9 years younger in just 5 months!

I think I've finally discovered the fountain of youth. I started my journey in January of 2012 at the ripe old age of 37. Just 5 months later, I turned 28. I never thought I'd see my 20's again. Actually, I never even thought it was possible.

A couple of months before, my chiropractor diagnosed me with arthritis in my neck and lower spine. I couldn't believe it...Arthritis was for old people! Was I really getting that old? I also had constant pain in my right shoulder and constant carpal tunnel syndrome. You get older and older, and your body starts hurting more and more, and there's really not much you can do about it, right? WRONG! So very, very wrong!

You see, my goal in January was to train for the Central Bucks Family YMCA Tough Mudder team event being held on April 29th. Up until January, the most I'd ever done exercise-wise was walking on the treadmill at a whopping 3.8 mph and watching TV to escape the insanity of being home with 3 very young children, and to satisfy my chiropractor, who told me I should start exercising to help my arthritis.

One day in December, I saw some videos in the gym of people crawling through mud, running through fire, and climbing over huge walls. I was completely amazed by their strength, and thought it looked like so much fun! I decided to start training for it. I had left my full time job earlier that year, and really needed a goal to work towards...a BIG one! This was it.

I asked my husband for some personal training sessions for Christmas and started working towards my goal in January. I went to a Tough Mudder (now called AMPed) class every Saturday morning, worked with Marsha Hughes (my awesome personal trainer) every Wednesday, and ran on the treadmill 1-2 days a week.

I was so sore after those initial Tough Mudder classes, but I stuck with it, and after a while, it got easier and easier for me. When I was on the treadmill, I would tell myself that I just needed to run for a minute, and then I would start walking again until I caught my breath. Once I got comfortable with one minute of running, I started increasing my time running. Little by little, I started running more and walking less, until I could run an entire 5K on the treadmill without slowing down to a walk.

When our YMCA team did the Tough Mudder on April 29th, I've never felt healthier. I was running up a mountain, and couldn't believe that I was barely even winded. Not only could I do it, I felt AMAZING! After Tough Mudder, I finished the Broad Street Run and my first half marathon. Then, I went back to the Y for another fitness evaluation.

In January, the Y calculated my "polar age" (physical age) to be....drum roll please...37 - my exact chronological age. It wasn't that surprising to me, because I was 37, after all! After Tough Mudder, my trainer kept telling me to get my fitness evaluation done again, because she could see the change in my body fat and was excited to see my results.

I went into that fitness evaluation with very low expectations. I was hoping that maybe my new polar age would be a year younger. After I finished all of the tests, I was completely amazed when Chris Learn (my evaluator) told me that my polar age was now 28. I think I may have even had a tear in my eye. I was thrilled! I seriously couldn't believe it! But, then I thought about it a bit, and it really wasn't surprising at all. I had worked very hard over the past 5 months.

It all started out because I wanted to be strong enough to climb over walls and crawl through mud, but I wound up getting so much more, and I feel amazing! My shoulder pain is completely gone and I rarely experience any carpal tunnel syndrome. My body fat was 25.5% back in January, and now it's 19.5%. That's a huge difference! And the best part is that it wasn't from dieting. I ate whatever I wanted to eat and wasn't even trying to lose weight. I was just doing strength training and cardio training. Most importantly, I was getting stronger and healthier.

But, my journey isn't over yet. I'm doing my first Spartan Race in a couple of weeks, and I have a ton of races on my schedule for the fall. I'm registered for another Spartan race in September, the Philadelphia Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon and the Philadelphia Marathon. Admittedly, I am a bit nervous about running 26.2 miles all at once. There was an option to sign up for the half marathon on that day instead, but I already know I can run 13.1 miles. I'd rather try to run 26.2 and not finish, but know I've pushed myself to the max.

The one thing this journey has taught me is that we are physically capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit for. My entire outlook has changed. Now, when I pick up something that's heavy around the house, I'm not saying "Ugh" in my mind anymore. I'm thinking about how lifting something heavy is strengthening me. I was at a church function recently, and at the end, it was me and the janitor folding, lifting and carrying the heavy tables during clean up, while all of the other ladies stood to the side and watched. So what if I'm middle-aged and a mom of 3? I could still carry those tables!

I feel so blessed by this wonderful gift that the Central Bucks Family YMCA has given to me. It's a strength I never knew I had and never even thought existed. I feel stronger than ever now, both physically and mentally. This experience has taught me that I can get through anything, and come out of it even stronger than before. And for that, I am forever grateful.