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Yo, I'm back. So I'm literally back from the wilderness. I just spent a month living in Guatemala, with a few weeks on both ends that got swallowed up in exams, preparations for the trip, and working at a couple summer camp things. Guatemala was kinda crazy, partly because I was living in a different country with crazy food and madhouse traffic, and partly because I was there to learn Spanish in four weeks (?), with absolutely zero background in the language. It actually went really well; I had tutoring five hours a day with a teacher who spoke no English whatsoever, so I had to learn fast if I wanted to have any sort of conversation. Anyway, now I'm back (yay for American plumbing!) and looking forward to getting back into regular workouts, cooking, all that good stuff. I'm interning in central VA for the year, so I have to adjust to a new speed of life, and not having university classes for the first time in ever. I also have to drive to a gym now, as opposed to having it right next to where I live - yes, I was spoiled - so this challenge will mostly be me trying to get into a new sort of weekly routine. One of the great things about my life and location now is that I can return with a vengeance to one of my favorite athletic pursuits: obstacle racing! This challenge will be focused on rebuilding my base and conditioning. Then, in late September, the fun really begins... Ze Goals: "It's not my fault being the biggest and the strongest. I don't even exercise." - Make it out to the gym at least two, preferably three times per week. Actively joining a gym is actually a new thing for me. I've always been part of some kind of university community with an athletic center, so finding, signing up for, and attending a proper gym is a slightly different experience. Right now, I just need to actually show up to the place and get used to the new environment. My runs are a normal enough part of my daily routine that they should hopefully happen naturally. "They always grow louder when they're about to feed..." - Cook at least two new recipes per week. This shouldn't be too hard. I'm happily working through a couple of my cookbooks, and the results have been excellent; I just need to keep consistently working on expanding my repertoire. Since this is already a big hobby, I expect good results. I may even post photos for bonus points. "Why won't my arms move?" "You've been mostly dead all day." - Stretch, at least for a couple minutes, daily. I've been feeling a bit creaky lately, probably from the weird mix of sitting around and rare high-intensity exercise that's been thrown at me this summer. I want to try to build in a stretching routine into my mornings to deal with some of this. "And yet he gains!" - Run a race. Any race. Don't die. This will probably be a 5k in the neighborhood or something. I think I need to psychologically adjust to the idea of races and runs with other people again, after not doing anything of the sort since March. Oh, and it's great to see y'all again. It's good to be back. "That doesn't leave much time for dilly-dallying..."

Hi all! The City Challenge Obstacle Race is happening in Hoboken, NJ, on October 1st. I'm planning on going, and was wondering if there was anyone else on these forums who I might run into as well. And for any who might not have heard of it yet and are interested, here's the website: http://www.citychallengerace.com For any NYCers interested, Hoboken is about a 15 minute ride by the PATH station at the World Trade Center Transportation Hub - typically, there are more PATH stations open on weekends, but there's construction going on for the next few months unfortunately. I've never done it before myself, but I've been making good progress on my exercise goals and even exceeded my expectations on a 5K I ran recently, so I figured why not give it a shot? Hope to see you there! P.S. - this is my first time posting on these boards, so if there's a better place for this, just send me a PM and let me know!

What does everyone struggle with as their biggest obstacle to stay on track or to even start a fitness program?

I'm admittedly coming in late to this challenge after a very intense summer of training. Because of this I plan to have this thread serve as a longer battle-log style thread with some moderate goals and some general keeping track. After the Ultra Beast this September I'm planning on taking a bit of an off-season until the start of December. I'll still be training and eating well, but with a decidedly different focus and less pressure. In fact this week I've decided to do nothing I don't want to! And I'll get back to real life in earnest next week. Upcoming Events: Soccer Season - starts 9/27 continues Saturdays through Dec 20 Malibu Spartan Hurricane Heat - Sat Dec 7th Malibu Spartan Sprint - Sun Dec 7th Tinsel Triathlon (short course) - Sun Dec 14th Here are some goals I have for the coming months: 1) Start taking pride in my apartment/look! - Organize wardrobe and start building a better career-centered clothes base - Redecorate living room and bedroom - Finalize bathroom 2) Lose weight (no I'm not that overweight, but 10-20lbs off my frame will be a huge relief if I want to run a 50miler in April 2015). - IF Protocol - Track Cals and Macros - Actually be accountable for weigh ins and measurements 3) Run 3-4x a week (with one HIIT/Speed Session) 4) Weight train 2x a week 5) Spent 15mins 3x a week focusing on yoga/foam rolling before bed My overarching goal is to reach a sustainable place with my training where I am consistent, and yet can miss a workout without fearing the world will end.

Spartan Sprint AT&T Park

Has anyone completed a Spartan race or anything similar? I've got a Spartan Sprint coming up in a week and I'm getting pretty pumped! This is immediately after an ankle sprain so I'm also pretty nervous because I haven't been able to train as intensively as I would have liked... Any recommendations on: What to wear? Running vs. crosstrainers? Loose vs. Baggy? Less vs. more? What to expect? Am I legitimately going to get destroyed? Did you love it? Hate it?! What to eat? I've never competed in anything so intense for such a long duration. What should I eat beforehand if my race is at 10am?