(Ben)
Got home from work today and ran 4 miles.  I wore a pedometer to see how many step, and it was 6,047 steps (including my warm up and cool down walk).  It is amazing how early the sun is setting.  I left for my run as quick as I could after getting home, and got back about 5:15, and about 15 minutes later, it was dark.  I am not a fan of this time of year.  I like long days and hot weather.

By the time I reached the end of my block on my run today, my Ipod battery died, so I had to run with no music..... It sucked.  I usually listen to music, and the beat helps me keep a steady pace, and my breathing seems earlier.  Without music, I found myself focusing more on my breathing, and my landing (trying not to give my knees too much of a pounding).  I realized that running is a very complicated task.  First of all, I am not a natural born runner.  It has taken a lot of miles to be able to run a decent distance.  Secondly, I am a mouth breather, and my breathing is not conducive to quality running.  Secondly, I find it very hard to swallow my saliva when running, so I am constantly spitting ever few steps.  Thirdly, I am still trying to figure out my landing so I don't hurt my knees too badly.  Put all of these strikes together, and I am sure I look like Sasquasch running through the woods.  So if any of you drive by when I am running, leave a comment and let me know how I look.

(Ben)
Two workouts today.  The toughest of the two was carrying the Christmas tree from the basement to the upstairs living room (already assembled).  For some reason, Terri convinced herself there was not room in the living room, so she set it up downstairs.  A few days later, each of our three children individually told her they did not like it downstairs because it did not feel like Christmas.  Now everything is right in our household.

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Tough Mudder Wounded Warrior Project Fundraiser please donate here

--> (Ben)
 Well, we did it!!!  Terri and I officially registered for Tough Mudder. Tough Mudder is a “hardcore 10-12 mile obstacle courses designed by British Special Forces to test your all around strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie. With the most innovative courses, half a million inspiring participants, and more than $3 million raised for the Wounded Warrior Project, Tough Mudder is the premier adventure challenge series in the world”.  Tough Mudder  will take place in Avon, Colorado on June 15^th and 16^th. 

The idea to participate in this event was proposed by Terri, and once I heard about some of the obstacles involved in the race, I immediately became interested and agreed to the idea.  Once I looked into Tough Mudder a little deeper, I discovered they were a supporter of the Wounded Warrior Project, and I decided I would document my 6 months of training (and life) in an effort to raise money for a very worth cause.  I have a little brother who is in the Army currently serving his second tour in Afghanistan.  During his first tour, my brother was shot in the left leg just above his knee.  He is healed up, and able to do all required physical demands, but it was a scare none the less, and makes you appreciate all the military individuals do for our country.

With the war in Iraq and Afghanistan continuing on as long as they have, and involving the number of troop that have been deployed over the years, chances are every American has in some way known a solder involved in the wars in the Middle East, and unfortunately, many have returned home changed in one way or another.  Because of this, I decided to start a blog to document my training progress in an effort to raise donations for the Wounded Warrior Project.  This is my first undertaking in participating in an organized event while trying to raise funds for an organization, but I decided to set a fund raising goal of $1000 for the Wounded Warrior Project, to help benefit those solders returning home in need of some assistance.  This blog will document Terri’s and my training progress, and in the process, I am sure a few entertaining stories will be shared.  

 Please click here to donate!  

11/23/12 (Ben)

Ouch!!!  Training is underway.  I have logged whopping 6 miles of running in a three day period, and my knees are sore.  In the past month, I have begun to realize that I may be landing on my heel when I run, which might be causing some of my post run soreness.  I have tried to address this by changing my form, which has resulted in pain.  Once, I set out for a run attempting to land on more of my midfoot.  After running that day, I could barely put weight on my right knee for the remainder of the day.  However, my knee felt fine the next day, go figure?  The next time I hit the road, I tried to land more on the front ball of my foot, keeping my heel off the ground.  Bad idea!  I could barely walk for a week due to the excruciating pain in my calves.  Finding the right form when I run will continue to be a work in progress.  It might also be related to age, which I am slow to acknowledge.

11/27/12 (Ben)

To comment on Terri's post below, here is "her perspective" that I find amusing.  Before Terri was even able to get a workout in after committing to Tough Mudder, she first had to research, and discuss at length, the type of outfit that she needed to buy to participate in the event that is 6 1/2 month away.  Always have to be fashionable.  "His perspective" includes thinking what kind of facial hair I will sport during the event.

11/26/12 (Terri) 

Hopefully since Ben and I are both writing about our training in this blog, you will get to see a “his and her” perspective. So, with that being said here is my point of view on how this entering into the Tough Mudder and training became.

First off I never in a million years thought I would be signed up for such an event. I have a fear of heights, I am claustrophobic, I HATE the cold, I can’t do a pull up or even a “real” push-up (not a modified on the knees kind) to save my life, so why would I agree to such torture? I was a little on the fence at first even though I was the one who approached Ben with the idea of signing up for this event.

I was looking at Beaver Creek’s main web page a few months ago because I had wanted to go skiing up there. I saw that they had other events there as well, so I clicked around and saw the “Tough Mudder” event. I told Ben that he should do it because this was at a time when Ben thought he was a Navy Seal. The thought of me ever joining him never crossed my mind until just a few short weeks ago.

