Recording Again....

This will be short and sweet....

Here I am. Recording again. My Fitness Pal, measuring cups, and my food scale are once again my best friends. I freaked out on my poor husband last night because he made me a wonderful dinner, but didn't measure out everything before assembling my plate. (Note to self- it's not THAT big of a deal! You did not get fat eating an extra ounce of cheese.)

How am I feeling? 

Great, of course! When I'm not recording I tend to graze and never feel satisfied. Never. Recording forces me to think about my meals and snacks because I want to optimize every single calorie.

The good news is that I feel full once again. I look forward to the next meal/snack but am never starving. 

I don't want to record forever. I need to record for now. 

~Kari

Intuitive/clean eating fail

You know the girl who talks about food casually? The only that turns down chips because she brought carrots to eat. The one that preps all her food on Sunday so that the rest of the week she can take healthy lunches to work. She's the one that broke up with her scale years ago and has never turned back. 

I want to be that girl, but I'm not. 

Not yet! 

I've left the world of recording my food some time ago in search of a better method. I want a way to control my food and my cravings without having to monitor, measure, weigh and scoop my way through life. 

Someone close to me had decided to start recoding food on Sparkpeople in an attempt to lose weight. I offered to record too as a support. 

I weighed myself today to see where I was at so that I would know how many calories I needed to be successful. 

The scale was up 6 pounds. 6 pounds. I know it doesn't matter to you how much I weigh so I am going to leave that number off. 

I've cleaned up so many things in my diet. I've been drinking a ton of water. I'm eating less felt like I was eating less. The fact that my pants don't button and the 6 pound gain tell me that I am eating too much. 

What's a girl to do? I pick up and go back to what I know- recording, weighing, measuring my food. I stopped recording because I had become obsessed with it. I actually turned down times out with friends because the food choices scare me. I feel more in control of my food than ever before. I'm hopeful that this go around with recording will not be one of fear, but rather celebration of how far I've come. I'm not stopping the clean gains that I've made. I'm not going back to diet coke. 

I will not buy larger pants. Will.not.do.it. 

So....I'm back on MyFitnessPal. Come join me! My username is fergukj. I'd love to be your friend and support you in this journey. 

~Kari

Spartan Giveaway #2!!!!

During my triathlon there were some *tough* spots. Thankfully, right before the race the husband reminded me that I can do anything- I AM Spartan. The tag line for Spartan Races is "You'll know at the finish line". I thought that was so cheesy until I crossed the finish line. :)

Did you hear that Spartan Races has partnered with NBC sports???? Here's a snippet from their website:

"Spartan Race and NBC Sports Network are collaborating on a television special which will feature the World Championship and focus on the sport of obstacle racing. This event, the culmination of the 2013 Reebok Spartan Race Series, will take place on September 21-22, 2013, in scenic central Vermont, near Spartan Race HQ in Pittsfield.

Tens of thousands of obstacle racing competitors and enthusiasts from around the world will converge on New England, where$250,000 in cash and prizes will be on the line. At the World Championship, top-ranked Reebok Spartan Race athletes, Olympians, and amateur athletes alike will compete side-by-side, assuming they have the brawn, guts and intestinal fortitude.

Spartan Race has partnered with NBC Sports Group to chronicle the amazing people and stories behind the race series and the World Championship, culminating in a 90-minute TV special that will air on the NBC Sports Network on October 19, 2013.

Share your story about how Reebok Spartan Race has changed your life, for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to represent Spartan on camera at the World Championship Race in Vermont!"

I've already programed October 19th into my phone because I don't want to miss the TV special! 

If you are in the Vermont area (or just want to go visit!) they added a sprint distance (the one I completed) to the course and if you sign up before August 17th it's only $40 which is a fantastic deal. 

I was super excited when Spartan contacted me and offered me a code to give away to one of my readers! This code is good only for a race in the 2013-2014 racing year. Enter! It doesn't hurt to enter. :) 




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~Kari

If I never lose another pound.....

The scale was unkind to me this morning. I think my body is worried that I'm going to go all crazy and do another Triathlon so it's holding on to every ounce of fluid and food that it can get. 

I want, at times desperately, to be back to the 193 pounds that I was last summer. 193 bothered me. I wanted more. I wanted to no longer be overweight (172 lbs if you are wondering). I was constantly striving for something that may never be. 

Since Fitbloggin much of my time has been spent evaluating my food choices. Choosing cleaner meals and healthier snacks. I'm not perfect. I make "bad" choices and full accept that it is my choice to make. Eating healthier has made me feel healthier and I love that. It has not, however, made the scale take giant leaps downward like I think that it should.  

The gym was calling my name extra early today. We have a full day ahead of us and the only time it would fit was 1st thing in the morning. I went in to do Stage 1, Workout A, Session 3 (that's a mouthful!) of New Rules of Lifting for Women. Half way though my workout I caught myself in the mirror. Myself today, not the 356 pound myself that I normally see in the mirror. I'm going pretty good! I'm not where I want to be, but I am doing what I want to do. 

What if I never lose another pound? 
What if I am as fast as I'll ever be? 
What if I am always "overweight" on the BMI chart?


I am developing forever habits. 
I am not changing my life for the scale. 
I am changing my life for me health, for my family, for me. 

So.... even if I never lose another pound, I am still headed in the right direction. My kids are flourishing in the health deptartment. We even did a fun run together this past weekend.

I had to weigh Sissy the other day to see how much medicine to give her. Before I weighed her she asked me if she was suppose to be losing and gaining weight. My answer? "You are suppose to be growing into a healthy young woman". That's what it's about. It's about growing. Always growing.


~Kari

Iron Girl Sprint Triathalon

I am a triathlete!!!

Wow! I can't believe I really did it.

On Sunday I participated in the Iron Girl Triathlon. We headed out early (4:30 AM) for the race. Parking was at a totally different location so we had to park and then take a shuttle to the course. At 5:45 we arrive the course.

  

I set up my transition stuff. Thankfully there were a bunch of other ladies around that we able to help me know how to set everything out. Next was porta potty time.

 Now the waiting.... I thought my heat was at 6:45, but it was actually at 7:15. I waited...I updated my status....I waited.....we took pictures....more status updates.

At 7:10 we were allowed to get into the water. I had *intended* to do an open water swim before the event, but never quite go it done. At the last second another athlete mentioned that if I start to feel like I can't breathe that I should go onto my back. The water felt good. They announced that it was 73 degrees. I started to swim and instantly started to freak out. I tried to put my head under water and could not do it. It's hard to explain, but there was this pressure on my chest that made it impossible to breathe. I remembered what that lady had said and on to my back I went. Now what? I was just starting! There were 3 buoys. I just had to make it to the first buoy. I started doing breast stroke with a crawl stroke kick. It was totally ineffective, but I was moving. THEN it hit me! I can do backstroke. DUH! I only practiced crawl stroke, but have a strong backstroke. The only problem with backstroke was that clouds don't make a great line to follow. Thankfully there were kayaks in the water that kept me headed the right direction. I ended up doing 20 strokes backstroke and then a bit of my crawl/breast hybrid and made it to the 2nd buoy. I asked a kayaker if I was at least 1/2 way. Thankfully she told me that I was close to 3/4s done. SWEEEEET! I finished up the 1/2 mile swim in 25:56. This was great for me since most of my pool swims were right around 25 minutes.

Transition 1- Out of the water, across the street and in to transition. This took me forever (9 minutes!). I could definitely do this better next time.

The bike portion was really uneventful (thankfully!) The only exciting thing was when the lady in front of my dropped her water bottle going down a steep hill. Thankfully I saw it or I would have totally met the pavement. I swerved and avoided the bottle. 12 miles= 53:35 minutes. I was expecting close to an hour, so I was delighted with 53 minutes.

Transition 2- Off the bike, ate 1/4 of a cliff bar and I was off to the run. Much faster! 2:59. Ironically, my best "overall" placement was in T2. More on that in a bit.... 

