So I don’t update this thing as often as I either mean to or want to, but I’ll make it a point to work on that.
I’ve been moving toward accomplishing some of the items from The List. Most notably, this past Saturday, I completed the Rebel Race and got to check off an item off my list. Well, sort of.
See, the original goal was completing two different races but this one was a nice substitute for the one I missed and the one I was injured for. I was invited by a good friend to join her and some coworkers and it ended up being a larger group consisting of more of our mutual friend…and some of her coworkers.
The Dukes of Greenfield
This is all of us about a minute and a half after crossing the finish line in all our muddy, sweat-soaked glory. Most of us crossed the finish line at about the same time, having made it through the course in just under an hour and 20 minutes, better than I expected. Truth be told, I’m glad I missed those other races and did this for my first one. I couldn’t have asked for a better team; the whole thing, while very challenging, was still a great time just because of these great folks.
This isn’t the only progress I’ve made. I’ve also always wanted to take some professional firearms training and it’s currently on the calendar. Seven and I are scheduled to take an NRA Basic Pistol course on October 7. It’s part classroom, part live-fire, a total of 8 hours of instruction with a local group called Indy Gun Safety. We were originally scheduled to take the class on Sept 1 but there was a scheduling conflict with the instructor and, because of Hurricane Isaac, the range we were to use for the live fire portion was closed since it’s located in a flood zone.
Lastly, I managed to get incredibly lucky and score an opportunity to get tickets to the Winter Classic in Ann Arbor, MI on New Year’s Day featuring the Detroit Red Wings vs Toronto Maple Leafs. It’s a goal to be able to see a game in every NHL arena and the chance to see a Winter Classic is something I had to jump on. It’s going to be one more step toward achieving that goal.
Also, I’ve spent some time reevaluating some of my health and fitness goals. After the race on Saturday, I went and signed up at a gym so I can get back to barbell strength training after about 4 years off. My employer has a deal with the Monon Center, which is just about a mile from the office and two from my apartment, so it seemed a logical choice. I start this part of my journey immediately after work today. It’s day one of the StrongLifts 5×5 program. Seven helped me find my starting points. Reminding me that I need to keep my ego in check, she pushed me to start much lighter than I thought I needed to. The more I thought about it, I knew she was right and I had to humble myself. It’s a short term thing, as the plan uses some linear progression and I’ll be back to moving respectable weights in a relatively short time.
I’m not abandoning the kettlebells but I’ve decided to shift my focus slightly for the time being. They’re still going to be an integral part of my conditioning routine and I DO intend to both take the Tactical Strength Challenge and compete (or at least be prepared to, if I can’t find one) in a GS event within the next year.
So some of these things have changed a bit and The List has been updated to reflect them. Changes aren’t a bad thing, necessarily, it just means that things had to shift a bit to line up with circumstance. I don’t feel that any of the accomplishments are lesser than what I originally intended, just different.
Those things will always be around later if I want to try again.
