I'm a Spartan Now! AROO...

Yup I did it and am so proud of myself too. Was a long hard course to race on that was challenging but also fun along the way. We went to Las Vegas April 5th and completed the Super there and it was supposed to be around 8 miles but ended up being 10.2 miles (16km) and at a gravel pit too.

I did almost all the obstacles too so only ended up doing one 30 burpee penalty... spear throw got me. I threw it but not hard enough to make it stick in the bale... sucker popped out on me. The Barbwire crawl was brutal and painful as we were dragging ourselves over gravel in water under the barbwire around straw bales and over mini hills too. Was a long one too. Tire flipping was one of my favorites and scaling an 8ft fence was cool too. OK I loved the challenges of them all and seeing what I can do. I'm still blown away that I finally did it.

So coming back from Vegas was feeling good but then a draw back and frustration feeling popped back up from my triathlon training. The night before we flew to Vegas we had a coached bike session... I couldn't complete it. My asthma came out and as much as I tried to push thru it I just couldn't finish it. So feeling a little deflated and then looking at the training schedule seeing the swim was coming up I just started feeling like a failure. I know I'm not but I was looking for those successful accomplishment moments... Especially after coming off the spartan high. I found I really missed the weights and the squat rack. I haven't been able to add it back in or get into a routine to squeeze it in. I missed it bad... really really bad. So I got a bit depressed and moody, then Mike said some smart things to me that at the time didn't want to admit he was right and this week I have started making small changes.

Sunday we had our coached swim and I finally went to try to get over this new pool phobia I got after the first triathlon. So there was only 3 of us which worked out better for me so my coach could help me more. Anyways after getting back into the water and starting back with the basics (I mean the basics of first starting out basics) I was making great progress. By the end I was getting closer to where I was before this all happened. The positive that came out of this was my swim form has gotten extremely good. So maybe this wasn't such a bad thing after all.

At work I was asked by a couple people to teach them to run during lunch. We had a slow start to it but I started to run after work with my friend Kaire and had a good bitch session along the way to help ease some of the stress. Then we woke up to snow again (don't get me started on that.... I'm so done with winter) we went and walked the indoor track instead at lunch. Being in IT at work I am on my feet all the time now and I hardly sit down anymore. Makes the days go by faster. I also started doing little workouts at home and been doing some thinking on this personal training I want to finally get certified in. Came up with a new game plan for it and once I know my sons competitive soccer schedule I can plan and register for the exam. I also have gotten some new ideas to make personal training work into my schedule. I am even more excited to think of the new possibilities for it and new avenues to add to it.

I am honoured to have people I know that want me to help them achieve new things ... The plus side to this new journey is having my son watch the ups and downs and knowing I don't back down from a challenge. It has been making small changes in his world too. He helps lift me up too and isn't afraid to give me a pep talk when I'm nervous, sad or scared. Just because of a crappy past we don't have to be stuck in it and we can lead a more positive productive life. I also love that he can talk to me about anything... The older he gets the closer we get. I am a lucky momma!

So we all go thru our down periods of feeling sad and not getting anywhere. We are allowed to feel that but we just can't stay there for long. We need to get out of the funk and make things happen... No one is going to do it for you and if you want it bad enough you need to just get it done! For me I talk it out and usually in those conversations is where I usually start finding ways to make things happen. I feel like I'm back on track but need to modify my training more to not be so cardio based as spring and my asthma like to fight it out lots. Oh and there is just over 2 months before my half marathon... Need to pick my running up a notch more to be ready in time for it.

We are all human and not perfect but there is no greater feeling then doing something that someone said you couldn't.

Until next time...

PS I hope you enjoy the pictures :)