A "Met Con Blue" Review: My First Mountain Race Adventure!

It's been 5 days since Met Con Blue and I'm still finding new little bruises and scrapes (in some very unusual places I might add), but my muscles have fully recovered and I've gotta say, I can't wait til next year's race! I learned a lot about myself and my own fitness level during the race but most of all, I had an absolute blast.  Here's how it all went down:

Our team of 9, "Insane Pain", arrived at the bottom of Blue Mountain pumped and ready for the 10am heat.  It was chilly and drizzling outside and we were surrounded by friendly and familiar faces, like the Crossfit Indestri team.  After a quick warmup we were off to the races and seriously, the beginning of the race was one of the hardest physical challenges I have ever encountered.  Our all-star boys took off ahead of the pack up the LONG STEEP HILL and I could see my sisters just in front of me.  I couldn't speak or catch my breath until we reached the top of the bloody mountain and got water. Krysten and Jamie were right behind me and we joined a little trifecta just as we reached the peak. Then the fun really began.

We climbed ropes and walls, ran through mud pools, and slid through the muddy trails from one obstacle to the next.  I had made the exciting mistake of not looking into the details of the obstacles ahead of time.  So when we came to a clearing and were told to jump over a giant campfire, I didn't have time to stop and think - I just gaver and hoped to high heaven I didn't land in the fire rump first!  By the time we rounded the last hill and the finish line was in sight, we were completely pooped, but so happy.  I have never had so much fun in a race before.

My sisters Sarah Pain and Megan Dunbar: "We DID it!" - Photo by Bill Pain

We got out of our incredibly muddy/wet gear and slid into our cars.  A hot shower has never felt so good!  After we cleaned up we returned to the battleground to re fuel with beer, BBQ, and POSK paleo treats.

I can't wait for Insane Pain to regroup and participate again next year.  And this time, I'm not skipping ANY hill runs during training!  Our team finished in 4th place out of 24, thanks to the rockstar boys on our team: Bill Pain, Dave Pain, Andrew Pigott & Adam Knowles.  But hey, I'm pretty proud of us girls too.  As my mom said to me on the phone the day before the race, "I think my daughters have forgotten that they're girls! You be careful out there, this is Survivor Collingwood!", to which I say "HELL YEAH!".

Thanks Met Con Blue, for a killer race, an awesome party and a great excuse to get together with such amazing people.  See you next year!

xoxo,

Allie

 

Healthy Lifestyle Bullies

Family and friends can have such a huge impact on what we see as "normal" in our day to day lives.  A sedentary lifestyle lived by someone close to you can inadvertently have a similar impact on your own health and fitness.  On the other hand, some people look at other people who are active and make excuses for their own fitness level (or lack-there-of) by labeling them people as "fitness fanatics", or "obsessive".  Yes, there must absolutely be a balance and exercise/healthy living can't be all you care about or you aren't really living, are you?  That being said, I don't know anyone personally who is at that level of fanaticism but I do know many people who use this negative labeling to make themselves feel better about their unhealthy lifestyles.  It's health bullying in a way.  

Adam Knowles and I post Half Marathon

The reason I'm writing all of this is because I had a sort of lightbulb moment with my great friend and fellow blogger Krysten (Misadventures of a Darwinian Fail) after a 6am crossfit class at Indestri in Collingwood.  It's no surprise, and no great secret that both Krysten and I have had our own challenges with body image (hey, we're human).  However as we sipped our lattes at Starbucks post workout, we made a connection that something had changed this year for both of us re:health and fitness.  A ball had dropped.  It began when we each committed to running a half-marathon.  When the training began, there was a serious shift in the way we each thought about our bodies.  For me it went from dragging myself to the gym and hoping that I had burned enough calories, to pushing myself to run farther than I ever had before.  When you're training for a race, you can't treat your body badly because you need it be a clean machine.  We both started to appreciate our bodies more and although neither of us broke any records by any means, we both finished something that a few years ago we had never dreamed of committing to.  


So yes, it may seem crazy and obsessive to run for 2 hours and put yourself through blisters and cramps and all sorts of other crap and actually pay to run in a half marathon, but hey - it's the best therapy and confidence boost I've ever had.  So if you're reading this and you think you might fall into the "health bully" category - maybe it's just your fear talking.  Any chance you might actually want to challenge yourself in this way too?  How about saying f%&k it to your excuses and put on a pair of sneaks and just GO?  And if you've crossed paths with someone like this - don't be angry with them, just remember, like any bully, they are doing it out of their own insecurity.  So run, swim, hike, yog, cross, or whatever else it is that keeps you sane and don't let anyone make you feel bad about it.


xoxo,


Allie