I started off walking. My legs were jello. I missed my music. I was getting TIRED! I can do this. I thought about so many friends that I knew were cheering me on. I thought about the medal at the end. I thought about how far I've come. I didn't have music, but I did have cones. There were cones placed down the middle of the run course every few feet. I decided to run 10 cones and walk 10 cones. This helped me to pace myself and distract me while running. I counted and counted and counted. Finally the finish line was approaching. I rounded the corner and there was the husband. He was my champion today. Out of the water, back from the bike, and ending the run- he was there! It was nice to see a friendly face. Normally I run a 37-38 minute 5K. Today I ran a 41:16 and that is just find with me.

Overall I finished with a time of 2:13:31! I am ecstatic!!!! My goal was 2 hours 30 minutes. I met or exceeded my goal for every single part of the triathlon (except that first transiton- WOW). My "overalls" aren't very impressive. 149/174 in my division and 959/1144 overall. Here's the thing- I'm not fast. I am determined. I finished strong. I am proud.

 I am a triathlete!

Thank you to everyone that sent messages of encouragement to me over the past few days. They meant the world to me and pushed me through some difficult spots during the race. We did it! :)

~Kari

A Good Season

This has been a good week. 

A really good week. 

I've made healthy choices when it comes to snacking and meals.

I'm back to weight lifting. (Which is really exciting to me!)

I was sick, but didn't let it derail my healthy living.

Work started up again and it has been nice to see my co-workers.

Bug is doing summer school and loves his new teacher. It's a new school and I was worried about how he'd adapt.

Sissy is doing round 2 of swim lessons and is starting to make progress.

My Tri is on Sunday and I feel ready.

This is Week 3 of being pop free and it's starting to get easier. I actually crave water.

The scale is down for the first time in months.

I was reminded of this clip from The Office (who doesn't love the office?!) on Michael's last day. Our lives are definitely made up of seasons. The past few weeks have been good. Weight loss/maintenance isn't always like this. It's good to celebrate the good weeks to remind us when the weeks don't come as easily.

What's new with you? 

~Kari

Back to Weights

Whoop! Whoop!

I found myself back in the weight room again yesterday. The plan was to return to lifting after my Tri this weekend, but once I decided that I wanted to get back into New Rules of Lifting for Women you couldn't keep me away from the gym.

I've missed lifting! I've missed lifting a little bit more ever few weeks. I've even missed running my arms and feeling new muscles emerging. :)

I decided to start back over with NROLFW in Stage 1. Why go back? I decided to start over again because I wanted to work beyond where I ended. Stage 1 workout A calls for weight squats, push-ups, bent-over rows, step-ups, and prone jackknife.  It doesn't seem like a lot, but I kicked my own butt quite effectively. 

The best part????? Ok, 2 best parts???? I was able to lift WAY MORE today that I did last time I started New Rules. Also, I am sore today. I forgot how good it feels to be sore. Not sore like hurt, sore like I worked hard. I love how I feel.

Balance. I've got to find balance between cardio and lifting. 

I can not invest more time in working out, but I want to do it all. 

~Kari

Lessons from Spartan

It's been a week since I completed Spartan Sprint. Noticed I said "completed" and not "ran". The Spartan races are so much more than running. There is certainly some running involved, but it is so much more. This past week I've thought a lot about the race. My daughter would point out that I've worn my Spartan shirt 3 times this week. I saw someone with a Spartan shirt at the gym and immediately felt connected to them. I joined a Spartan Chicks Facebook group. I'm a bit Spartan obsessed. Here's why....

~ Spartan reminded me how strong I am and how much stronger I want to be. I was lifting for a long time and loved how my body was changing. I reached a stage in New Rules of Lifting for Women where I was suppose to do a pull-up. I could not do a pull up. I quit lifting. I quit lifting because I couldn't do a pull-up. That was not a good decision. I was proud of all the physical feats I could perform at Spartan,but I want to be able to do more. I want to be able to get over those wall easier. I want to be able to do the tractor pull without having to rest in the middle. Back to NROL right after my Tri next weekend.

~ It really is all about finishing, but I want to be a bit faster. I struggled with my time for a few days and then remembered that for me it's way more about accomplishing the goal than being first. My body is not pre-programmed for being 1st place (or even in the top 25%), but it is capable of doing great things. I think that now that I know to expect that I could do it faster next time.

