Women Who Win

I am starting a new blog topic today.  One I have been planning and contemplating for some time.  A blog on the Women Who Win.  The women who take on big challenges, throw their hats into the arena of competition and fight for achievement, recognition, financial reward, fairness and/or some grand design.  Maybe even all of the above.  I have long been inspired by the stories of women who achieve greatly - often against the greatest of odds.  Odds made that much more daunting because they weren't supposed to compete, weren't supposed to have that job, weren't supposed to win or even to want to.  Unfortunately, the stories - while more common today - still stand out because women remain underrepresented in the ranks of the most recognized,most celebrated and most compensated.  Maybe it was the recent flap around "Still She Persisted" or seeing a more qualified leader lose to a clearly less qualified one that spurred me on to finally start this blog. I will start with a series of profiles - short vignettes - on the women who stories have inspired me along the way.

One thing for sure is that I agree with the woman whose profile will start us off, Pat Summitt, hall of fame coach for the Lady Volunteers of the University of Tennessee.  In describing her college days in the early 1970s she laid out her philosophy vis a vis the burgeoning women's movement.  She said, "Protesting and sign carrying wasn't me - and wasn't going to get it done.  But there was only one way could see that changed things: winning.  You changed things for women by winning."

I Train Like a Spartan...And What is VO2 Max Anyway?

Endurance races are grueling tests of grit, composure, mental toughness, ability to process fear and perhaps most importantly, of the hard word of preparation. They test your discipline and fortitude. The first one I did was in 2012 and it was a Spartan Super in Vernon, New Jersey. A 12 mile course at Mountain Creek (NJ's highest peak) with 35 obstacles including the 8 foot walls, Cargo Net climbs, Hercules Hoist, Tire Drag and on and on and on.  Although I certainly would describe myself as fit and athletic, I was perhaps a little overconfident going into the race. I didn’t vary my workouts much leading up to the race. And on race day, I strapped on my running shoes and took off.   I succeeded in finishing the race although not with the time my competitive self would have expected and with more pain and suffering along the way than was necessary.  Some of the obstacles were exceptionally difficult and let's just say I did a lot of Burpee's (the punishment when you fail to successfully complete an obstacle).  Although I completed most, I also became fairly proficient at Burpee's at that first race.  I walked away with my medal and banana determined to do better next time.  To come back stronger and better prepared the next time.

Of course this experience maps to the rest of my life – the times I have been the most successful and things have gone the easiest, are the times I worked the hardest in preparation. Winging it and relying on innate talent is not only cocky, it seldom leads to the best outcome in work or school.  So it's true for a Spartan race as well. Over the next nine months, I mapped the course, plotted the obstacles and changed my training program to account for each for each.  I increased my cardiovascular endurance from “above average” to “excellent” as measured by my VO2 Max units of mls of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute (ml.kg-1.min-1). I evaluated the best gear and the best sports nutrition products to have on hand before during and after the race. And it worked.  The following year although the course was somewhat different, I reduced my time by 30% coming in the top five for my age class. My next challenge is an indoor tri. For that my focus is now on improving my swim technique.

Training began last week.