The Spartan Beast

I apologize it's been so long since my last post. Life really flies by! 

The Spartan Beast race was this weekend! I cannot even begin to put into words this experience. Honestly, I don't think I am quite ready to sit down at this moment and write about it but I wanted to do it before I forgot about obstacles and the feeling that happened. It was by far one of the hardest things I have ever done and I definitely couldn't have done it with out God and without the amazing men that were a part of my team. They are like my brothers and best friends and I praise the Lord for such amazing men in my life. Big thank you to Justin Veal, Jesse Nault, Joe Ward, Jason Paul, Derik Hemingway, Scott Owen and Will Blackwell. Thanks for being there for me and helping me overcome what has been the toughest challenge yet. Also thanks to Robert, Angel & Carman for being there during  training and working out each day so that I could rise to the occasion. 

Spartan Beast took place in Winnsboro, NC on Saturday morning and it was 13 miles and 28+ obstacles of grueling craziness! I have a few pictures but most of those are to come. Praise God for Bri Blackwell and Mike Laigle for being our "team mom" and rodie. They carried our bags, took pictures and footage, and gave us food and water when I thought we all were going to fall over. You were a huge blessing to us! 

The Morning of I didn't know what to expect. Each spartan beast race is different based on what terrain they have to work with in the location. I had watched some videos and there were certain obstacles that I knew that if they were included I was probably going to struggle. I am so thankful though that I am a part of LTD and my Amway business team. This business had radically changed my life not only by giving me a secondary source of income but the people I am mentored by and associate with have truly taught me how to be an overcomer and how to have a fighter spirit. They have taught me how to be in control of my mind and my thoughts and therefore control my destiny. I have had friends that I channeled their thoughts and coaching throughout the entire race and it was what helped me run the race with confidence and tenacity. For that, I am thankful and it is due to that that I will continue on to greater and bigger things. Our team, the Charleston Crusaders, are already having chat about going for our trifecta badge this upcoming year. 

This is me before the race under one of the last obstacles. Reppin' the pink socks since I was the only lady on our team! I was nervous because I was racing with a team of massive and strong dudes but they are my brothers and we decided we start as a team and we finish as a team. What a blessing that was. We finished in 6 hours and 30 minutes with some hurt ankles and other injuries and you know what I would do it again all day even if it took longer. I was a part of such a winning team of fellas that took care of me.

Lets rock this!

Before you can even enter the race course you have to climb over a massive wall to enter into Sparta. I thought I was going to cry on obstacle one. It is getting over that intitial fear and attacking it with force. Once we started going through that it got better. Following it was tons of water and mud obstacles and the water was freezing. That was the most difficult part of the race was from going from freezing to hot over and over again. We went through 7 foot walls, 10 foot walls, burpees, climbed over 16 foot rope walls, burpees, clay quick sand mud bits, burpees, flipped tree stumps, drug cinder blocks, burpees, drug and pulled tires, climbed ropes, threw spears, burpees, burpees, burpees, stump jump, climbed on ropes over a pond, slanted over hang walls, carried gallon buckets of rocks, burpees, monkey bars, weighted pullies, steep inclines, running through sand, running through rivers, jumped over fire, climbed over rope bridges, lost shoes in mud, downed mouth fulls of salt to get rid of cramps, and the infamous barbed wire crawl where we crawled like soldiers under barbed wire in the mud... not to mention the mud was filled with boulders and rocks. We were all cut up. The obstacles were a blessing honestly because who knew there were such RIDICULOUS mountains near Columbia! Not me! The entire race was a huge steep mountain! I know I am missing obstacles but that is a basic just and now I am bruised in places that I don't know how it happened and couldn't be more proud to call myself a Spartan beast and a sister to 7 amazing brothers and warriors. Also thankful we adopted some more estrogen along the route. A lady named, Faith, was struggling with an obstacle so we picked her up and she joined us until she found her group. She was an amazing addition to the Charleston Crusaders. I have to get give God all the glory for the strength he gave me and continues to give me. Ready for my trifecta!

The Charleston Crusaders 

*More pictures to come

Your struggles today with be your strength tomorrow! Excited to see what's next!

Let's take a walk of confidence...

Amen! Amen! Amen! Hallelujah & A Praise the Lord!  I couldn't have seen this at a better time in my journey. It can be so easy to focus on your goal and what your final end point that you're fighting for is that you get so wrapped up in it and forget to be thankful and proud of where you are, the things you've overcome and how much victory you've had since you started. This blog is attributed to that. This will give you a slight idea but really, I'll be honest, this blog is a selfish one. It's for myself. A walk down my journey of weight loss and fitness to remind myself of the amazing things I have done and where I have come from. It only infuses hope for what is to come!

I wish I had more pictures to show you of me from when I was a little girl but that was before the digital age and they are all in boxes back in NC! This is me in 8th grade. I believe I was a size 16 or 18. I now can put on my eighth grade strapless prom dress and it falls straight to the floor. When I was a senior in high school I was a size 22 and lost weight for prom. There was this stunning dress I wanted to wear. I got down to a size 18. 

Me in High School

 

Senior year of High School

 

 Freshman Year of College

 (I make an awesome Ginger Spice!)

 

  

Other College Pictures

I couldn't even get my feet off the ground here now I can do box jumps!! We also took pictures in a tree and I  just leaned against it because I was terrified to try to climb up!

