Where did the time go? It seems like just yesterday that I had 6 months to get Spartan fit. Today, I look at the calendar to find my race 3 months away. Technically, race day is < 3 months away! And me… well I’m no where near ready for a race that involves 8-10 miles of running and 25+ obstacles there to test my strength and agility.

It’s time to get serious!
Not only do I need to build more strength, I also need to get down and dirty, squat, crawl, jump, carry weight, pull weighted objects, and muscle my way into my version of race-ready. Whatever that means.
It is certain that the road ahead will be interesting. Most definitely, it will be an uphill battle complete with many struggles mental and physical.
As scary as this seems (to me), there is a part of me that is also a little excited about it. It’s been a long time since I have been driven like this. Seven and a half years to be exact. Yes, I am excited. I am still scared as well.

Fortunately, there will be little moments, or creatures, along the way that offer me reason to smile. Hopefully, these moments will be more frequent than the moments that make me want to cry from frustration.
My goal is not to complete a stellar race. I have only the goal of completing the race relatively unscathed. My goal is HUGE, but I think it can do it.
Over the next 3 months, I need to change the “think” in I think I can to “know”. I hope that you all will cheer me along, [virtually] from where ever you are. I need all the support I can get.

This time of year can be especially difficult for those who have experienced the death of some significant to them. Years ago, I was faced with a number of other peoples expectation that I would be “over it” after a year or two. I was grateful to have gone through grief support group and individual counseling. I learned that it is normal to continue feeling the loss throughout life. In regards to my children, I learned that they would go through a profound experience of the loss at each developmental stage of development. The best way for me to help them was to create/modify our holiday traditions while honoring their father.
Sometimes I feel like a lone butterfly arm’s reach away from its kaleidoscope. The season seems to call for a bit of solitude which helps me to reflect on the year as it comes to an end.