarettes so far today, and at nearly 5 pm.. THATS A RECORD!! Well, for me it is. I have been a smoker for 13 years now, a pack a day nearly everyday of it, sometimes 2 packs a day. I may or may not succeed for this, my 6th or 7th honest try at quitting, but I have not bought any since Friday. For Merri, this is MAJOR news.. she doesn't even know this part yet. :) I have done cold turkey before, and it only lasted a day or two. I have been cutting back for months, now that I am down to less than half a pack a day I am counting them to be sure I go down everyday, not up. I may not be the fastests quitter, I may not be the most inspirational quitter, but...                I WILL QUIT!!

Because I Can

 
 I have mentioned him before, but this time its all about him.

"Do you want to know why I can break 2:00 in the marathon? Because I believe I can." 

                                                                              - Hobie Call


    Hobie Call, if you don't know of him, is an obstacle racer, and has a 2:16 marathon under his belt. Hobie is not new at this, and if you run his name in Google you can see just how intense this guy really is. His intensity is both inspiring to those of us over 30 and intimidating at the same time. If you only ever looked online and saw the pics of Hobie, and Spartans like him, who have already spent years training for this it would seem like taking on Bam Margera on a half-pipe 6 months after buying your first skateboard. (Bam, I am not against this and would totally give it a shot, but could you at least take me to the ER afterwards in the Lambo?)
    Yes, it seems like the first mile is the hardest. But, the most important part is starting. People have been going back and forth on the Spartan Facebook pages about shin splints, and the various techniques to train. I read Hobies recent interview and saw some really good points from the man himself, using what he does to train, in his own words.

"It starts with me running a mile...
I start with the mile because a body adapts to faster speeds with shorter distances easier than long distances."

    A mile... that's right, he said it, just A mile, one, single mile. If starting with one is good enough for him, why shouldn't it be good enough for me? Or anyone else for that matter? I started walking, yes, my first hiked mile was a walk speed. But I did it, and for these past two weeks of heat wave weather I have still been doing it. If it is 106 degrees on any of my race days, I will have trained through that and be prepared!


   

  "You find a sub-2:05 marathoner or a sub-3:50 miler and put a 40-pound vest on them. If they can break 4:40 in a mile then I will declare myself ignorant. "

    Hobie uses a 40 pound weight vest while he is running, this pushes both his endurance and stamina to further heights than running alone. On Race Day this prepares him to keep up, push forward and do it FASTER!! His haters and even Runners World magazine's writer don't give him enough credit in the article I read. His training schedule to break the 2:00 marathon looks a lot like my mental plan for training for Spartan Races, he starts with a mile and keeps believing.

"I have not suddenly become a genetic marvel, I am not better than anyone else, and I'm not just looking to put myself in the limelight. In all my years of studying and trying new things, I believe I've come across a new way to train that will get superior results."

    So how do I know that my training and ideas are working? Because I believe I can finish my Trifecta in 2013 and I believe I can finish the Death Race in 2014. Merri believes too.. and after all BELIEF is what started this. I believe in her, she will win her Death Race too, because she has to.. I will finish mine because she believes in me, and my stubbornness.

Not My Brightest Answer

    I have been stopped and questioned many times in my life by the police, but I have never had one so rude.  I'm guessing that there are either a lot of boy scouts who sell drugs, or the fat ass cop was just that bored. I mapped out my perfect running route, 5.5 miles to the lake, and the same back from the lake after a couple laps of swimming. Halfway point is the gates to the boy scout's camp. As soon as I rounded the curve and could see the camp I was assaulted by red and blue lights.
    "Young lady, do you know why I stopped you?"
    "Because its a major holiday week and you have no kids to take their fireworks away?"
    OK, not my brightest answer. I did however, explain that it was just a joke. And proceeded to hand over my licence and see that I lived in the area. And then explain that I was out running from my small town to the next as training for the Spartan Races. He was exhausted thinking about what that might be after explaining them further. I'm guessing by his round shape and powdered sugar white spots on his shirt that he hasn't seen  a pair of running shoes since before I was born. It would figure that besides my friends and family, the first person to ask me about the races would be this guy.
    He seemed very sure that I was out to buy drugs, in the middle of no where, surrounded by corn fields. Go pop in the old Children of the Corn.. see the opening scene? That is just about what the area looks like. Once he was convinced that I really wasn't out in the middle of corn fields to buy drugs he let me go on my merry way. This is the second time now that I have been stopped out near there and asked if I was there to buy drugs. They can keep stopping me all they want, I have nothing to worry about. The next cop who stops me will get told I am out there for a drug.. its called adrenaline and I get mine for free by pushing myself further everyday. When I complete Death Race, I will be sure that I get a pic in the local paper so those rotund badges can see what I've really been doing out on those country roads at random times of day.
    Time to push a little harder :)

Burpees and Stoppens de Floppens

    "Burp... wha...?" my brain continued on with a litany of swearing that would have made Satan blush. Yeah, I know what and how, but to actually DO one? Just one would have been a victory. Hobie Call I haven't met you yet, but when I do, remind me of my manners to thank you! With another million or two of these, I might not have my lungs implode in the first mile.
    Oh, yes, that first mile.. well, taking your boyfriend may not be the best idea, a mile in and there were more raspberries picked and eaten along the hike than real hiking done, but it was a start and it tested the new "Stoppens de Floppens". Nope, this is not a new product aimed at making all of my Spartan dreams of victory an overnight reality. Its a funny name, said with a bad German accent that my friends and I have been laughing at for years. We refer to our sports bras with this name. In dancing, one sports bra is not always created equal to the next. I believed this to be completely true with one for running as well. I went to a brand I've used for years, before Walmart had them I would go 25 miles to a specialty store to buy them. Danskin High Impact, it barely Stoppens de Floppens. Another period of trial and error till I find the right one for Spartan, I hope Merri (Ive decided to give her a name for the purpose of the blog, albeit not her real name) knows how mentally challenging finding a new Stoppens is.
    Also in Spartan news this week, I am on the Spartan Street Team as well.. :)