Week 3: Spartan Challenge + Mission 17

One of the things I learned after the Spartan Challenge last year is that my workout journal and my food log can be helpful training tools -- if I take the time to review them. So each weekend, I'll be reviewing my notes and sharing what I've noticed... to make sure I'm honest with you and myself.

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Week 3 of the Spartan Challenge and Mission 17 was an emotional bust. I was tired. I hurt my right knee. I woke up almost every night at 4:00 a.m. with my stomach growling, then watched old episodes of "CSI:Miami" 'til I fell back into fitful sleep. I let other people's opinions of me and what I'm capable of affect what I think of me. And I fretted about my impending Saturday weigh-in -- with full-on resentment of the universe for making me monitor every bite I eat and forcing me to rise every morning in the dark to train.

Basically, I was a big, pouty baby all last week, and I have no one to blame but myself.

In case you've forgotten (I sure haven't!), these are the nutrition goals I'm working against each week:

• no starchy carbs (except my post-workout Saturday breakfast)
• minimizing my reliance on Balance Bars (no nutrition band-aids!)
• no coffee
  
• replacing fruit with vegetables as often as I can without puking
• no low-fat ice cream before bed (or any other time, really)
  
• updating my food and workout logs every day

So how did I do?

I had coffee twice this week, 1/3-cup of low-fat ice cream when I was having a pity party, and one Balance bar. Those dumb bars are easy to eat in the middle of the night when my stomach is rumbling. I know it's Frankenfood; I'm working on a better solution.Other than that, I lived within my self-imposed restrictions.

Here are some stats from my workout journal and food log:

The Spartan Challenge+Mission 17 Index: Week of 5/24 through 5/30

# of workouts: 7 (5 CF + 2 runs)

# days of training: 5

average hours of sleep per night: 7

lbs. lost/gained: +0.2

# of vegetables & fruits consumed: 55

average # of Zone blocks per day: 12

consecutive days without a tortilla chip: 21 (!)

# of Balance Bars: 1

On a scale of 1-10
(with 10 being "AWESOME")

satisfaction with workouts: 8-ish. My right knee was a nuisance, and I took an unscheduled rest day to accommodate my hobbled state.

satisfaction with diet: 8 and 2. I've been eating really clean (8!) but the gnawing in my stomach that wakes me up in the middle of the night sucks (2).

overall mood/level of optimism: 5. Terrible attitude all week.

Favorite workout: I enjoyed Tuesday's Spartan + run a lot: 5 rounds of pullups, situps, and lunges, followed by a CFEndurance run around the lake.

Bad attitude moment: My "moment" lasted the entire f*cking week, culminating in my super awesome cry-fest at my Weight Watchers meeting. I cringe when I think about how much energy I wasted being angry this week. I know if I want to be very lean and very strong, I'm going to have to work very hard. And it's not the hard work that gets me -- it's the floating fear that despite my desire and hard work, I won't succeed. My weigh-ins for the last three weeks have been complete morale busters, but I know I need to stop thinking about the end result and focus on my day-to-day experience: healthy eating, solid training, and a smile on my face.

Gold-star behavior: No gold star for me this week. I did all my workouts and diligently wrote in both my journals, but I didn't believe in my heart -- and that's a crime against Spartanism.

Tweak for next week: F*ck the scale. F*ck my fear. And f*ck anybody that's not on the Mission 17 train. LA LA LA LA LA... I CAN'T HEAR YOU.