~ I am awesome! :) 160 pounds ago I never would have even gone to watch an event like this, let alone participate. If you follow me on Facebook, then you saw the official race photos. What stood out to me was the determination in my face. My body is capable of amazing feats. Spartan reminded me that I am capable of so much more than I think possible.

~ I like hanging out with tough chicks more than gym barbies. I use to think that I wanted to be petite and look good in the gym. Now I realized I am way more aligned with the tough and fit crowd. It's nice to be able to release that "need" to fit in to a gym mold. There's nothing wrong with the gym (I LOVE my gym family!), but I do find myself continually trying to fit in with a certain group at the gym.

Guess what??? I already signed up for Spartan Sprint for next August! I'm excited to work on lifting more and setting some goals for my next race. Balance is hard for me in both food and exercise. I tend to go all lifting and no cardio or vice-versa. I also need a balance that will work once I go back to school for the year.
Any suggestions? How do you balance your work outs????


~Kari

Giveaway: Sworkit Pro

Where do you work out? Gym? Outside? In your living room?

I prefer to be outside for my exercise (running, riding, crawling under barbed wire...you know, the usual).

During the summer it is easier to get in outdoor exercise, but once the winter weather hits I head inside for gym classes or hop on the deadmill for a run.
Home exercises are difficult because I don't have a lot of fancy equipment.

At Fitbloggin' I had the opportunity to hear about Sworkit. It is a website and an app that provides you with a complete training program that uses only body weight.

Do you use this app or the website?

I was given a code to download and try the Pro version of Sworkit. I was instantly impressed with the app. You get to choose your entire workout to tailor it to your needs.

You choose:
- the duration of the workout (5 minutes to 60 minutes)
- the type of exercise (strength, yoga, or stretching)

There are videos that show you how to perform the strength exercise. No videos for the yoga sequences, but I did learn that they will be adding videos soon.

Here's how it works: Every 30 seconds you do a different exercise. After 2 minutes you get a 30 second rest period. With yoga and stretching you choose the speed so the time for that will vary based on the speed you chose.

The Pro version is only 99 cents- such a great deal! Why is the Pro better than the basic free version?

- It announces the exercises each time. I didn't think this was a big deal until I tried it with no sound. Having to look up at the screen every 30 seconds to see the new exercise is irritating.
- The pro lets you track your exercises. I like to see what I've done for the week and share it on Twitter.
- The pro offers bonus workouts that you won't find on the free version.
- You can skip the rest periods on Pro if you choose.

Guess what?!?!?!? I get to give away 2 codes for Sworkit Pro.

~Kari


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SPARTAN Race Recap- Part 2

Miss Part 1??? Find it here.


I'm two days post Spartan Race and am feeling pretty good. I have some sore arms today and feel like I did a million lat pull downs. It's hard to guage how I really feel sense Sissy shared her head cold with me. I'm down for the count today. My hunch is that it's more cold than sore/fatigued from the race.


Back to the race.....

After the bucket raises was the most exciting/terrifying/thrilling part of the entire course. The next obstacle was the cargo net. It was a giant cargo net tied to these two huge trees. The net was probably like 1,000 feet 15 feet in the air and on fire. Intimidating is putting it midly. Some people were skipping it. I HAD to try it. There was a great kid ( like 20 years old) there who assured me that the net would hold my weight and that it is doable. He climbed up and back down with ease. I had to try. Person after person climbed up and over while I slowly moved one foot at atime up the net. I got to the top and had to now get over. There were now 2 great guys talking me over the net. They were so patient. I was TERRIFIED!!!! I eventually got one leg over and locked in to the hole on the other side. EEEEKKKKKKKKK!!!!!! My leg was shaking so hard- part fear, part fatigue. It was that kind of uncontroable shaking you have at the end of a really hard workout. Somehow I made it to the ground. I had no idea, but people were watching me. When I got down the crowd errupted in cheers. It was amazing. I got down and hugged Julia for a VERY LONG TIME.

