Pre-event Successes

Obviously this whole experience has been in an effort to complete Tough Mudder.  That happens this Sunday, in Wintergreen, VA.  My start time is at 9:20am, with Big Bible Benningfield and 498 other people.  But I had other goals, reasons why I signed up for Tough Mudder in the first place. 

1. Do something crazy in my 30th year on this earth.
2. Lose some weight.  On my 30th birthday, I weighed in at 201. 
3. Get fit, feel better about myself. 
4. Get out and do some of the things I've wanted to do: bike trips, camping trips, hiking, etc.

So, it's been four months since I signed up for Tough Mudder and just under seven since my 30th birthday and here I am.  I've got three days until the event, but as the tyrant Abraham Lincoln once said: "It's not the destination, but the  journey that matters."  (PS: Lincoln never said that)  So what has the journey yielded?

1. I'm now weighing in at 188 lbs, 13 lbs below my highest recorded weight.  And I'm weighing in at that weight consistently, occassionally lower.  So that's over 3 lbs per month lost.  
2. I've gone from a 36.5 waist to a 34.75.  I've gained 1/2 an inch at my chest, and 2 inches at my shoulders.  I've leaned down in every other area.  
3. My BMI went from  25.8 to 24. 
4. According to my getleantulsa.org profile, I've Exercised 76 different times, for a total of 4,874 minutes, 440.84 miles, and 50,301 calories!
5. I have biked 314 miles, run 104 miles, walked 19 miles, and kayaked 3. 
6. I've spent 1,134 minutes at the gym. 
7. I have increased my overall strength, though I haven't seen significant gains in the weight I am lifting, aside from benchpress.  However, my goal has been an overall fitness and strength package.  After this event, in preparation for the next, I may set goals for increasing my strength in more calculable ways.
8. I enjoyed most of my workouts.  And I have thrown in some really enjoyable experiences, like my C&O Canal Bike trip with Steve.  I'm really hoping to do more of this kind of experiential workouts as I keep going after Tough Mudder.

So, I obviously don't want to have done all of this work and not be able to complete Tough Mudder, but I think I can honestly say that this entire experience has been successful, regardless of what happens on Sunday.  Having said that, I really want to make it through Tough Mudder!  Come and check back next week to find out just how it went!