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Upcoming Goals

One big goal of mine is to compete in and complete all the obstacles at the Spartan Race in Boston, on August 28, 2010.

The Spartan Race is described on their webpage as follows:
The Spartan Race is for athletes and people who are tired of the tedium of the usual races and workouts and yearn to recapture the spirit of an adventurous age. This international race is set up to test not only the strength and stamina but the cunning and creativity of each athlete’s warrior essence. Participants will confront obstacles ranging from extreme to absurd that gain their inspiration from sources as varied as Spartan training, Navy SEAL training, American Gladiators, Eco-Challenge and Ironman.
If you win a Spartan Race, you're invited to the "Death Race" in Pittsfield, VT, in October - where there's a longer version of this sort of race.

As I said, my goal is simply to complete all the obstacles and not come in last in my heat.  My challenge, then, is to get my body to the point where it can do just that.  My cardio is pretty good from my frequent cycling to and from my job.  So most of my workouts outside of that are for muscular endurance and strength - so I can do all the climbing, etc. that will be required.

My workouts now consist of a lot of bodyweight exercise and always includes pull-ups.  I've always been more interested in functional fitness than in looks-fitness, and programs like Combat Conditioning appeal to me.  The key thing is to make progress with pull-ups, I think - that'll build lots of upper body strength and endurance.

So one goal this week is to do a pull-ups test while totally rested, to see how many I can do.  I think I'll be able to manage four but I need to set a benchmark to start.

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