Training, Training, Training....

Tomorrow, August 22nd, is exactly one month away from the day the three of us will attempt our respective wins in Killington Vermont for the Beast and Ultra Beast. We're not tackling this lightly. Corinne has been running with additional weight in her pack to gear up for the 26.2 lbs of team weight. Andi spends her mornings climbing to the top of Stone Mountain with a sandbag. I guess I'm the one kind of lost in between. Up until this last week, I have been undecided about Vermont, really unsure of which race I would even run... Yesterday, I made a decisive decision that if it doesn't kill me, it will make me stronger. I will compete in the Ultra Beast next month, and do my best to win. The last 3 months have left me stressed with work issues and super busy with my kids. All the while, I was making decisions about school and my personal life that would impact the next ten years moving forward. I don't know what next year will hold for me in terms of obstacle racing. Do I make the jump to the Ultra or do I continue to hit my marathon training hard? I've had to push those decisions aside and focus at the task at hand, winning the Ultra. Will it be easy? No. Will I live through it? Maybe. (I actually don't even think that is an understatement. Ha ha.) Until September 22, I have to do my best to jump in and make each and every day count.

Today, (a day that should have been a day off) was spent up at 4:15 A.M. to log a few miles before the sun came up. I ran 10 miles, dropping every mile to do 25 pushups, then finished up with 50 more at the finish.

 

By the time I returned home, I was covered in gravel and dirt from the trails, but by 7:00 A.M. I had already put in a solid training session. Sometimes waking up can be the toughest thing, but is followed by a sweet reward when my first WOD is completed early. 

Tonight, I'll have some time to myself to finish my second WOD in my home gym. A few months back, my boyfriend turned my garage into a Spartan training gym for my birthday. The final piece of equipment (my NordicTrack Incline Trainer) was just assembled yesterday. It will be so nice to be able to slip in a second workout without leaving the kids. 

 Sadly, my jogging stroller hangs on the wall now, and is used only rarely.

 My Q tests out the treadmill (it wasn't on) while Beck looks on.

In the month that lies ahead, I'm going to focus on my rope skills since the traverse rope was a disqualifying obstacle in the World Championships last year. I have no question that Andi, Corinne, and I will be ready for our respective races, and will be so excited to celebrate on Saturday night when our competitive heats have come to a close (for Corinne and I, this will likely come after 8-10 hours on the mountain.) I look forward to seeing and meeting some of you in Killington. Until then... -Ang