Fitness Goal – Spartan Race 2021

Alright! Since I previously set out to achieve my goal of completing a half-marathon distance in 2020, and subsequently ended up completing that goal well before my cut off date (December 31, 2020), I of COURSE am ready to set a new one. *You can read the final post and find the others here, or you can search the site for ‘half marathon’ to read about the whole progression!
NOW
On to the next goal…as you might have guessed from the title of this post, it is a Spartan Race! I am taking part in the Spartan City Race – San Diego and if you are not familiar with these – they are both endurance and obstacle courses. Go ahead and do a youtube or google search and check them out.
Spartan Races have various types that indicate their difficulty and terrain. Read about their different types here – but for my first, I feel the “city” style is more than adequate to challenge me! From their Spartan website:

Spartan City: 3K-5K 20 Obstacles, Spartan is bringing your favorite events out of the mud and into popular cities around the world. This energy-filled 3-5k event will combine your favorite Spartan obstacles with a flat, fast course design set mostly on pavement. It is perfect for racers looking to try out their first Spartan event, racers looking for a more casual race, or for Spartan veterans who want to redline it for the entire course. While only featuring open heats, this event will still be timed for racers looking to push their limits and challenge themselves.

https://spartanrace.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360037566054-Spartan-Race-Types

I am super pumped to try this – and if you are too, they have some great discounts right now and flexible change policies. What I also love about things like the half marathon, and now this Spartan race, is the fact that it not only challenges a person physically, but mentally and emotionally. There’s a certain degree of physicality that a person can train to/for, but the real tests come in overcoming fear, doubt or discomfort. Learning to self-soothe in the midst of a time that feels too tough or scary. Finding the camaraderie that comes with a group of like minded individuals who are taking part in something difficult.

In the last month, since finishing my half marathon, I took a little rest and after that week off I have since been on a more strength focused plan. I have been really careful with my nutrition and consistent with my training (5 day split of various muscle groups with at least 2 days of more intense cardio and 2 days of lower state cardio) – which has quickly proven to be super effective. I will be taking progress photos at the beginning of December, but I can already see a large change in my physique and muscle tone/strength since August 2020.
Also since the start of November I have been trying to work toward/train myself to be able to do a chin up. As a female who has never been able to do one – this has proved challenging BUT I find that to be a part of the fun. So far I have been focusing on 1. lats & scapular activation, 2. core stability and 3. back/chest/shoulder strength. I started the month using 70lbs of assistance on the chin up machine at the gym, and after 2 weeks, I am able to get a few with the 55lbs of weight, so we are improving!

The coming months (after November) should prove a bit of a challenge, since COVID restrictions are causing gyms to shut down again…but I think between my workout equipment and that of my friends/boyfriend, I will be able to at least (mostly) train enough to keep up my progress until we can get into gyms again. This time has really shown me what an impact proper nutrition (read: nutritious food AND eating enough food) and consistent workouts can do. It’s really become so apparent, and now with this positive progress, I’m feeling even more motivated!

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