Rebel Race

Yesterday Brendon and I ran the rebel race! And we whooped it's butt! It was definitely not easy, we climbed over walls, through tunnels, and of course through lots and lots of mud. And we ran up and down hills. Again and again and again, through the woods. We had a blast! And Brendon was a great coach, he had to slow down I'm sure to match my pace, but he kept it positive the whole time.

Pre-race shot, sporting matching bandanas.

Post race, quite soggy:

After the race we were extra nasty. It doesn't look like it so much up there, but were coated in pond scum and mud. The water we went through was gross. It smelled terrible and I swear one of the bodies of water we had to basically swim across was a cow pond. Yum, huh?

I only sustained one little injury. At the beginning of the race there were monkey bars you had to swing across, and I was so excited that I actually was able to do it successfully (after watching a quite a few girls fall on their butts), I didn't pay attention to how crazy my legs were while swinging around, or Brendon saying, "watch out babe!"; there was a lovely slat of wood that I smacked my shins against at the end. I have a feeling they're going to turn all kinds of lovely colors soon.

The weather was great and the location was awesome (minus the cow ponds), I think it was on a giant farm/ranch. At one point we were on the top of a big ass hill (or small mountain), and we had a spectacular view of the surrounding area. We were in Smithville about an hour outside of Austin. Very pretty out there! We were running through some really beautiful stuff. Tons of wild flowers and everything was so green!

If you ever do one of these obstacle races, I highly suggest running in one of the first waves. We were a part of the second wave (I think) at 10am and it was still fairly cool out when we started. Plus you're running with a typically older crowd (versus younger folks), so they're easier to pass! And the lines for the showers/food/beer were waaaay shorter when we finished rather than later in the afternoon.

The lunch of champions.

Brendon doing a pullup challenge thing, he's pretty strong!

Pullup prize! A new water bottle.

This race was sponsored by the US Marines. It was pretty cool, but compared to the Warrior Dash that Brendon did last spring, it was highly unorganized. It was a little bit of mess actually, registration was insane. But I think this is only the second time they've held it here so I'm sure it will run more smoothly the more they do it.

I am really proud of how we did. How I did. I was really nervous, but I made it! And did decent! I'd say we did way better than most in our wave, we passed tons of people. I'm interested to see our times once they post them online. But I honestly don't know how anyone could run the entire thing, it was more of a hike than a run. We were basically just hiking up and down seriously steep ditches and creeks for a good portion of it. The obstacles were a lot of fun though, except for the grossness of the mud and water. And then running with shoes full of mud afterwards. But I enjoyed climbing over and around stuff, felt like a monkey!

The bad news is, this was the last hurrah for my shoes. The bottom of one literally fell off after the race, so I said farewell and we parted ways after over half a decade. I should have taken a picture of them, they served me well. Now I am without any thing to run in! An odd feeling for sure, how do you work out without tennis shoes? I plan on getting some new ones asap!

The moral of this story is, I am no longer a wimp. Or less of one anyway. Signing up for this race sparked my desire to get active. These last two months have been life changing and I'm so glad I made an effort to get healthier. And here's to more of this! There are all kinds of obstacle races similar to this one and we plan on signing up for more. They are so much fun! And I would also love to start working towards running a half marathon. That's a big goal for me, but with work I think I can do it. Eventually. 

Keep on keepin' on. Work hard, play hard.

Running

Sophie lifting some weights

  Sophie loving my shoes.

Obviously Sophie appreciates my new outlook on fitness. She has always loved shoes (the stinkier the better) but today when I took my shoes off after my run she really went nutzo for them. Maybe I ran through some catnip and didn't realize it. Or maybe my feet stink.

Is this becoming a workout blog? HA. No way. I am still the same lazy fatass, just trying to avoid a heart attack at 30. But I'm not going to lie y'all, I am starting to truly enjoy exercise. I love the way my body feels just a little stronger. I can't see a difference yet, but I feel good. And I'm becoming addicted to that good feeling. I've been running every other day and doing pilates or some other workout the other days. I've been working out everyday. SO WEIRD.

Last night, Brendon and I did some upper body workout action together. With weights! It was fun! Although he is waaaay stronger than I am (my weights are like 5lbs each and his are like... 15 or 20? I can barely hold one of them). I'm probably going to regret putting this on the internet, but that man has some serious muscles. I was impressed last night. But don't tell anyone, especially Brendon.

