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/

 I, however, am lazy. So when he said that he was signing up for the Tough Mudder, and showed me the photos, I was not shocked. [I thought he was nuts, but it wasn't a shock!]

The VA Tough Mudder will be in October this year. 10-12 miles of hilly terrain (it's going to be at Wintergreen Ski Resort in the Blue Ridge Mountains), packed with 18 (or more, I hear they add more later) obstacles to test every aspect of physical fitness and endurance. This is a Challenge. Not a race. The goal is to survive and complete it. (You must sign a death waiver to compete, by the way)

The more he talked about it, the more I wanted to do it.

I signed up.

I haven't told him yet.

I'm recruiting friends to push their limits with me in October. I have 6 months to prepare. This is where I will attempt to chronicle my efforts. Wish me luck.

Here's a video from Tough Mudder, from the Tri-State area event: