After a several week long non-motivational slump, I lifted weights for the first time on Monday and yesterday I up and destroyed a 10 mile run in an hour and a half. I feel like I’m back in the saddle and things can only get better from here!
Also, if anyone in the area is interested– how about a nice run this coming monday July, 30th at the Bangor City Forest? Let me know in the comments section!
This weekend, I made a trip down to Southern Maine for my cousin’s wedding. My girlfriend and I ended up staying in a very high-end hotel near Cape Elizabeth in Scarborough. The Higgins Beach Inn was a wonderful place to rest between social events and their hospitality was unparalleled!
Well, I decided that I needed some exercise Sunday morning. Though the rain was coming down in sheets, I stopped pouting and went outside and ran down the main avenue towards the beach. With little prickles of rain hitting me in the chest and cold wind blowing I tried desperately to find an excuse to stop running and turn back. As I hit the beach, I noticed something I’ve never seen in any part of Maine before: People surfing.
Men, women, young and old were braving the rain and waves to be generally awesome and it was then that I realized I couldn’t give up then and risk looking like a sissy. If there were 60 year-old men running towards the beach to catch some awesome waves, I could suck it up and go for a run.
It really inspired me. Up in the Bangor area, you never see people outside in the rain doing any type of exercise. Even as my lady and I drove around, we saw hosts of people outside in the downpour running and cycling. It was motivating!
My motivation to bring fitness into the community has not been greater! Yesterday morning almost made me remember that being comfortable all the time is overrated. Sometimes we have to take workouts to places that bring us out of our comfort zone and that helps us improve.
Lastly, I have been featured on Mainely Running’s website as one of their fitness revolutionaries. It’s a great honor to meet more people with like-minded goals who have done so much around Bangor already! Hopefully, that will bring more people to the Warrior Trail Runner project and we’ll be able to kick things off!
How are you training this week?
“Virile Agitur” is a latin phrase which means “the manly thing is being done.” I found this out through one of my favorite blogs, the Art of Manliness. Through all kinds of inspiration, fitness and know-how, the authors describe how to be awesome at all things manly. I realized after reading this article, that I should use that phrase in every facet of my life from here onwards.
Halfway through my second week of the Warrior Fitness Challenge I realize I am still lacking key discipline that will affect the outcome of this greatly. I still don’t need make all the right food choices when I have the ability to and I still catch myself trying to make excuses for not working out.
To me, manliness is like integrity. You must do the right thing when no one is looking, because that’s when it counts the most. You must also do the right thing because it’s hard. It’s too easy to do the wrong thing. But, by flexing my get-up-and-go muscle and remembering Virile Agitur, victory can only be that much closer. It’s the little goals over time that help you achieve the big ones. For me, that means doing 125 push ups and 125 sit ups every other day and following my run schedule. It means shaking bad food habits on a daily basis. It also means wrestling bears at night.
It’s my opinion that virile agitur is not limited to just men either. The manly thing doesn’t have to end with gender. Females can get out there too and do the same as men can if not better. Take this heart! Next time you feel like breaking your diet, you find excuses to not train or you want to take the easy way out, remember– VIRILE AGITUR! Give yourself something to feel manly or good about. Do the right thing not because others expect you to, but because you expect that from yourself.
What have you done today to makes sure the manly thing is being done?
Don’t believe in yourself. Believe in Battlesheep who believes in you.
Time for a quick post tonight. I’ve got a problem to solve that’s been heavy on my mind over this past week, I’m hoping for some feedback! Let’s get a disussion going.
“What motivates you to get up every day and be the best person you can be?”
And Go!
The All-Knowing Courage Wolf
It’s been a decently long week and I’m ready for rest. Unfortunately, I’ll only have about 10 hours rest from the time I get out of of my nine to five job and head down to Southern Maine to fulfill my Army Reserve Duties. For the Warrior Trail Runner, progress has been slow and it’s been a doing of my own. I find that I take a reactive approach to marketing instead of a proactive or aggressive approach. Today, I changed that. I have the first flyers printed out for WTR and hope to distribute them Monday and get some feedback through out the week.
On a much different note, it’s been a good week for trail running and keeping healthy the spirit of the adventurer. I’ve travelled an approximately meager sixteen miles by foot this week, but I’ve also accomplished awesome things with awesome friends. I’ve been through the cloud cover atop a frigid Cadillac Mountain, through rocky gorges, sloshed through knee-deep water and mud in the greater Bangor area and brought out one of my favorite workouts of all time–
THE RUCK MARCH!
Outside of military circles, you may recognize ruck marching as throwing a backpack on and filling it with heavy things and then walking for awhile at a brisk pace. It may not seem hard, but I guarantee you– a 30lb. pack for 4 miles will wear you down. Too easy? Go ahead and pack more weight in there.
(disclaimer: don’t actually do it if you’re not medically qualified, I take no responsibility for uncalculated risks to yourself.)
In any case, aside from weekly regimin of trail runs, log drills and body-weight exercises, I will again be adding in ruck marches to the mix for some variety! It’s too easy to do. You go out and get a relatively strong bag and fill it with rocks wrapped in a towel or old blanket because you don’t want the rocks to rub up against your pack and wear it down. It happens.
Your body expends a lot of energy to keep you going, to keep your core straight and not to mention it’s a great back workout. I was definitely feeling it the next day! So, if you’re feeling up to it, load your ruck up and go out for an hour and tell me what you think!
What would you do to add to to the intensity or make it a better workout?
Warrior Athlete 