Friday, April 4, 2008

What was I thinking?

I think I'm crazy.

That's what I've determined. I signed up for the Camp Pendleton Mud Run, scheduled for Oct.18. The Mud Run is a 10K obstacle course where presumably you run and get muddy while doing so. You probably also get really, really exhausted.

Sometimes my eyes are bigger than my stomach, and I think that's what happened here. And that's why I think I'm crazy.

See, I lost a lot of weight in the last two years - 120 pounds to be exact. And I wanted to make good use of my newfound fitness and lifestyle. So I figured, what the hell, let's run a 10k obstacle course! It'll be fun!

Actually, I think it will be a rewarding experience as well. But it won't be easy.

I have to work on the following before I feel confident about the Mud Run:

- Cardio
- Upper-body strength

Not much, huh? I only need to get to the point where I can run a long distance out in the elements as opposed to the comforts of 24 Hour Fitness and get to the point where I can do a pull-up or 10 as opposed to doing nothing but hanging.

Over the next six months, I will train harder than I ever have in my life. At least, that's what I'm hoping for. I've worked out minimally since the start of the year and though I've kept my weight around 187, I need to work out and have a plan while doing so. I figured I'd start a blog to keep track of my progress and to sort of force myself into working out more regularly. Actually that part shouldn't be a problem. I worked out about four times a week throughout most of 2007, well, at least from March through November. I take winters off...

I'll update this blog every now and then and check in on what I've done and what I hope to accomplish. Let's see, my latest gym venture was on Wednesday and I worked out my arms, chest and back and hit the elliptical and treadmill. I weighed in at 186.6 afterward. I'm sore this morning. If all goes well, I'll hit the gym on Saturday morning, bright and early. My plan is to increase my cardio to the level I was at (a 42-minute treadmill session) last November, do that regularly and then progress to running laps at the local high school. Tomorrow, I'll work my legs out and try to stick to either the elliptical or treadmill for the duration of my cardio session. We'll see how it goes.

2 comments:

buenovi said...

It's still 6 months out so you have time to get into really good shape. It'll be important to start running outside, though. Start off running a mile or two a couple times a week. Then sprinkle in a 3-4 mile run. Once you can do that, you're not far off from being in strong shape for the mud run.

Upper body strength is really important, too, because if you're not strong up top then you get tired easier when running.

We should go running some weekends.

A.C. said...

Yay! Luis, you're so much more technical and organized than I am. I'm so ADD with exercise. I get bored very easily. It's awesome that you're doing this.