Next we had to carry a heavy cylinder block a short distance, do 5 burpees and then carry it back. It wasn't too heavy, but the shape made it awkward.

Then my 2nd favorite obstacle of the day- Slip and Slide. It was huge. I don't know how long, but trust me when I say huge. At the bottom of the slide was a pit of mud. You're in luck- the Husband took video!!!! It's sideways, but you get the idea. I'm in the hot pink pants. 

After the Slip and slide was a sandbag carry. Julia, the beast, skipped past the "girl" sandbag and picked up two "boy" bags. She is so strong. We had to carry the bags up and down another hill. Still noburpees for this girl!

Around my gym there is a 1/4 mile track. A 1/4 mile really isn't that big of a deal....unless you are crawling under barbed wire and clay like mud, uphill. Ouch! This one hurt. This was the only obstacle that had no burpee out option. It was gruling. We rolled. We crawled. We crab walked. We got to the top!



Third water spot- THANK YOU SPARTAN for 3 water spots. They were definately needed.

Incline wall- A tall wall, probably 10 feet, the was tilted. Julia and I were both able to get over with the help from some friends. :) I was super proud of Julia becuase she was terrified and mustered all she had to get over that wall.

Since the trench crawl uphill for a 1/4 mile wasn't enough, the next obstacle was another trench crawl up and down rolling hillls. At the bottom of each hill was a mud pit. Oh, and the lady spraying us with a fire hose.

Ready for me to do some burpees????

You're in luck!

I couldn't do the next 3 obstacles-
Rope Climb
Spear Throw (you only get one shot and I missed)
Tranverse Wall (climb sideways across a wall with very little pegs)

90 burpees done

Tire pull- Pull a tire for a bit, run back and pull the tire back to where it started. Done!

I love this picture! I look so determined. 

More mud pits/barbed wire/rolling hills- This obstacle was unique because you had to go under the water (mud pit) to get to the other side of the board. Done!

My partner never left my side! :)

Last obstacle- Slippery Wall. I tried to do this. I really did. I was so muddy and tired. I just couldn't do it. One of the volunteers tried to show me. No luck. 30 more burpees.

The finishline was in sight! A short run down the hill, get hit by the galdiators with their stupid sticks, and then we were done. We ran for the first time in forever and crossed the finish line.

Julia's little boy competed in Junior Spartan. He won his heat! :)

My final time- 3 hours and 24 minutes. Way too long. I am hesitant to share my time for fear that people will judge. I was close to the longest time overall for the entire day. That sucks! I worked so hard and still took so very long. Writing this recap was a good reminder of all that I've accomplished. I didn't throw up or pass out. I climbed over a cargo net. My body lasted for 3 and a half hours through rough terrain on water and salt! 

I showed up! Will I do a Spartan race again? Yep! I am already getting a team together for next year. I was so impressed with the race organization, layout, and on course support for participitants.

While running the course I thought a lot about how I could train differently for next year. This race was a huge motivation for me to increase my strength. I surprised myself this race with what I was able to accomplish. Just think how much more I could do if I actually trained and set some goals. :)

Do you run obstacle courses? Would you ever enter a Spartan Race????

~Kari

SPARTAN Race Recap- Part 1

WOWZAAAAA! I did it!!!!!!!!! I completed a Spartan Sprint Race.

I DID IT!!!!

Let me back up. At Fitbloggin I met with a Reebok rep who gave me a fab tank top and my great new crossfit Reebok shoes that I love. She also slipped me a piece of paper and told me to contact this guy about getting a free entry to a Reebok Spartan Race. I shoved the paper in my bag and forgot all about it. When I was unpacking at home I found the paper. After changing my mind a few hundred times I finally emailed him and found out that I could get a free entry for myself and an entry for a reader if I would just blog about my experience. I became obsessed with watching Spartan videos. Could I really do that? What if I got hurt? What if I was last? What if.... Through a very long process of back-and-forth I finally committed to the race.

