If you followed our blog last year, you probably know about the Tough Mudder team we sponsored that competed in the World’s Toughest Mudder held in New Jersey in November. However, you probably don’t know the whole story!  Watch this video to learn more about how they decided to do it to begin with, challenges along the way, and how they impacted the lives of 10 young girls.

A short time ago, we introduced you to the Tough Mudder team we are sponsoring who will be competing in the World’s Toughest Mudder competition later this year.  It’s roughly a 10 mile obstacle course they’ll be running as a team in November.  Sounds doable right?  Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you…they aren’t just running this course once, but as many times as they can in 24 hours.

Kevin, Jeremiah, and Jonathon after the race. Jeremiah was there providing support.

So, how do you train for an event like that?  I imagine there is no exact right way to go about preparing your mind/body for 24 hours of pain and endurance.  I will be keeping you posted on how our team is getting on in their training.  Recently, two of the four Mudders participated in the Sunburst Marathon in South Bend (the other two were nursing injuries they acquired through their training).  Now, I myself do some running.  The longest I’ve ever run without stopping is about 9.5 miles.  My legs felt like jello by the end of it.  You can see why this would be a good event to participate in when training for a 24 hour race; Continue Reading »

It was about six years ago that I began running.  I had reached my heaviest weight up to that point, and decided that it was time to do something about it.  So, I started running.  I could barely run a single mile, and even at that short of a distance I hated every second of it.  However, I was determined to push through the pain and make exercise more than a brief lapse of wasted effort at getting in shape.  I realized that if I was ever going to get to the point where I didn’t loath running, I’d have to just suck it up and keep doing it until I was in good enough shape that it would seem easy to go out and run 5 miles (research shows that it takes roughly 66 days on average to form a new habit).  It took me six months of running before I somewhat enjoyed going out for a run.

I received some help during that time from my brother-in-law.  He was a cross country and track runner in high school, and is currently coaching both sports at his alma mater; West Noble HS.  He oozes runner.  Anytime someone calls me a runner, I quickly remind them that just because I run, it doesn’t make me a runner.  He’s always trying to get me to sign up for 5k’s or half marathons.  I’ll admit, I have considered it, but only briefly.  I simply have a hard time justifying spending money to do something that I can do for free anytime I want.  $20 to run 3.1 miles?  No thanks.  I’ll pass.  However, over the last several years, there has been a new type of event gaining popularity.  Have you ever heard of the Tough Mudder, The Spartan Run, The Warrior Dash, GoRuck Race (the list goes on.  I told you it was getting popular didn’t I)?  Imagine an off road race, but with varying obstacles thrown in to challenge your strength, endurance, and toughness.  That is what all of these events are about.  They include everything from wall climbs, to ice baths, to mud slides, to electrocution (yep, you read that correctly).  Now that’s what I’m talking about!  I CAN’T do that anytime I want for free.  That’s something I’d pay money to do.  Jump off a Continue Reading »

As the director of fitness here at CCWC, I spend a portion of my time working with clients that are setting weight loss goals or just trying to get in better shape.  If you read the previous blog entry, Dr. Waggoner is one of those clients that is making great progress towards achieving his goals.  What’s great about losing weight the proper way (exercise coupled with eating right) is that through the exercise, you find that your body is capable of so much more than you thought possible.

Doc is much more fit now; able to ride his bike faster and longer than he was just a month ago!  In order that I too would get a workout when out exercising with Dr. Waggoner, I rode what’s called an Elliptigo.  If you don’t know what that is, imagine the love child between a bike and an elliptical machine you’d find in any gym.  It gives you many of the benefits of running without the impact.  It does however take quite a bit more effort to go say 15 mph than it does on a bike (about 30%); not to mention the fact that the upright posture maintained while riding is the furthest thing from aerodynamic.  Therefore, it was a great way for Doc and I to push each other while both getting a great workout.

My father asked me if I wanted to do the Calvin’s Challenge with him this year on the Elliptigo along with him.  It’s an annual race every year in Springfield, OH and includes four separate competitions.  They are best known for their 12 hour challenge, in which you ride as many miles as you can in 12 hour’s time.  I think I’d rather be shot in the foot than ride 12 hours straight, but thought 6 hours would be doable.  Doctor Waggoner was unable to attend, because his son was getting married the next day, and he had a rehearsal to attend.  So, representing Community Chiropractic & Wellness Center, I signed up for the Challenge!  The week and a half leading up to the ride, I got about 200 miles in as preparation for the endurance I would need to reach my goal of 80 miles within six hours.  Honestly, my true goal was just making sure my 64 year old father wasn’t going to beat me.  How hard could that be?  I also asked a good friend of mine, Mike Marshall, if he’d be interested in taking on the Challenge, and he signed up as well.  He opted to stick with his trusty bicycle rather than trying the Elliptigo (I still haven’t managed to get him to even give it a test ride). 

We showed up at the school where the event start/finish was, and there were cyclists everywhere; and every kind of cyclist you can think of (or maybe haven’t thought of).  I’m pretty used to getting funny looks riding around on the Elliptigo, but check out some of the other classifications of bikes that were represented.  There are two stages to this event.  First, there is the 50.5 mile loop.  Once that is Continue Reading »