Day 142 - This Year's Birthday Challenge

Last year was my first time doing a Birthday Challenge. Inspired by Jack Lalanne, I have read about, and thought about doing a Birthday Challenge for a few years now, but finally got around to doing one last year.

I remember the day fondly. I had turned 27 on Friday, November 25th 2011, and decided to celebrate my birthday Saturday morning with a long, drawn-out workout hitting goals that I set out for myself with a '27' theme.

After a few hours' worth of work, I completed my last set up pullups and was astonished at how well I did. Some of my goals were relatively easy to reach, but I have to admit that the pullups/chinups were the one category that scared me the most.

In the end, however, I felt incredibly proud of what I had accomplished. For those out there looking for something to do to make your birthday memorable, I highly recommend doing a Birthday Challenge for yourself.

Choose something that will challenge you, and work hard to achieve it! Sure, it doesn't necessarily have to be something physical, you could watch 30 hours of tv in a row to celebrate your 30th, for example. I figured that a birthday challenge, for me at least, should be something that I do to challenge my mental grit and physical strength/stamina in a way to thank my body for getting me to this age.

You only have one mind and one body. Together, they get you to where you want to go, so why not 'thank' it by challenging both. You may find that you will end up with a pretty rewarding feeling in the end.

Which leads me to this year...

I remember finishing my challenge last year, immediately thinking, "How can I top this next year?" What are some other goals/aspirations I have in mind that I would like to do to challenge myself? I remember wanting to add some distance running to the mix, but figured it may be a bit too cold and/or snowy in November to add some outdoor endurance work. Well, bring on the World's Toughest Mudder!

Suddenly, I am looking at quite the event to challenge myself. Sure, it is a week early, but competing in the World's Toughest Mudder this year is most certainly going to be the way I celebrate another year on this planet!

I guess the only problem I will have after this event is trying to figure out what to do next year...

Quote of the day:
"Remember this: your body is your slave; it works for you."
~ Jack LaLanne