Crises Are the New Cool

What. Am. I. Doing? I’m stealing the term “Quarter-Life Crisis” from my good pal Dori, because when she mentioned that she was going through one, a light bulb went off. That’s what’s happening to me, too.

I can no longer say I’m in my early 20s. I just (barely, people) passed the 25th mile-marker. That’s not an issue for me. My age hasn’t ever really bothered me. But it’s what’s happened in my 26th year on Earth that’s gotten me to this point. After some life-altering happenings (albeit freaking blessings) in the blur of a month called April, I took a slap to the face and ran with it and have since chosen a new outlook on life.

The word “crisis” is often associated with something negative or undesirable...

Shit. Life #9 - DONE.

But, in reality, it doesn’t necessarily mean impending doom. The origin of the word “crisis” literally means to decide. So, what choices have I made recently during my time of “deciding”?

Well, I'm being selfish and doing what I want. So far, it's been a blast. I've got a new apartment that I'm DIY-ing the shit out of and staying beyond busy with work, friends and family. Then I decided to throw getting fit and healthy again back in the mix. For the record, I wasn't terribly un-healthy...I'm a retired collegiate athlete...I just took my retirement a bit more literally than I should have.

 

I had joined some intramural teams with friends - a little softball, dodgeball, kickball, and sand volleyball at various times throughout the last 2 years - which was keeping me active a day or so a week. I'd start Insanity or P90X and get a few weeks in (OK, sometimes only a few days in) before something more important anything else would come up and I'd go that route instead. It was so easy to skip a workout. Sure, I'd feel guilty...for like, 5 seconds. Then it was back to something more fun. I had joined a gym, but dropped my membership after not going...it was too crowded after work...too far away...blah freaking blah.

It wasn't until April 2013 rolled around that I was forced to really take a look at my life and what I want out of it. And I realized I missed being fit. Healthy. Energetic. I knew that getting there would require some pain-in-my-ass (literally and figuratively), fights with myself and conquering my lack of self-control when it comes to delicious food and drinks. In order to look forward to working out and incorporating those sessions as habits, I knew I'd have to go through the period of forcing myself to do it when it was the last thing I wanted to do.

So, I started running. I know, college athlete = amazing runner, right? WRONG. I played volleyball. It was all about quick, explosive movements, sprints, plyometrics and strength training. Our running never exceeded more than 1 mile. Up until that point in my life, 2 (two, dos, zwei) 5Ks were the most I'd ever run in my LIFE, and that was back in 2011 and 2012. I thought I climbed Mount f*****g Everest after those.

True story.

But I kept doing it. Half mile here, half mile there, then 2 miles. That was my wall. I'd crap out and call it a day. I needed something to push me. A goal with a hard date. So I signed up for The Color Run 5K that's actually this upcoming weekend (so pumped!). But that wasn't good enough. I needed more of a challenge. So I signed up for Warrior Dash again (I did it last year - one of my 2-in-my-lifetime 5Ks). Last year's Dash was a blast - however, I was so out of shape, all I could think about was not dying. Having the goal of actually completing it with some dignity was a step up. That's August 17. So we're good, right? Wrong. Let's push ourselves a bit, Mags, come ON. 

I saw my good friend, old roommate, old teammate and mommy of a 4-year-old recently. It had been a while since we'd seen each other, as she lives a few hours away. Amber's always been fit and healthy, but when I saw her, good Lord the girl was ripped! I was so impressed. She recently took a new job, running the gym/wellness program for a big company in Southern Indiana. She leads classes, does personal training, answers questions, the whole shebang. I've told her once and I'll tell her again that she was a big part of my motivation to get my ass in gear. I had no excuses. She's a busy mom, for crying out loud! So she and I decided it would be "fun" to sign up for what's dubbed "the toughest event on the planet" - Tough Mudder. I have heard stories to give me nightmares about this event. So naturally, I'm all in. Payment was sent with no refunds allowed. 

Whew! Some good stuff and awesome challenges to look forward to, for sure. But then Dori (my fellow quarter-life crisis pal), who's always been an avid runner, threw out the idea of a half marathon...in September...two weeks after Tough Mudder. The logical, smaller portion of attitude in me said, "HELL NO". But the larger, impulse-driven, why-the-hell-not attitude in me said, "Why the hell not?!". Logic - 0 Impulse - 1. Payment sent. 

I plan to center the majority of this blog around training and prepping via exercise and nutrition for the hellacious events ahead of me. But let's be honest...I'm not a fitness expert. I'm not a nutrition expert, and I still love to have a good time with my friends (good time = beer, vodka, terr(delicious)ible food and lots of laughs). But I'm willing to give it a try, and we'll see if we can find a happy medium.

Yay for my first blog post, and thanks for the endless support of my family and friends whom I'm forcing to read this.