Driving down to the event was crazy emotional. WHAT IN THE WORLD AM I DOING? The fear of the unknown was overwhelming. My friend Julia and I drove separately, but texted each other (don't worry, the husbands were driving) often with "What ifs....". Our directions were wrong, but thanks to smartphones we figured it out and headed the right way. The drive down was two and a half hours. Lots of time to think. I thought a lot about that 356 pound girl who got winded walking up stairs. I thought about the girl who didn't like to sweat because it was gross.

Finally we arrive at the Washougal Motorcross track. It was about 45 minutes before our wave. I ate a banana with peanut butter.

Ready to go!!!

I was so impressed with the set-up as soon as we got to the site. There were numbered signs everywhere so we knew exactly what to do. #1- Fill out waiver form (done!) #2 Turn in form #3 Get Registration packet #4 Put on timing chip and admittance bracelet #5 Put race number on arms #6 Go Potty (ok, I added number 6).

There was a huge port-a-potty section which is very important. No lines!

Reebok Spartan even had up maps to show spectators where to go to watch. The suggested times were way off for this racer, but the maps were still helpful. They suggested being at the 1st viewing point 20 minutes after the start- we got there like 1.5 hours after the start.

Our wave is lining up! They are giving us our "Go! Go! Go!" speech. The announcer says, "Who are you". The crowd responded "I am Spartan". I responded, but wasn't very convinced at this point. Oh no!!! I forgot my gloves. I leave the line up to find the husband. EEEEKKK! Can't find him. Thankfully he found me. :) Gloves on. Now we can go. Ready! Set! Go!!!!

We started with a run up a steep hill. By the middle of the hill I needed to walk it was not only steep, but super dusty. Normally I warm up before running and took off way to quick. At the top of the first hill we hit our first obstacle- 4 feet tall walls. Immediately I came down with a case of the "I can'ts". Thankfully Julia was there to give me a boost. I made it over the 1st wall and realized, "Oh yes I can!". There were 3 walls to climb and then we were back to running. The running sections of this course were insane. Pretty much all really steep up and down hills. We ran/walked to the 2nd obstacle.

Before getting to the 2nd obstacle we had to run down a REALLY steep hill. After falling a very nice lady on the course showed us how to angle our legs and feet so that the weight was in my butt. That way when I slipped I'd fall back instead of forward or slip. Unfortunately I had already fallen once on a huge rock. I'll spare you the pictures of my bruised booty, but trust me when I tell you that it's bruised.

More run/walking up and down steep hills. The next obstacle was a slightly larger wall (5 feet/6 feet) where we had to climb over one, under one, and through the next one (there was a hole in the middle). There were a total of 6 walls at this obstacle.

More running. The up was so steep that I had to bear crawl just to get up. It was hot. It was dusty.  At the top of the hill was a 1 mile sign. I felt like I was going to throw up. This was not fun. I was D.O.N.E.

Frozen at the top of another hill I just stopped. I could not do this. It was too hard. I did not have 2 more miles in me. Julia to the rescue!!!! Some deep breathing, waiting in the shade, and I finally calmed down. These two super nice guys offered to help me down the hill, but I declined. I was going to do this. I just needed to regroup.

A few minutes later we were at the bottom of the hill where I saw my first puking person. I felt so bad for her because I knew exactly how she was feeling. More running up and down hills. At least now we were in the shade. On to our 3rd obstacle- tire flipping. It was SUPER easy. Julia accidentally did a boy tire so she worked a bit harder. That woman is a beast!!! We do tire flipping a lot at the gym so it was no big deal. 4 simple flips- 2 forward, 2 back and we were done.

Onward....at this point I told Julia that I had to walk. I knew that if I was going to complete this thing that it would have to be at my pace. My pace meant walking.  I'm a pretty fast walker, so she jogged while I walked.

Next was the "tractor pull". I had to carry a big, but not heavy, log on my shoulder while dragging a heavy cinder block on a chain behind me for maybe 50 yards. This one was very difficult for me. I just couldn't get a good grip on the chain. I finished, but did have to stop in the middle and rest. Here are my legs the day after.... The huge gash on my right leg is from the cinder block bashing my shin as I tried to put it back in the bucket. Ouch!

Still no burpees! Did I mention that if you don't finish an obstacle that you have to do  30 burpees?

