Spartan Day 9

I'm still training, and have one more race to go. Today was back to the obstacle course training with the gym which was intense but fun. We warmed up with stretches and squats and static exercises, jogged to a park, then did a ton of rapid feet/burpee exercises and others which were exhausting. Then we had to be in a team of 2: 1 person holds plank while the other runs a short sprint, then they switch. Then came the real workout of 5 tricep dips, 5 leg raises, 5 pullups, 5 rows, jog around, rope climb, 5 times up and down the stairs as fast as you can. And repeat. We managed to do 1.5 circuits but it was hot and very tiring. Lauren and I also jogged to and walked home from the workout location. And that was the workout, it was a beautiful day but I feel great after that workout.

Spartan Race Take Two

The race day arrived! My family and I went to Tremblant for the weekend for the race. It's such a beautiful area and we got to explore the village a bit. The race was both days but we raced on sunday. It was fun but much longer and harder than we were expecting. The 5+k race ended up being 8.5km, with one section straight up the entire mountain (it's a big mountain). The obstacles weren't evenly spaced, there was a lot of running, then batches of obstacles before more running. The entire course took my sister and I about 3-3.5 hours to finish, which was way over our expected time but it was hot and much longer than expected.

It began with a run uphill in the forest with a ton of mud all the way through, then a run down in the mud towards obstacles. The first obstacle we came to was the cargo net climb which freaked me out last year but thankfully went really well this year. Then it was the herculean lift where we had to raise a weight on a rope then lower it. Then run up a portion of the hill and back down, then the traverse wall climb. My memory is shaky so I'm probably missing obstacles or putting them in the wrong order but I'll do my best. After the traverse wall was the rope climb, then a sandbag carry and monkey bars. Then the blessed water station numero uno. Then came the very very very VERY long climb alllll the way up the mountain. The entire mountain. I thought it would never end. There were a few obstacles at the beginning including an inclined wall and 5 foot wall but none that I can remember for the majority of the climb, it was just one climb after another until we were all taking breaks and wondering when it would end. Eventually we reached the top, only to start the descent. After a few obstacles and another steep incline to go up, there was the second water station that we had all been dreaming of for at least a half hour. On the way down there were obstacles including the spear throw, tire flips, tire drag, medicine ball roll, net crawl, bar walk, barbed wire crawl (sans mud this year!), some snow to run over, 7 foot wall, go under the wall, go through the window in the wall, and lots of mud and going downhill. Once we got near the bottom we could see the spectators and in that area there was a 9 foot wall (which we did this year!), the fire jump, and some monkey bar type contraption (we did burpees), the incline wall climb with a rope then rope climb down from the wall, and then the finish line. I was so glad to done, it had taken us so much longer than expected and was a much longer distance than expected. I guarantee I'm missing things and the details aren't great but it's a bit jumble in my mind at the moment. I'll add details in if I remember them in the next few days. And that's the story of our second spartan race, I hope you enjoy it :)


Update: a great video about the race https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SMPw0tvuvs

Spartan Day 8

It was a beautiful day today. My mom and I went out for brunch before I came home to read, go for a swim in the pool, and read some more in the sunshine. Lauren and I then went to training and it was a bit calmer than usual since the race is coming up. I managed to do a full lap around the park without stopping for the first time this season, and I did it twice! I almost managed three times but got a horribly painful cramp in my hip so I had to walk the rest. In between laps we did 10 burpee-medicine ball throw-long jumps which weren't as horrible as they sounded. Great workout and I'm so excited that my running endurance is getting better :)

Great Day

Yesterday was the perfect day. I slept in, did some dishes and laundry, went for a run with my sister where I managed to run the farthest I've run this year without stopping. I only stopped once to change the song on my ipod, no stopping otherwise which is a huge improvement for me. I think the trick is to listen to songs in spanish because my mind focuses on the song lyrics instead of my being out of breath. Don't get me wrong, I still pay attention to my breathing but the song blocks the anxiety about being out of breath. After the run, our newly cleaned pool looked too inviting not to go in so I went for a swim. It was freezing but I can proudly say I was the first person in the pool this year without a wet suit. I then got to sit out in the sun before going to see Spiderman 2 with friends and then have a game night of Cards Against Humanity. Very productive day and so much fun.

