Tough Mudder!

**{I wrote this after running my 2nd Tough Mudder with my boyfriend. We will be doing his 2nd and my 3rd one in November!}}*

I'm a terrible runner. I tell people that, and they're all like, "yeah, me too."
No. You don't get it.
I could TRY running every single day for a year, and still only be able to kill 3 miles, tops.
But, I don't run every day.
So the Tough Mudder kicked my butt!
BUT... I am beyond proud of myself! I did an awesome job. I finished.
I have been fighting an ingrown toenail for 3 days. It wasn't stopping me.
My sciatic nerve decided to act up and send shooting pain down the back of my thigh, starting in the second mile. I kept going.
I despise cold water, and not only was every pond, stream, and mudhole cold, plus the rain and the Artic Enema... I still went on.
I faced my fears of jumping from heights by jumping off a platform into more cold water.
So, maybe I didn't RUN the whole thing. I don't care.
What I care about is that I finished... I didn't skip any obstacles, and shaved 45 minutes off of last year's time!
I frigging rock! — feeling accomplished.

**Post from my boyfriend**
Alright everyone, this is a VERY rough edit of our experience at Tough Mudder. First time ever using the software so I have a lot to learn, but I wanted to get something together as quickly as possible cause I know a few people have been dying to see it. Should be good for a few laughs!
Tough Mudder South Florida 13 April 2014: http://youtu.be/qepeKiUmz_0 

Body Stereotypes

As many of you probably know, I had lost about 40 pounds in the beginning of last year. This year, I'm working on improving my overall strength, especially my upper body. In May, I will be taking part in the Tough Mudder obstacle course with some teammates, which is about 10-13 miles long.

As I am working on getting myself into better and better shape, I notice that a lot of the muscles that I had while growing up are starting to return. It's like my body already knows how to develop strength... I just haven't pushed it in about 20 years.

(A little background... I grew up on a dairy farm, so I always helped bail hay, carry buckets, lift bags of grain, etc. Because of my upbringing, I was pretty strong for a girl of my age.)

So, thankfully, my body remembers being strong and I'm getting back in that direction.

While spending all this time at the gym, I also do research on eating healthy, proper food choices, vitamins and supplements, etc. I also have "liked" a few pages on Facebook that show other women that also work hard and are proud of the improvements that they have made with their bodies.

Personally, I love being strong.

I love the independence that it allows me, especially since I have a mostly-guy dominated job.

I don't, however, wish to become a body builder that sprays their tans on and stands in front of a crowd in a bikini and flexes. To me, those women have over-done it and are no longer feminine. While I do want to see stomach muscles ripple and my calves move when I walk... I don't want to look like that.

Basically, I am trying to find a happy medium. I just want definition without losing my "girlish figure."

I am posting a picture of what I feel I would like to look like. You can see the girl's muscles, but she's not all veiny and body-builder-ish. To me, she is still very sexy and feminine... I have, however, had different men tell me that she's not attractive and that they don't want someone with "that many muscles."

Please post your opinions... I look forward to reading them!

