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The Warrior Dash was almost a MONTH ago. Know how many times I've worked out since the race? 5. FIVE TIMES at the gym. Granted, I've gone running/jogging a few times too, but nothing like how I was training in the past. I've come to the realization that, with workouts, I'm not a good "follow through" person. I mean, I train, I do the race, I win! then, I fail. I just forget everything and go back to my bad habits because I feel like I deserve a reward. My reward is sitting on my ass, watching Mad Men, eating ice cream and mozzarella-stuffed bread sticks. Not good.

So, I took a leap today. I registered for the Playmaker's Autumn Classic, an 8K race.  That's 4.9 miles for those keeping track. I've never done more than a 5K, but it's time to start working on distance. Matt has been trying to convince me that I should be working on endurance, not speed. He's probably right-- the time it takes to run the 8K, while important, is nothing compared to actually DOING the full 8K.

I'm a little freaked out. I feel like I want to vomit after most 5K races-- what in the hell am I going to feel like after this race?

As of today, I have 1 month to train. One can accomplish a lot in a month, right? My brain (which is in a doughnut-induced sugary haze right now) says to start training on Monday because, let's be honest, I don't do crap on the weekends. But, I KNOW I have to do something today. I was going to go to the gym at lunch, but that's not going to happen anymore. The new plan is to strap on the gym shoes and go for a run with the dog after work. Saves me a trip to the dog park too, I guess.

We're going running now? RIGHT NOW? OK! GO! 

I need to vent about the "running with the dog" thing. I love Daisy. I do. But running with her is disheartening, since she just trots while I run, sweat, cuss and try to concentrate.  It's like she is mocking me. "Come on, lady. Why are you not running? I don't understand why you're moving so slow. WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?!" But running without her is even worse- I get the guilt trip eyes, the whimpering as I put on the running shoes.. it's like I'm breaking her little beagle-sized heart.

My plan of attack for the month: If, by some miracle, I can make it to the gym over lunch- great! I'll do weights and my Warrior Dash workout routine. However, since that has become harder to do (and September really looks sucky schedule-wise), I will aim to run at LEAST 3x/week after work, whether it be outside or at the Y. I am allowed to do both the gym and the run on the same day if required/able.

I can do this. I will do this. Maybe I will buy myself a Beyonce if I survive the race. A big metal chicken is a better reward than mint oreo ice cream... right?

Done with the Dash!

Good news: I completed the Warrior Dash!
Bad news: I am HORRIBLE at updating this thing. My bad.And, my weight hasn't really changed, but I have some muscle definition happening.

I somehow contracted bronchitis and an ear infection 2 weeks before the race- that knocked my training back about a week.I was lucky it was only 1 week, as the doctor said it would take about 2 to totally clear up (and yes, I'm still occasionally coughing). Once I could breathe for more than 10 minutes at at time without coughing, I got back outside to run. I bought new running shoes (side story: the employee at Playmakers said, "Oh hon. You should have bought new shoes about a year ago- these are all broken down! And, don't take this the wrong way- but the more impact and weight you put on your shoes, the more frequently you'll need to replace them." Ouch.), got some new running clothes, and started running. For the week prior to my illness, the roommate, the nugget and I ran about a mile before work each morning (ok, like 3 mornings). That felt GREAT, but I found that without the roommate to run with me, I will just fall back asleep. After the bronchitis, I started taking the nugget for runs over my lunch hour. I still did my trainer workout on alternating days, but it was so nice out that it didn't seem fair to keep the dog cooped up in the house. And, it was HOT outside - I had to prepare myself for running in the heat for the race!

Then, the race. It happened. I conquored it- kind of. The obstacles were absolutely ridiculous and fun, but there were two that I physically could not do. I tried them both, and failed. The first failure was the rope wall- you use a rope to help climb up a 20 foot wall (with small ledges to stand on). I couldn't get my bearings to do it, and after 3 attempts, I went around the obstacle. While I should have a time penalty, my 3 tries took longer than each of my friend's actually completing the obstacle. The second obstacle was another 20 foot wall- this time, you rock climbed to the top and had to come down on a knotted rope. I made it up- and panicked and couldn't make it down. I had to come down the side of the wall on the side, where there were small-ass wooden steps that were about 3" apart. Again, me coming down this obstacle took longer than it took for the other 3 to complete the entire obstacle. So, time penalty my ass.

Post-race, awards 'round our dirty necks!

I "officially" crossed the finish line with a time of 1:06:56.25 - placing #669 out of 869 in my age group. I'll take it :-)

The run was great- I didn't walk too much, stayed with Matt (who set an awesome pace), and crossed the finish line first :-) Yes, we were supposed to cross it together, but I saw Eric ahead of me, and I took off- if we were going to cross separately, I was as sure as hell going to beat Eric! The run didn't seem bad- probably because the obstacles took up a LOT of the running course, and it took your focus off of the run itself.

Covered in mud, we made it back to the car to get our gear- and I found that I had the nastiest blister I have ever seen on my foot. To top it off, the blister split somewhere during the race and I got mud all up in it and under the remaining skin. I had to rinse it out, cut the skin around it (to fully  clean it) and bandage the bad boy up. 3 days later, I'm still antibioticing and bandaiding the hell out of it, and it still hurts.

I'm not a scary warrior, even with the helmet.

But hey, if that's the only injury, then I'll consider myself lucky. Someone at the race dove head-first into the mud pit and is now paralyzed. The roomie sprained her ankle coming down off of one of the obstacles. And I had a blister. That's nothing. 

Registration has already opened up for next year's Warrior Dash... goal: climb the damn rope wall and finish the race in under 1 hour.