And thanks to this lovely site my friend showed me, I figured out that my usual run I've been doing is about a mile! And today I ran the entire thing! I ran a whole mile, non stop. And some of that was up hill (and some was downhill...)! That is insane y'all, because I am the laziest person ever and have always despised running. I am really proud of myself. I am truly starting to enjoy running now. It hurts and sucks sometimes, but I like it. I'm getting used to breathing while running, slowly getting over that hump so my lungs don't burn the whole time. My lungs and legs are getting stronger everyday and it's crazy to see and feel that progress. It makes me feel good.

So to keep this up, I have created incentives for myself. If I can keep running a few times a week for a month, I'll buy myself some new running clothes. Maybe a shirt and some new running shorts. I've been running in the same pair of shorts and whatever t-shirt I slept in the night before. Not cute. And if I can keep it up for two months, I will buy myself a new pair of shoes. So lets get that new gear y'all! Run, run, run! Heads up though, it will probably all be pink.

Skinny Fatass

I apologize if this sounds real stupid or silly, but it is what it is.

I am a skinny fatass. I have been blessed with good genes that, for the most part, keep me thin. I have always been small and (cross my fingers) will probably be that way for a while as long as I don't start consuming 4 hamburgers a day. It just runs in my family (chicken legs all over my family tree). When I was younger I could eat whatever I want and as much as I wanted and stay the same size. But, as I've gotten older I've noticed that it does matter what I what I put into my body. The summer after my twenty-first birthday I gained about 15 pounds (margaritas y'all, happy hour is killer). 15 pounds doesn't seem like a lot, but when you've been the same size for ever and all of a sudden you've got a fat face and your jeans don't fit right, it's a little unnerving. It took me a little while, but I lost most of the weight I had gained, and after moving down here to Austin and pretty much cutting alcohol out of my diet, I lost the rest and a little more (due to my lovely stomach ruining my life). Let me just stop here and say that even with those extra 15 pounds I wasn't thinking "omg I'm fat I need to lose weight", I just felt unhealthy and I was. So now I eat better and I think more about what is going into my body. I still eat pretty much whatever I want, just not as much and I'm more aware of it when I eat bad things like, a buffalo chicken sandwich. And the things I want to eat now tend to be on the healthier side. Aside from all those pastries I eat everyday at work. DESSERTS YOU WILL BE THE DEATH OF ME.

But unfortunately, eating right isn't everything. I get winded going up a flight of stairs y'all. I mean, I work on my feet all day, so it's not like I'm just sitting on my butt. Brendon has been bugging me like crazy to work out a little so that my bones don't weaken (?? something sciencey), and I figure since I'm getting older and my body is already trying to fall apart on me, getting into shape probably couldn't hurt (irony!). So here I am attempting the impossible. Working out on a regular basis. I try this once a year or so and never stick with it, so lets hope this time laziness doesn't prevail.

Have you ever seen the Princess Diaries? You have, don't lie. You know how Mia says to her gym teacher who is forcing her to play soccer, "I'm more of a horseback riding, wall climbing, yoga doing type of girl". That's me, except I don't do any of that stuff. I pretty much loathe physical activity. Especially if it's rigorous. But I do really enjoy pilates. It's something I pick up on and off again (at home, dvd style), and I like it. I think it's because I danced through my adolescence so this kinda thing is familiar. Although I have completely lost my sense of balance. Pilates hard as hell but your body feels so good afterwards. So I've been doing that. For liiiike a week? Maybe? And today, get this y'all... I RAN. I went running. I got up this morning and went for a run, ALONE. I ended up walking quite a bit, but I did run some! At first it was great. I was bouncing along the sidewalk feeling like a champion. And then I felt like I was going to DIE. Wake up call, I am SO out of shape. I have zero endurance. My legs were fine, they could have kept going, but my lungs were on fire. I thought I was going to pass out, puke, and die all at once.

As an example: this video. Cute huh? (best line, "Kansas City, it's the Paris of the plains!")  But, I'm not that super-pretty-while-running girl. I am that guy. Puking, in the hospital. But I want to be that girl! So even though I barely ran halfway around the block and came home feeling like I may die, I'm going to try to keep it up. Because it would be nice to be able to sing and run at the same time. Or breathe and run at the same time. And I already have the Nike's.

These are definitely from high school. A good 7+ years old. And whats super sad is that they're still in great condition. Maybe if I can keep this up I'll treat myself to a new pair of running shoes from this decade. Incentives. I need them.

Me, post death run. I don't know how I kept my hand steady enough to take a picture. I collapsed onto the couch shortly after.

So wish me luck. Send me lots of active vibes and thoughts of healthiness. I'm trying to become less of a weeny girl and more of a strong woman (HA). And save my bone density or whatever Brendon says.