Roller Derby

Last weekend, I went roller skating with a friend and his daughter, and I was approached by the coach of a roller derby team here in town. She asked me if I had ever considered joining a team. My initial reaction was that I'm not that great of a skater. Well, let me change that. I can skate, fast, and I'm pretty good at weaving around people... I am not good at stopping ("Catch me!!"), and I can't skate backwards or anything fancy like that. So, as much fun as roller derby sounded (it appeals to my aggressive, prove-things-to-myself side), I didn't consider myself a very good candidate and told her as much. Then she explained that once you join, you are put into one of three levels and they train you to do the rest. The beginner level teaches stopping, going backwards, squats, and so on. The intermediate level teaches more balance, for when people are trying to knock you down, and teaches you to push other people. That's the team part of it. Then, once you make it up to the Expert level, they will start putting you in actual races. It sounded like a lot of fun, and the more she told me about it, the more interested I became! The only hang up right now is that their practices are on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings. I can't make the Wednesday practices because I work nights. So... I'll have to wait until June when I'm supposed to go to the PR shop, and will probably end up working days at that time. So, meanwhile, I'm going to start checking out the Sunday morning practices and see how that goes. In addition, this week started the "hard core" training for Tough Mudder. We spent 2.5 hours at the gym on Monday night.... I ran for an hour and then did several exercises that have left my muscles still sore two days later! lol. It feels awesome and can't wait to hit the gym again tonight! I also came across an obstacle course that is shorter than Tough Mudder (I believe it's 4-6 miles) that will be taking place somewhere in North Florida in July. I'm thinking about checking that out as a "practice" run. By that time, I'll have a bit of training under my belt, and then I'll try the course and see where I need to continue working, or work more. I'm also still planning on doing the Breast Cancer 5K in May with my friend, Don, and the Never Quit 5K at Jax Beach in June, with some people from work. So, I've got a lot of plans, but it feels really good to keep myself busy in a healthy way. I love finally having a hobby that I feel good about! I don't think I've ever really had a hobby before. I enjoy challenging myself, and forcing my body to work hard to meet those goals. In November, I was barely able to run a 1/2 mile... now I run 3+ miles nearly every day! I feel better, I look better, and my confidence is so much better! I'm excited about life again... It's amazing!!

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Tough Mudder

Lately, my whole Breast Cancer ordeal has been weighing on my mind. I am not completely sure why, but it has been consuming more of my though process than it usually does. So, I have decided to do something about it.

I have always been a very stubborn, pig headed person... just ask my parents. I generally did what I wanted to in the long run, no matter how much it was going to get me in trouble later. I'm sure they were pulling their hair out while trying to raise a teenage Brenda! But I know that my stubbornness is what helped me survive the darkest year of my life, and the very difficult following 5 years.

But, finally, in more ways than one, I am a survivor. This survivor status has left me with a residual problem. I have an overwhelming urge to prove things to myself. I don't look in the mirror and see anything extraordinary, but I feel like God has left me on this earth for a reason. I'm not saying I'm destined for fame or fortune, or planning to go into Christian Ministry... but I feel I was left for a reason. I used to feel it was because my children needed me so much. But, as they get older, I believe I need them more than they need me now! I have more recently come to realize that God granted me more time to learn to really appreciate the life that I have! Live it to the fullest! Challenge myself and see what I can make of it!!

As many of you may know, back in November, I began running and dieting, and have managed to lose a bit of weight and am now going to the gym 4-5 times a week. My initial goal was to be able to run a 5K, since I was barely able to run even one mile. Well, I can do a 5K, and am planning on doing two of them in the next two months.

So, now that I have met that challenge, what's next? I have a short attention span, so I need something that will keep me feeling challenged and interested. So, after talking to some friends, my next big challenge is the Tough Mudder challenge. Check out the website... I am super excited about setting up a team and challenging myself by training and finishing these races.

I realize that it is unlikely that I (aka my team) will actually win the whole thing, but it is extremely important to prove to myself that I can finish it! There is one in Tampa in December, and then they are coming to Jacksonville in May of next year. I fully intend to take part in both of these challenges... not to prove anything to anyone else, but to prove to myself that I survived cancer for a reason. I survived because God loves me and wants me to realize my own competitive nature and self worth!

So, to sum it up:
I'm thinking of a team of 4-6 people...
We need people that are tough... Physically, but even more importantly, Mentally!
Team players, willing to do what needs to be done to get the whole group through the challenge.
People that are willing to put training and team-time into getting ready for these events.

I've already had several people say they would do it, but there is only so much room on a team. I love my friends, however, and I really feel like our team needs to be made of the most reliable, mentally tough people that I know. Since there is limited space, and you still feel like you want to do it, definately create your own team! I would love to have personal (friendly) challenges as part of the race! It would add a whole new element, and making it even more fun!!

Training starts Monday for me... and the first challenge is in Tampa, FL, on Dec. 1st... That leaves me with only 225 days to get ready!!