I have been working out religiously for the past 2 years going to classes our local YMCA offers. I just recently changed up my work out routine and began going to a class called “Boot Camp” that a friend of mine teaches. She mentioned to me that she was going to do the Tough Mudder event and said how fun it would be to get a group of us to do it. So, I went home and mentioned it to Ben and again showed him all the obstacles on the Tough Mudder web page and without hesitation Ben was in. I was interested but not fully committed just yet, that is until Ben made one comment…”Terri are you going to play it safe all your life or are you going to live a little?” He was right. I play it safe in all I do and I never go outside my comfort zone. When I thought about it I realized in all my years I have never even went off the high dive at any swimming pool I had ever been to, kid or adult!! So, with Ben’s comment fueling me that was it I was in! I looked that the obstacles again with a different point of view, a challenge, an opportunity to go outside my comfort zone. As I began looking over the Tough Mudder web page more in depth the more and more it seemed like such a great thing to be a part of. There is the “Tough Mudder Pledge” that states:

            “ -I UNDERSTAND THAT TOUGH MUDDER IS NOT A RACE BUT A CHALLENGE.

-       I PUT TEAMWORK AND CAMRADERIE BEFORE MY COURSE TIME

-       I DO NOT WHINE- KIDS WHINE

-       I HELP MY FELLOW MUDDERS COMPLETE THE COURSE

-       I OVERCOME ALL FEARS”

This pledge pretty much summed up how I felt about the event at hand. Once my fire was lit and I was ready to take on the challenge and move outside my comfort zone this pledge spoke to me.  I mean what’s life if you don’t do things that scare you a little right? I was ready to work as a team and I felt comforted by the fact that my team and I would all be in this together. I was ready to stop giving excuses and ready to walk the walk. I was ready to conquer my fears and let the training begin!!

Now with a goal and motivation behind me working out even took on a whole new meaning to me. I would work out harder and push through the pain. I would start running!! I haven’t ran in years literally years!!! I always told myself that I can’t run, I get shin splints, running just isn’t something that I am good at and so on. I had a list of reasons why running and I didn’t mesh together. I even tried to convince myself that I can’t run because I have what the doctors call a “pectus excravatum” a funnel chest where the breast bone is sunk in. I always had a hard time with figuring out how to breathe when I ran and this was excuse 101. Maybe it plays a part, maybe it is a little harder to breathe, maybe it’s not, but I do know that it’s not impossible to run with it and so the training began!!

Sat. Nov. 24, 2012 (Terri)

Today marks the day that I officially began to start training for the Tough Mudder! All my family has left from the holiday and I have had way too much sweet potato pie. I decide to go for a run, a very small run to ease into it. I really do get shin splints even though I use that as an excuse, so I am going to ease into it. I stretch and then I am out the door. I run to my children’s elementary school and once I am there I challenge myself to do the monkey bars. I climb up and think to myself how easy this was as a child I could actually swing like a monkey across these bars no problem, but all I feel is the weight of my body and the gigantic force of gravity working against me. I swing to the third bar and I drop like a heavy sack of bricks!  Attempt after attempt I am not passing that third bar so I decide to go over to the line of bars where the middle bar is the highest and the other two bars on either side are the same size. I grab onto the middle highest bar and attempt a pull-up I get my arms bent at maybe a 150 degree obtuse angle. Then I remember that in one of the Tough Mudder boot camp training circuits it mentioned that you may need to start by just hanging. So, I hang on the middle bar for a few seconds and drop. I attempt this 3-4 times and by the 4^th time I am feeling defeated and decide to run back home.  The run when all said and done was about 1/2 a mile run and by the tail end of the run I finally start to feel like I am getting into the groove of breathing. When I make it back home I don’t feel dead at all which is a surprise to me and my shins don’t hurt. I was pleasantly surprised at how good that first run went.  I told myself that if I can make it out the door that is half the battle and today I accomplished more. I am already putting those doubts and excuses behind me.

Sun. Nov. 25, 2012 (Terri)

MY ARMPITS HURT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hanging on a bar makes your armpits kill- just sayin’

Mon. Nov. 26, 2012 (Terri)

Today is the day that I normally go to “Boot Camp” that my friend Stacy teaches. However, tonight Ben has a meeting that will not allow me to attend. So, plan B…Ben and I will work out together and do the “Maybe Mudder” boot camp circuit training when his meeting is over. Ok, so plan B didn’t work out Ben’s meeting went later than expected so I decided to try the “Maybe Mudder” boot camp at home.  The “Maybe Mudder” boot camp is a 4 circuit workout with each circuit being about 10 minutes each. I had a good run at it getting through the first half of it before my kids decided it was time for me to quit. I had about a 20 minute workout and I felt like I didn’t get anything accomplished. Lesson learned that even with all the best intentions in the world working out at home is just not feasible with my kids.

Tues. Nov. 27, 2012(Terri)

I woke up at 5:30am and trekked it on down to the YMCA to go to yoga class. Today was the first day back to yoga in a week. I didn’t go last Thursday due to the holiday so I expect that tomorrow I maybe a tad sore in spots. After a weekend and especially after a long weekend due to Thanksgiving the first day back to yoga is always the hardest. Everything is stiffer and I have less balance. To get stronger for the Tough Mudder I am planning on working out later tonight maybe do some cardio and weights. Usually, on Tuesdays and Thursdays I would just go to yoga and that would be it for my exercise for the day but, to gear up for Tough Mudder I have to pick it up a notch. 

Ran a half mile again, this time with no stopping for monkey bars! At the end I was a little more tired than I was last time but I didn’t feel dead so that is a good thing. Also, no pain in my shins!! Whoop! Whoop!

Workout number 3 for the day…lifted upper body at the YMCA with Ben. The pull-up machine with the cheat bar is amazing!

Wed. Nov. 28, 2012 (Terri)

My arms are a little sore today. Tonight is “Butts and Guts” night! Gotta love that class, makes your ass feel like it has a charlie horse. This class targets your butt and gut obviously. My friend Stacy Shaw teaches this class as well as the boot camp class and the yoga classes I attend. She is a great teacher and somehow makes you want that charlie horse in your ass.