Six Month Accountability: Part One

This year is half way complete already! At times, time has felt as if it was standing still and at other times, I wonder where the time has gone. This year is supposed to be a year of growth and DISCOVERY so I wanted to write an accountability post to document the progress that has been made. And make note of where there are still gaps. Oh, and talk about a truth bomb that hurt, but I did learn something from it.

Part of the year of discovery was to be to discover my creativity. I was going to do this through blogging regularly. Whoops. That one didn't go as planned. But, I have six more months to get better at blogging regularly and working on story development and word choice.

I was also going to learn to sew as part of the discover creativity process. This one is still a work in progress. I did spend time during Spring Break working with my mom and learning from her. I completed one polar fleece vest, but I have two more to complete. Apparently, teaching a 45 year old to sew is kind of like teaching a 10 year old sew and more time is needed than 1 week. Who knew? Even though I didn't complete all of my projects, didn't learn how to alter a pattern, struggled with operating the sewing machine, had to have my mom tell me what to do every step, I thoroughly enjoyed all of the time I was able to spend with my mom. We chatted like old friends, laughed at my mistakes, and worked hard. I need to get back over there and finish up those other two vests before October. That will be an August task as she and my dad will be travelling for much of July. I can't wait to hear all of her stories from her trip while I'm sewing in August.

I think that the biggest growth was in the area of discovering grit, stamina, and not quitting. This was also the area that took a lot of work to change my mindset. I did this by listening to different podcasts (the Physical Performance Show was the one with the biggest impact), challenging myself physically (hello Spartan Race) and mentally (Tunnel Marathon). It was such an exciting 6 months!

I really enjoyed the training that was required for the Spartan Race. I did some of the weight training on my own, some with friends, and some with David and Carson. I watched videos on the Spartan website and then made up my own workouts. A few Saturday's Dave and I went to a local gym and participated in their Saturday HIIT workout. Holy cow! HIIT workouts are the bomb! During one workout my ears started ringing and felt like I was underwater. Carson informed me that was an indication that I had pushed myself to the limit. He was pretty impressed that I worked that hard. I also continued my running as I was also in the middle of training for the Tunnel Marathon. I am convinced that the Spartan training (HIIT workouts and weight-lifting) made me a stronger runner and helped me get faster.

The Spartan Race itself was an amazing experience! First of all, I had to quickly get over my disdain for being muddy and dirty as the course was nothing but mud. So props to me for not giving up before I even started. I also had to learn to rely on my teammates for help as there were some obstacles that I literally could not reach on my own. Finally, just competing with David and Brooke was  so much fun! Yes, we had to do burpees but not as many as I was afraid we might have to do. Brooke and I missed 3 obstacles. David continued with his flawless performance. Because we were a team, we could share burpees. Yay! The only obstacle that I wish I could take back is the rope climb. I was so close to ringing the bell at the top, but I felt like I could not pull myself up that last 3 feet. So frustrating! But it did show what muscle groups I need to continue to develop. Dave and I are already talking about what our next Spartan race will be. Next year we might go for the Trifecta, which is a Sprint, Super and Beast (sprint 3-5 miles; Super 6-10 miles; Beast 12-15 miles). Aroo!

Part Two:
Tunnel Marathon and lessons learned
Truth bomb that hurt just a little

Stay tuned...