Week 1: Training for the Warrior Dash

School is basically done. And that means it’s time for two things: blogging and working out. For this post, I’ll combine the two.

In six weeks, I’ll be doing the Warrior Dash for the first time. The concept is one of the damndest things I’ve ever heard of – a 5K obstacle course where you climb over hay bales, run through tires and crawl through the mud under all kinds of barbed wire.

Since I’ve been so busy with school – and you’ll get to see the results soon, I promise – I haven’t had much time to work out. And I thought because of my lapse of staying in shape, and because of the ridiculousness of this race, I should put together a plan.

It’s simple, really. I’ll start out running a mile five days a week, incrementing a half mile each week to 3.5 the week before the race. I’ll alternate my running from around the track at the high school, the streets of town and the trails in a park on the north side. Three days a week, I’ll grab my dumbbells from the wooden rack downstairs and use those so as not to neglect my arms. Each run will be preceded or followed up by crunches.

Iron Man crosses in front of The Punisher and Captain America
Iron Man crosses in front of The Punisher, Captain America and Thor

I’ve never set myself on any type of a workout plan before. I don’t have any lofty goals to lose weight or increase my time – I just want to be able to finish the race without blowing up after the first mile. The only other race I’ve been in was the Jingle Bell Run in 2009 with a bunch of friends from high school. Because we sprinted out of the gate, I was completely gassed by the time we hit the first mile and I slumped to even finish – though I’m still excited I crossed the finish line under the 30-minute mark.

Apparently the Warrior Dash is also a costumed affair. This race, though, will be run with black belts from Metamora Martial Arts. We haven’t decided on a theme yet, though two that have been tossed around are 80s wrestlers (!) and Bravehart warriors.

And so begins my first week. Maybe next week, I’ll be back to deliver a progress report.