On today’s episode, I want to share the details of the Spartan Beast obstacle course I ran at the start of September. It took place on Mount Killington in Vermont (a very steep ski mountain) and is considered the hardest of the Spartan races worldwide, resembling an outdoor Ninja Warrior course with hanging obstacles. This was my first time back running a Spartan race after I fell during one last year and blew out my knee, after which a doctor said I needed surgery, and I refused in favor of doing my own rehab. That same doctor told me I’d never run another Spartan race if I didn’t get the surgery, which I, of course, took as a challenge, so running this race was a validation of my choices. And I got that validation in the best way, managing to have fun, enjoy the community, and run a clean race (i.e. without missing an obstacle), something not many people manage!
Speaking of challenging myself, this summer, I did the 75 Hard Challenge, a mental toughness program that involves hydration, working out, reading, and sticking to clean eating. This was a hard, monotonous program, but it taught me some really important lessons, including how to identify self-sabotaging behavior and stop letting yourself down. It also helped me to realize how often my choices aren’t aligned with my goals and that I can reach those goals more easily by choosing to do a little more instead of going easy on myself. That’s a lesson that can apply to parenting and other areas of life: showing up consistently and not paying attention to the internal urge to backslide will pay huge dividends. And for me, the goal is to maintain my health and strength, not by making my life longer but by making sure I can live in my body with joy and vitality for as long as possible.
The Finer Details of This Episode:
Running the Spartan Beast on Mount Killington
Taking joy in what our bodies can do
Running a clean race
Deciding to stop disappointing ourselves
Aging with joy and vibrancy
Quotes:
“He said, ‘Just so you know, you’ll never run another Spartan Race unless you get surgery.’ I think you guys know me well enough by now to know that that was like, hold my electrolyte water. Because I’ll be back with a medal.”
“One of the best parts was, I bring magnesium spray for cramping. And guys cramp more often than women because they have thicker muscle mass. So every time I crested a ridge, there would be a group of guys feverishly rubbing their quads and their calves. And so I got to be, like, the magnesium-spray fairy.”
“I saw so many people sort of immersed in the suckage of the race. It’s a brutal race. And I just kept looking around me, and I was like, I get to do this. My body is so amazing, I get to do this, this is crazy. You know, sometimes people at my age are couch-bound, on medicines, and I said, God, I was so, like, in love with my body.”
“I had a chance to run a clean race, which means you don’t miss any of the obstacles, which is not that common. And I did, I ran a clean race, and I was so proud of myself. I was like, doing leprechaun leaps, and the rest of the race was effortless for me because I was like, wait a minute, I can run a clean race now.”
“My brother said to me, ‘You know, we’re all gonna die someday,’ and I was like, I don’t care if I die tomorrow, I want to live in my body with joy and vitality and health as long as I can. I’m not trying to make my life longer, I want my life to be healthy.”
Links:
Jamie’s Homepage - www.jamieglowacki.com
Oh Crap! Potty Training – https://www.amazon.com/Crap-Potty-Training-Everything-Parenting-ebook/dp/B00V3L8YSU
Oh Crap! I Have A Toddler -
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Oh-Crap!-I-Have-a-Toddler/Jamie-Glowacki/Oh-Crap-Parenting/9781982109738
Jamie’s Patreon Page: www.patreon.com/join/jamieglowacki?
Jamie’s Instagram Page: @jamie.glowacki
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