Breaking Through Complacency

Complacency was the perfect word to describe my fitness and health for most of 2017. I could hop in a FIT Camp and do great. I could also decide to skip a workout because there was too much work to do, I was tired from the long day, or I wasn’t willing to get up early. There wasn’t much of a consequence if I missed. In the past, my goal was to always have the strength to do a push up and pull up. I could do both with ease and now had nothing to focus on and work towards. My training was erratic and there was nothing to work towards.

In the early fall of 2017 I raced in the Warrior Dash. Prior to this race, I went on two runs and was not consistent in the gym. I ended up placing third. I must tell you, yes, if felt nice to place third, but I wasn’t too proud. I ended up throwing my medal (and a lot of other things) away after reading “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up.” It did not bring me joy.

A few months ago, Mike mentioned that he found it ‘interesting’ that I didn’t keep any of my past medals (two Warrior Dashes and a half marathon). I couldn’t give him an answer besides the fact that they didn’t bring me joy. After giving it more thought I realized I didn’t keep any of those medals because I didn’t put much work into preparing for the event. For my half marathon, I maybe ran four times before hopping into the race. A big part, for me, about being proud and excited is committing to a goal to the point where you put in the time even when it’s not convenient and you don’t feel like it. It forces you to grow.

How did I get out of the sneaky and clutching hole of complacency?

I found a new goal and focus. Mike had mentioned doing a Spartan race. I didn’t know much about Spartan races so I did some research. It looked like a challenge I was up for. The obstacles seem hard enough that if I didn’t train it would be a miserable race and I could fail, but attainable if I put in the work. I decided 2018 was the time to break through the complacency. I signed up for the Spartan Trifecta. If you are not familiar, the trifecta consists of three races the Sprint (3+ miles with 20-23 obstacles), the Super (8+ miles with 24-29 obstacles), and the Beast (12+ miles with 30-35 obstacles). I chose the date of my sprint and began my training.

With my new-found goal and focus I took responsibility for my progress. It’s so easy to make excuses. I would blame a missed workout on the fact that I have too much work to do. I would blame a missed meal on the fact that when got home dinner was not ready. If I wanted to be successful, I needed to take responsibility for me. My success was up to me. I could choose whatever path I wanted, but I knew that it was completely up to me.

I planned and prioritized my day. Working out was now a non-negotiable. It became a priority. I starting thinking about where my workout would fit into my day. For me, I needed to make my workout towards he beginning of my day. An evening workout left the possibility of me using work, hunger, or lack of energy as an excuse.

I got a training program. One of the hardest parts about starting towards a goal is figuring out what you need to do. It’s hard to create a program for yourself. I enlisted the help of Nick and Mike and a program was crafted for me. I had a written plan. I just needed to follow it.

I kept my goal on the top of my mind. It’s easy to set a goal, write it down, and then not look at it again for a while. You think because you wrote the goal you should be making progress towards it, even though you haven’t done a single thing to accomplish it. For me the pain that I associated with going to that race without training properly was a driving force. I pictured myself in the race. I imagined the dread, pain, and tiredness I would feel if I didn’t prepare. I also visualized myself completing the race having trained. I felt the joy and since of pride I knew would come from putting in the work now.

I found support and created a mentality of support on race day. I had a lot of support from family and friends leading up to the race, but I needed to make sure I had some on race day. I like to know things in advance and if I don’t know them, it’s a lot easier for me to get nervous. Racing in Phoenix, a place I was unfamiliar, in a race I have never done had a lot of unknowns. Was parking going to be crazy? How long would it take to get through registration? Would the Spartan volunteers be nice? Which obstacles were going to be in this race and how long was it going to be? These were all questions going through my head. It helped to have my siblings there racing with me and the support of my dad as a spectator. My dad drove taking the stress of transportation and parking off me. I had my brother and sister by my side doing the same race. Knowing I was with two other racers helped me. For as much external support as I could get, I also had to create internal support. A few nerves are okay before a race, but it is very easy for me to get worked up and super stressed to the point where it is no longer helpful. Whenever I felt this happening, I told myself, “You prepared. You put in the work. You got this.” I thought about the things I could control. I took the focus off other racers and ran my own race. The comfort of knowing I put in the work even when I didn’t want to brought a since of support, comfort, and confidence.

I crossed the finish line as the 5^th female in my age group with a since of accomplishment. I now have my Spartan Sprint under my belt! I learned a lot of the unknowns that I was worried about before. I know the areas I did well in and the areas I need to work on. I set my Spartan Super date for May 12, 2018 in Fayetteville, North Carolina. I am choosing to keep moving forward and choose goals that require and inspire me to better myself. Off to train for my Super!