Spartan Day 7

Oh my god today was insane. I`m so used to outdoor workouts that are mostly cardio but it was raining so today was an indoor workout. There were a grand total of 5 people; the instructor, 2 members, my sister and myself. We did a strenuous cardio warmup, then onto the real workout. 60 rope lift things (sound easy, very much not), then 5 burpee pull-ups (never thought I`d say this but they were the easiest of the exercises), bear crawl pushing a medicine ball (15kg) forwards and backwards across the gym, 10 full body jumps across the gym, 10 powerwheel pushouts. And repeat for a half hour. All upper body and very tiring workout. I shall be very sore and tired later. Onwards and upwards, gotta keep up that upper body strength for the races.

Spartan Day 6

And once again, we trained at the stairs. After all this stair training, the hills will be a breeze. We did a warmup jog, which I did have to stop a few times during. My lungs are being annoying when it comes to running but I'm fine as long as I take breaks. We did our warm up exercises and jog, then the main set involved many stairs, and once or twice doing the stairs while carrying a 25kg bag of sand. I did about 4-5 trips on the stairs with the sandbag, 3 rope climbs, and two jogs around a park. Great workout but my ankle got a rope burn. We then spent the day with family for mother's day. Happy Mother's Day to all!

More workouts

I've managed to keep up with workouts this week! I didn't "workout" on thursday but I walked a ton which I counted as a workout for the day. Friday I eventually convinced myself to do a workout and decided on Jillian Michaels Yoga Inferno. Oh my gosh, that workout is no joke. I had a bit of trouble following since I don't know the yoga terms and it was fast paced, also yoga is hard. I got through it though and was exhausted. Today a few of us went for a short run then did some exercises in a park where we did some sprints, walking lunges, squats, pushups, etc. And I had a very happy moment: I was a swimmer with a lot of upper body strength for years when I was younger and would easily pull myself upside down on the rings. I haven't been able to do that for awhile now but today I managed it! It seems like such a small thing but it made me so happy. We also sang Mulan songs which was awesome. Back home we continued with some strength exercises and stretching. Overall, very productive workouts and a very fun day :)

Spartan Day 5

I didn't work out the last two days but I went to an extra spartan training session today with the gym. It was fun (in hindsight, not so much at the time) but a bit of a rough workout. We jogged around a park twice; the first time a slow jog, the next doing side shuffles and karaokas in between jogging. My breathing wasn't cooperating all that much today, I was out of breath easily but that may be because it's finally warm and I'm not used to it. The main workout included mini hurdles for agility, pulling a weighted sled, squat jumps, sandbag tosses, and jogs around the park. We then did a jogging exercise with sprints and burpees worked into it. Overall, a great and very tiring workout.
The first race I had planned to do has been postponed because the mountain still had snow and the ground was frozen. So it's been postponed until June. The other race is still within the next few weeks though so no taking it easy with training just yet.

Gym training day 4

Once again it's raining but we trained outside anyway. We did a massive warmup with a long jog and lots of individual exercises. The main workout was 6 flights of stairs, then pushups along bike racks, then some agility training. We made it through that circuit twice. Great workout, and my breathing has improved as I was able to run farther than previous training days. I also did Jillian Michaels workout (Killer Abs) yesterday so I think I'm finally getting into the habit of working out every day. Now to keep it up :)

Update: I am so sore. Between the workout yesterday and today, my muscles are not too happy. I may take tomorrow as a rest day or do a more gentle workout.

