It’s easy to get caught up in the day to day and forget to look at the whole picture. I’m not a new year’s resolution person because I am always happy with what I am working on to better myself throughout the year, but I do find the beginning of each year a good time to reflect on what I have accomplished and what I want to work more on.
2013 was one of my favorite years yet. I have fully settled into being a mother. After the initial sleep deprived, colicky, undiagnosed milk protein-allergy first few months were over, things got a lot more manageable. We survived starting daycare, going back to work, beginning to learn to balance family time and hobbies, and it was really fun watching my daughter learn and grow into her own little person more each day.
I worked hard at getting back to my pre-baby level of fitness. I worked out at home a lot and found time to take a class once a week. I discovered Under Armour’s Sweataday competition on IG and began posting end of February. I had no idea what doors that choice would open. Enter Under Armour What’s Beautiful Competition.
When I joined, I did it to have some more accountability in my preparation for my first Tough Mudder happening in August. It was also a great way for me to document my progress and keep myself in check to be sure I was doing whatever I could to be ready. It never occurred to me that I would stand out in the community or make so many friends, or that the competition would be exactly what I needed to find a nice balance in my life again. The challenges, the inspiration and energy from so many other amazing women, and my own will to learn more brought me to a new level of fitness I didn’t think was possible for me.
I PRed at my Warrior Dash in June shaving 9 minutes off my previous time and blowing through all the obstacles with strength and speed. I ended up running my first Tough Mudder alone when my husband hurt his knee 3 weeks before our race. I put the fear aside at the start line and enjoyed every second of that race and performed very well.
After realizing I could race alone and enjoy the quiet, I didn’t hesitate to sign up for my first Spartan Sprint at the 2013 Championships in Vermont in September. It was a fantastic experience on a steep mountain with a lot of climbing and tough obstacles. I made it across the monkey bars successfully after being psyched out at Tough Mudder, and I placed 8th in my age group.
I have learned countless yoga poses this year (a new obsession!), ran more OCRs and road races, worked hard at being able to do unassisted pull-ups, and made new PRs on much of my weight lifting and my running distances and times.
The biggest surprise and honor of the year was being a round 3 finalist for What’s Beautiful, becoming a Motivational Champion in the community, and an Under Armour Ambassador. I am honored to support such a great brand and be a leader in a community full of women who are focused on learning, growing, being stronger and better, and are full of drive and positivity. It’s just the beginning. As a community, we will support each other through 2014 and see success and happiness.
What’s in store for 2014? I am already registered for Tough Mudder New England May 31 with a great team of people including my husband this time. I am also registered for Spartan Citifield with a large group of kickass Under Armour What’s Beautiful ladies in April. I am waiting for Spartan to set dates for their MA Super and VT Beast so I can get my trifecta. I will be doing more OCRs and fun runs as they pop up.
My daughter is growing up too fast. I love hearing her learn new words every day and seeing her pick up new skills. We will get her swim lessons this summer and maybe let her try soccer or some other sport. There is snowboarding to be done this winter of course!
Happy new year!