Busy Weekend

It was a great weekend, but very busy. However, I got my workout in, so it's okay!

Friday was a social evening, so I didn't work out at all that day. But Saturday was rushed!

Congrats to my brother, who graduated Saturday morning! After watching the commencement, we all met at Red Lobster for a celebratory lunch. I did good. I limited myself to one delicious cheddar bay biscuit, and had a salad before the meal came. Shrimp scampi and crab legs, with a side of broccoli instead of fries. I knew I'd be running after lunch, so I didn't want anything super heavy, and keeping the exercise in mind made me make a few decent decisions at the table.

A shoe is a shoe is a shoe, right?....wrong

So I love my shoes so much that I decided to write a blog about them. Hahaha. Well, I figured if anyone looked for a review, I could speak up for the non-athletic people trying to start working out....

Actually, I've never been super active before. So when I started working out, I basically had my Nike Shox everyday shoes to use in the gym. I started to notice that my hips and knees were really taking a beating when I ran. I chalked it up to being out of shape and kept trucking on.

Unfortunately, this tactic didn't work.Someone told me to go online and check out Asics.

I was skeptical of high praises for Asics. I mean, I'm sure they're great, but some people literally acted as if NOTHING out there was suitable for my feet. Whatever, I found a pretty pair and ...

So, behold, my Asics Gel Noosa Tri-6.

Fundraising

Let's talk about money, shall we?

Money is always an issue when it comes to big athletic events. Whether it's a sponsorship thing or fundraising for a cause, the event costs money just to put on.

Tough Mudder cost me about $123.00 to sign up. It gets more expensive as the event gets closer. I don't mind paying it, though, since the Tough Mudder benefits the Wounded Warrior Project.

Team Running #2

Last night's run was okay.

Another run approximately 3 miles, but this time on a paved trail. I found that the nature trail was a lot easier on my knees, which I've had trouble with in the past. But it wasn't horrible.

As a team, we run at about a 4 mph pace. Last night, there were 5 of us and we did the 3 miles in about 50 minutes. It took a little longer, but we tried to stick together as a team, and we did some pushups and situps at every 1/2 mile marker. Also, it was a little warmer yesterday than it was Sunday.

The good thing about the paved course was the mile markers. Every 1/4 mile was marked on the path, so that was helpful.

I tried a Gatorade "Prime" gel thing. Supposedly it's supposed to give you a beginning spurt of energy with B vitamins to jumpstart your workout. To be honest, I just got really hot really fast. Didn't really feel that different. Maybe it's because I've been so sedentary and these things are meant for active people. Who knows, but I won't be paying $1.99 for one again. I'll be asking friends for nutrition and energy advice.

I know that as a beginner it's good to give your body a break in between runs, but I'd really like to go back to the trail tonight. Sadly, it's rainy outside.

Maybe I'll do it anyways. Tough Mudder is going to be disgustingly cold, wet, and muddy. What's a little rain gonna hurt?

Starting to Train: 6 Months to Go!

Tough Mudder training, GO!!

I pitched the idea of the Tough Mudder to a lot of my friends, and suprisingly, some of them are super interested! So as of right now, I'm the only one officially signed up, but we've started a training group. Because a lot of us are out of shape, it's not really a big deal that we're not all on the same fitness level.

I'm really excited to have company training for this challenge, because I can't do it alone.

Just this past weekend, I have been way more active. On Friday, I did my usual 30 minute cardio workout and small upper body weights. Then, my friends and I went and played football on the beach. Let me just say, it wasn't much of a game, it was more like stumbling around on glass shard-like sand. Ouch!

Goal-Setting

I didn't just sign up for Tough Mudder thinking I could train alone and be ready. Didn't you read it? I've NEVER played a sport! I was the academic, not the athlete!

So I figured the first step is to set goals. I mean, that's what I did when I had a big school project.

I started by signing up for my first 5K race. I have no intention of winning the race, but I need to have short-term goals in order to push myself the right way.

In one month, I will be running the Chick-Fil-A 5K in our area. It's a relatively small race, and I think I can handle it.

First Step: Fitness

Here I go again, trying something new. I want to try a new, more active lifestyle. I've been telling myself I'm going to get into great physical shape, but lacked the motivation to do so. So I joined a gym in February, and have been going fairly regularly. With the exception of the last two weeks, in which work was rough and I moved, I was doing cardio and small weights at least 3 times a week. I'm trying to quit smoking, and have cut back from almost a pack a day down to about 5 cigarettes a day.

It's been hard to be motivated when I don't know what the hell I'm doing. I've never played a sport, and most of my friends haven't played sports or "trained" for anything in years. So I'm starting from scratch.

But I found a little motivation. Someone mentioned to me this ridiculous challenge that they will be doing in October. Anyone heard of the Tough Mudder? I hadn't....check it out:

http://www.toughmudder.com/