Updates

The first race day is rapidly approaching and making me a bit nervous. With finals and job hunting I haven't had time to train properly so I'm going to have to push myself to get back in shape before the races. My goal now is to do a run or jillian michaels workout every day or at least 5 days a week. Training was cancelled last weekend because of the weather which was disappointing as it was going to be an obstacle day. A few of us ended up going for a short run then doing a workout in a park which included sprints, pullups, pushups, burpees, high knees, walking lunges, etc. It was a very tiring workout which I will definitely do again. Yesterday I did a Jillian Michaels workout before rushing out to dinner, and I'm planning on doing another one today.

Out for a run

The official training session is cancelled this week because of Easter but my sister and I managed to go for a run the other day. We ran about 2-3km then did some ab exercises at home afterwards. I'm going to have to multitask and time manage so I can study for finals and fit training in because the races are coming up fast. I probably won't update again until next weekend so happy easter and take care!

Spartan Day 3

Turns out I'm sick...again. I've been sick all but one month since December or January. Hopefully once the semester is over and I can relax a bit more I'll stop getting sick. Today's workout was intense. We did a warm up job with a whole bunch of exercises mixed in. We then did more stairs. I did 4 times up and down the stairs, sprinted across an overpass, then 10 burpees, sprint back, then a pushups across 3 bike racks. And that was the easy version for the asthma/sick people. Training is cancelled for Easter next weekend but we may try to get a workout going so we'll see what happens. I'm still crazy busy; I'm officially done my classes but now I have projects and finals to finish up. So much to do, so little time. Until next time!

Spartan Workout Day 2

Yes believe it or not, I've only managed two spartan training sessions so far. The sessions for the past two weeks have been cancelled due to dangerous weather conditions (lots of ice and snow). This worked out nicely since I was busy one of those days getting certified in first aid. These last few weeks have been insanely busy. Between finishing up my degree, job hunting, getting my first aid certification, grad parties, and time for family/friends/boyfriend I've had very little free time. That said, I've realized my races are coming up fast so I will need to make time for training. Hopefully now that the weather is nicer I'll be motivated to go for runs outside.
Todays workout included stairs. Lots of stairs. All the stairs. I lost track of my own progress but basically I ran and did stairs for an hour. The plan involved a warm up of jogs, burpees, and stretches. The main workout included 5 times up and down the stairs (every stair, every other stair, squat jumps up the stairs, every stair, every other stair). The squat jumps were killer.
I took it a little easy today because I'm either very dehydrated or I have a cold but it was making breathing more difficult than usual. I'll try to get in a few workouts this week.

Thanks for reading!

Slow Start

Hi all,
This years training has had a bit of a slow start. Main reason is the weather, we are still getting snow storms and freezing temperatures so outdoor running is dangerous. Because of the danger, the training has been cancelled for the last 2 weeks. I did a zumba workout with strength training one day but I haven't done much else. I'm in my last year at university which means I am insanely busy. If I'm not swamped with school work, I'm busy applying for jobs. I'm going to have to make more of an effort for training time in there somewhere. So yes, the reason I haven't been updating is because there really isn't anything to update you on yet. I shall continue to update now and then, especially once the official training starts up again. I'm off to do some more school work. Until next time!

Long Time No See

Hello all! I know I haven't updated this blog in ages; I'd been meaning to continue working out but I've been sick almost all winter with an awful cough because of it so running or intense exercise wasn't an option without coughing fits. But as of today I am cold and (mostly) cough free (*knocks on wood*) so I shall be getting back into the swing of things.
Today was the first day of Spartan Race/Dead End Race training with the gym nearby and it was cold. It was about -14C but with windchill it felt like -24C. Many layers were worn. Thankfully it was sunny so we weren't too cold. First day back involved lots of running, hill running especially, and lots of jumping and lunges. I did most of the workout although I did have to take a few breaks or walk instead of run while I caught my breath. Overall it was a great workout, and I'm very excited for the rest of the workouts where we get into the more obstacle-based training.