Day 1: Introduction

I need to find motivation to get in shape again.

For the past decade, I've had a turbulent relationship with my personal fitness. My weight has ballooned as high as 215 pounds, and been as low as 140 pounds over this 10-year voyage.

My journey first began when I set foot in a Goodlife gym as a scrawny 16-year old kid looking to pack on some muscle. I instantly became hooked, and working out became one of my primary passions. This love for weight lifting carried right through until my 3^rd year of University.

Then, something happened.

With a burgeoning work load (or so I thought), the gym stopped being fun, and started becoming a chore. After a 4-year run of consistent exercise, I have never quite been able to regain the fire to dedicate myself to my health & fitness, opting instead for sporadic gym sessions and occasional bouts of healthy eating.

Enter Spartan Race.

I stumbled upon the Spartan Race while reading ‘Tools of Titans’ by Tim Ferriss (which I highly recommend) a few weeks ago. The book features the tactics, routines, & habits of world-class performers, and included sections on Spartan Race creator Joe De Sena, and Spartan Race champion Amanda Boone, which I found very inspiring.

Intrigued, I have been contemplating signing up ever since. I gave myself until 100 days out to decide (I like round numbers), and today, March 14^th, is that day.

As of this morning, I am officially signed up for the Toronto Super Spartan Race on June 24^th, 2017.

Just writing that sentence sends shivers down my spine.

Never one for modesty, I chose the ‘Super,’ a modest 9-11 mile run instead of the 3-5 mile ‘Sprint’ which likely would have made a lot more sense for a first-time racer.

Despite never completely abandoning the gym over the past 10 years, I am far from a runner. In fact, I hate running. For me, the cardio aspect is going to be by far the biggest challenge, as well as my biggest focus for my training sessions.

So on June 24th, 2017, I will be competing in my first ever Spartan Super Race, and I am going to utilize this blog to detail my 100-day road to the race. 

Is 100 days enough? Probably not, but that’s what I’ve got so that is what I am going to use!

On this blog I will include my progress, dietary information, training regimen, and any research that I find helpful to my preparation.

My hope is that this blog will hold me accountable to my training, and provide a handy 'how-to,' or more likely – 'how-not-to,' for any fellow 'gym avoiders' that find themselves in the precarious position of having an obstacle course race looming without a concrete plan in place. 

I’m also hoping to get some helpful feedback & tips along the way from the Spartan community.

100-Day Spartan