Have I mentioned the hills??? More walking...

2nd water station. I don't even remember where the 1st one was, but there was one. :) The 2nd station had water, coconut water, and plain old salt to add to your water. I had all 3. Julia dumped water down my back. It felt amazing at this point.

Next we had to lift these bucket on a pulley in to the air and lower them back down. I think the guy said they were 30 lb buckets. Again, not too bad.

Just turned this blog into a Part 1. I can't possibly finish in one post!
Good news- I finished and survived to tell about it.

~Kari

Dear Spartan Race

Dear Spartan,

Tomorrow is race day. I'm in the 11:45 heat with my dear friend Julia. There is no way I could do it without her. I got up early today so that I can get to sleep early tonight. It's a 2 and a 1/2 hour drive to even get to the race venue. I totally didn't realize it was so far away when I registered or I may not have registered. Actually, I never would have registered if I hadn't been given a free race entry. Running (doing?) a Spartan Race was never on my list until I was presented with the opportunity.

Watching the promo video terrified me. I knew for days about this opportunity before telling the husband about it. He encouraged me to register. I started to register and saw that there was a $14 insurance fee. WHAT?!?!?! Do that many people get hurt that they need an insurance fee. Isn't a waiver enough. Oy! That did not help to calm my nerves. Thankfully the husband was there to calm me down. He reminded me that the last 4 years have been about doing the impossible. About pushing beyond my right now to something more awesome, to do what I don't think I can do.

I registered once someone committed to doing it with me. She needed to back out and once again I spiraled. Can.NOT.do.this.alone. A quick text to a friend, several conversations back and forth, and she was in. Alright, back in business.

My upper body is not as strong as I'd like it to be. The monkey bars scare me. The rope climb scares me. I don't want to get hurt on the trench crawl under barbed wire. Not going to lie, I'm scared. Here's the good news- it's a good kind of scared. A scared that pushes me to sign up for 1/2 marathons, to take a new class at the gym, to stop drinking diet coke even though I loveeeee it. Not finishing an obstacle=30 burpees. I tried to do 30 burpess that other day at the end of my liftiing session and could not do it, BUT I can do 3 sets of 10 burpees.


I've spent weeks reading Spartan Sprint recaps online. They don't paint a pretty picture about the course, but they always end with something like, "it was the most amazing experience of my life". Maybe that's why the website says, "You will know at the finish line".

It will probably take hours.
You will not beat me.
I will see you at the finish line.

~Kari

I AM STRONG!

Three days until Spartan Race.....

I am terrified! I know that there are some obstacles that I won't be able to do. Yesterday was lifting day so I headed to the gym. I decided to do some HIIT work with body weight exercises being my "rest" part of HIIT. For the last interval I decided to do 3 sets of 30 burpees (the "punishment" for not completing an obstacle), 8 bicep curls, and 8 triceps extensions. Whoa baby! The end of my workout! The end?! What was I thinking. 

I started out thinking, "No problem, 30 burpees". That turned in to "30 burpees- 3 sets of 10" and eventually became "Maybe I'll only do 10 burpees".

I caught myself in the mirror and realized that I had no other choice but to do those 30 burpees. I got this! 

I did the 3 sets. It was NOT pretty. I did it. I finished my workout.

I am strong.

Today I was grocery shopping and there was a deal on M&M topped yogurt. I put it in the cart for the kids. My cart was full of clean foods and I was getting ready to buy M&M yogurt. What?!!?! My kids love yogurt. They don't need it with M&M's. They've even been eating plain yogurt with berries lately. 

I put the yogurt back.

I am strong.

After grocery shopping I came home and knew that I needed to run. These legs did not wannnnnnt to run. They wanted to watch America's Got Talent. I ran. My pace was decent. The victory was not in the pace, but in getting out there because I knew it was the right thing to do.

I am strong.

The strength that I am finding isn't just physical. There is an emotional strength that I have discovered in making choice after choice that will move my family and myself towards a healthier future. I'll run (I don't expect to run a lot) on Sunday because I can, because I am strong.

What makes you strong?

~Kari