Yesterday was brutal, and I almost missed snorkeling because I was chasing comfort. I chose to go anyway, and I was rewarded with sights I would have never seen from my phone screen. Why do we let a little discomfort dictate our lives? It’s time to break free.
You know what I love about finding my place in the fitness community? There are SO MANY inspiring people to follow. Everyone has their own story to tell, everyone’s journey is different, but at the same time similar. We all have to start where we are, and move forward from there. Seeing people overcome trials, and push through to new found freedoms, lights my soul on fire.
I’ve decided that I want to be able to share that with you, to help inspire you to keep moving towards the healthiest version of yourself also. That’s what this is, and I hope that you look forward to more of these interviews.
I met Lisa through Spartan Race. I’ve gotten the privilege of seeing her grow for the last few years. It’s funny, we both had our first Spartan Race at the same race in 2014 and didn’t know it until this interview. I love seeing the smile on her face through every obstacle, it’s contagious!
How was your life before becoming active?
Life before finding Obstacle Course Racing was lack luster for me. I was searching for something and didn’t know it. I have always struggled with not only my mental health, as I was diagnosed as a teen with bi-polar disorder, but my weight as well. Between the series of up’s and downs of depression, and out of control weight issues, my self confidence was always on the low end of the spectrum. Then I added to the mix a few relationships that turned bad, and to be frank, rather abusive in the forms of mental and verbal abuse. One of those relationships was during the start of my journey into OCRs ( Obstacle Course Racing). So bottom line, before I became active, I started learning about myself and what I felt like was true self worth. I felt as though I didn’t matter much, and I was just going through the motions of life as I had a little one to take care of.
What made you want to become more active?
Something flipped in my head when my daughter was starting school. I wanted to be able to keep up with her. I checked out Roller Derby first, and I freaking loved it! Skating and the physicality of Roller Derby was inedible let alone the friends I made on the team. But the drawback was the time commitment. There was a change happening in me. I was gaining confidence, and bonus points—I lost weight! It would be a few more years before I found OCRs. It was the winter of 2013 when a good friend from high school convinced me to sign up for Warrior Dash that coming summer. I was going through a transition in life so I said sure. Well a couple months later I got a wild hair and started signing up for a bunch of ” fun” runs and signed up for a Spartan Race in that mix. Little did I know, that was going to be my defining moment.
“This sport changed my life in more ways than I can imagine.”
How did becoming more active impact your life?
When I did the 2014 Pac West Sprint, which is now the Portland Sprint, my life changed, and I was hooked on OCRs. I found my place. I found a sport that pushed the hell out of me physically and emotionally, and I could do it with a team. I had a glimmer of hope to one day do on my own. That was the moment that I wanted to become more active. I started getting out and hiking more, walking more, and joining gyms (yeah I have bounced back and forth to a few). It’s been five years now since I started, and I am down around 60-70lbs.
Did seeing other people and their adventures have an impact on you?
I started to follow other OCR athletes and through that it took me down a rabbit hole of other athletes and fitness pages on Instagram and Facebook. I am in Spartan groups and the likes. They keep me going as a daily reminder that even when I have an off day, week, month(s), I can always pick back up and start over. I have gained and lost weight on this journey. I did my first Spartan Beast, which was the Montana founders Beast in 2015, weighing my heaviest in the last five years. I still finished that race, but oh man did it put things into perspective for me. It still took me three more years before I really got on the wagon.
Do you feel like you’ve gotten to where you want to be with your fitness? Or do you feel like you can still grow and do better?
I am not where I want to be due to injuries, and I had a set back of a car accident, but I keep going. I stay active and know that it takes time to get to where I want to be. There are ups and downs in being active, and in fitness nothing happens over night. There is no miracle pill. I struggle to stay motivated and keep going. I have days where I wonder why in the hell I do this. I don’t know if I will ever stand on a podium, but then I have weekends like this last Portland Sprint where I got to be with my team and be apart of a friend’s daughter’s first Spartan race. That reminded my why I still race. It’s about being in the open heats and helping people, and cheering on the ones who you see are struggling and letting them know that they can do it. It’s crossing that finish line and remembering that it might have been a crappy day, month or year, but you just did something so amazing.
What was your biggest struggle in getting active? Now that you’re active, is it easy? Or does it still take effort?
When I found myself on the dirt and mud covered race courses, I realized I am more than my weight, my depression, or my past. I am an incredible human being with strength and some incredible friends and family that I have met due to OCRs and becoming active. I have learned that pushing myself physically is an incredible feeling. I still have a long ways to go in fitness, and being active is a long and constant road. I don’t think that it’s something that you just get to a point and say ” yep I am finished”. I think you have to make a constant effort to stay moving and going so that when we are all in our 90’s we can still be out there doing the things that we love. It is a struggle but I make an effort to get out there and do something.
What’s next for Lisa?
Her next big goal is the SISU24PNW next year. I had to look up what that was, and WOW, check out the video below. She’s also after an Ultra Beast Belt Buckle.
What an amazing story! Such an inspiration too. Lisa’s had all sorts of obstacles in life to push though, just like you and me, but she’s still pushing.
I want to say thank you again for sharing your story Lisa, I can’t wait to watch your continued growth! If you’d love to share your story with others, please send an email to Darcisfitkick@gmail.com or shoot me a message on Facebook or Instagram.
I’ve done a few Spartan Races. A couple at the same venue, some out of state, and country. I’ve had a different experience at each place and want to share with you a couple things I’ve learned by trying the different race locations. Some of …
Week 2 of Me: I’m learning to love pushing myself past my own expectations again. Boot camp at the gym was such a driving force before because I wanted to compete with whoever it was next to meet busting out push ups too. Having signed …
To earn your Spartan Trifecta you have to complete a Sprint, Super and Beast in one calendar year. A Spartan Sprint is 3+ miles and 20+ obstacles, a Spartan Super is 8+ miles and 25+ obstacles and then there’s the Beast which is 13+ miles and 30+ obstacles.
I have to admit that there were moments when I was half way up the rope struggling to hang on that I wondered the same thing. Times where I stepped on a rock funny and hurt my ankle. Those never ending down hills that made my knees want to explode… Then there were those times when I struggled to hold on to the Z wall and a complete stranger asked me if I needed help. The time I CONQUERED the rope climb and rang that bell! Times that I got to help give somebody a boost over that 8 foot wall!
I am no elite but I’ve now run 4 Spartan races and I’d love to share a few tips that helped me. If you’re worried about not being able to complete the obstacles, bring a friend. Don’t have any friends that want to join you, check out Beasts Obstacle Course Racers, an awesome team of OCR peeps, beginner to elite that are always looking to add new members of the family, myself included 😉
Have fun and make sure you get some protein and water back in your system after you FINISH. Your body needs good fuel to repair all the damage done on race day! Oh and make sure you get a before and after picture! Wear that t-shirt with pride because what you did was a feat worth bragging about! Best of luck. I’d love to hear how you did and what helps/helped you SPARTAN UP!!! AROO!!!