This blue choraleers jacket was so tight I could barely breathe but it was the biggest size available. It would barely go over my boobs as you can see here. Now it swollows me and I keep it just to remember! 

 

After College

Then I made the decision and chose Victory! 

 My first picture after loosing some weight! 

 This was my Halloween costume but this is truly how I felt! Strong!

The two above are after Try Sports had sponsored me! Free shoes and gear and was included in their running club! 

Started to get adventurous! Started playing games like flag football, ultimate, etc with friends when before I would'nt have even tried.

Organized a 5k race in memory of my student bailey who passed away. She was wheel chair bound and was the one who inspired me to first run the bridge without stopping!

My campers at camp joy couldn't believe it! Most of them cried once they realized it was me!

This was my friend virginias dress that i was in love with. She gave it to me b/c it now fits me perfectly! 

 

Ran a full marathon in Feb 2012

Hiked in LA 

Trained with Billy Blanks to get certified to teach TaeBo in July 2012 

Several modeling gigs

Been in several magazine articles

Learned to Salsa Dance

Participated in Petal For Pattisons 4 hour spin-a-thon Twice!

Photo shoot for MUSC and HCC program- got to mentor and speak to people who are starting out where I started!!

Learned how to SUP

Officially got certified as a TaeBo instructor and have been teaching classes with James for over a year

Ran a half marathon in January 2013 with a PR of 2 Hrs and 28 min

Getting stronger daily!

My first mud-run in preparation for the sparatan beast in Nov 9 (Half marathon with 28 obstacles!)

...a really cool girl with a wild sense of adventure, unshakable confidence, and a pure love for herself (finally) that is developing every day as she explores, seeks, grows & fights all under the shelter and protection of a loving & faithful God & Father!   

Lift, Dance & Sing!

I am so thankful for opportunities to be free and adventure out and figure out who I am and learn more and more how strong I actually am; physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. We all have more inside of us than we give on a daily basis. I truly love pursuing excellence and seeking to be better each and every day than I was the day before. I don't expect to be perfect but to progress is such a sweet satisfaction. I praise God and give Him glory for even the small amounts of progress that I make on a daily basis. I am entering into some new type things with Robert at Crossfit Discovery that are incredibly awesome! I am truly loving the experience and how he is helping me get better and stronger daily! I can tell such a huge difference in my muscle development! It's phenomenal! It's definitely not easy or something that comes naturally but I am so stoked to fight for it and get better! Below are some links to some videos of some things I am working on! I am stoked to work for what I want through blood, sweat, tears. I will not be denied!


Perfecting My Snatch

Bear Complex

 

So, I grew up as a dancer! I have been dancing in studios and troops since I was the age of two. It was my love and what I wanted to do. At a very young age, I also developed a serious unhealthy issue with laziness and overeating. I wanted to dance and that was my  limit. I gained weight quickly and struggled with being overweight my whole life. I am currently smaller now than I remember being in fourth/fifth grade. I can remember my parents trying to get me to quit dance and go to soccer or something that may involve a little more running but I refused. I was sold out to dance. I loved it and it was something I desired to be good at. I am not a perfect dancer by all means and I definitely have to work hard to succeed or to be able to perform well but I love it and I believe have at least some natural abilities. I'm not completely a white girl! (though I know plenty white girls who truly got mad skills!) Dancing growing up, I desired to be a part of the competition troops and be included among the elite dancers from my dance academy but my weight got in the way. I never felt good enough. Things were hard because of my weight. I never felt pretty enough. But you know what, even though I had more mass and ass (sorry for my language!) to shake than everyone else I was pretty darn good. There are so many industries where looks overshadow talent. I let myself get discouraged and kept myself from auditioning for things that I wanted. I am so thankful to have found Robert (who runs Crossfit discovery) and Angel (who runs Peace Love and Hip Hop). Angel has given me an opportunity to finally tap into something that is my heart, my love, and my passion. Now that I have lost the weight and am fit, it's a new chance to start over and achieve some fun things that I love. Last nights hip hop class was so stinkin' sick! The dance was amazing and I am so stoked about practicing it until I bleed! I want to be able to hear that song drop and rip it anywhere I am! Angel and Robert, for some reason if you get to read this or stumble upon this, thanks for bringing a part of me who is so much of who I am back. It gives me such freedom!

It kind of makes me emotional thinking about the opportunity to dance again and now to sing again too. It's amazing how we allow one area of our lives to hinder other areas where we may have phenomenal talent. Not only did I let my weight keep from dance, I also let it (and sometimes other people let it) keep me from going after my dreams as a singer. I cannot tell you the number of times I auditioned for roles in shows and was told I was the obvious choice for talent but I just did not "look the part." That destroys a girl piece by piece; time after time. I remember when American Idol came out. Everyone was trying their hardest to get me to go and I refused because I just knew the judges would tell me that I was fat and imply that I was not beautiful enough. I have let so many opportunities pass me by. I am thankful now that I have gotten my health and weight under control but Lord, I wish I had done those things anyways. This leads me to my upcoming audition. If I hadn't met people in my life that encourage me to look at what I dislike and focus on the solution rather than the problem and fix what I don't like I would have never learned to overcome. I am empowered and full of strength. I know I can accomplish anything. So with that, I have decided to audition for The Metropolitan Opera Company in January for their regional auditions in Columbia. I may not please their eye. I may not please their ear. But I will be well pleased in my courage, boldness and faith and that is all that matters. 

One of my heaviest weights.

Now :)