[Pre-Game]: Behind-The-Scenes of My Misogi Journey

01 // HOW IT STARTED 

And that’s your misogi, Amber? 

This is the question which sparked what you are reading.  But before I get ahead of myself, let’s talk about what exactly a misogi is, shall we?  If you google it, you'll discover it's a: Japanese Shinto practice of ritual purification by washing the entire body (source: wikipedia).  And this isn't exactly what I'm talking about. 

This term was first introduced into my life when Jesse Itzler mentioned to choose your Misogi challenge for the upcoming year... and instantly I googled Misogi, just like you probably did; however, the way he means it is a challenge to help push our boundaries, discover what we are capable of and tap into possibilities we don’t see in the moment.  When we look back and reflect on the year, we will remember who we are and the challenges we have overcame.

Now, you can choose ONE Misogi challenge for each year and if you are around 40 years of age living to the current life expectancy of 80, you'll have 40 Misogi moments under your belt if you start this year.  That's FORTY memorable moments... of strength, courage, resilience, LIFE! 

If you’ve got 2 minutes, check out this quick read about misogi + how to make your year epic.

02 // HOW TO SELECT YOUR MISOGI

If you are having trouble finding just ONE, how about a tip which helped me come about my misogi this year.  Misogis, to me, are a way for us to challenge ourselves to step into our best version of ourselves… sort of like a stepping stone to our best self.  Each year getting closer, whether we conquer our misogi or slightly miss it.

So, when my coach asked me this question which was related to another endurance race, my answer was “no”.  

Which is baffling because an endurance race, especially one that is 50mi longer than I have ever ran (@ 200 miles) will surely be challenging at multiple levels.  However, I have been challenged in this manner before.  And a dear friend pointed out, “Endurance races like this is actually comforting to you.  You know what to expect.” 

The question I had to ask myself was, what ways would I want to be challenged?  Or better yet, what feels EXTREMELY UNCOMFORTABLE for me?

And the answer was so easy.

Maybe it would be best to rephrase this statement:  the answer to what would be my misogi came quickly and easily, yet the task is anything but easy.  What is it exactly?  Well, that will be shared later along this journey - just know the date is set for November 2023 AND I’ll be working towards my goal until then - broken into weekly sections. 

03 // FIRST SECTION OF WORK

The first section of work is 12 weeks which, unfortunately, sounds quite daunting.  But as someone once told me, by sharing with YOU, I am not only holding myself accountable but also inspiring my future self (and maybe one or two others).  Figuring out what I wanted to share was also daunting - here’s what I came up with! 

WHAT YOU WILL SEE BEHIND-THE-SCENES

• Intentions For The Week
• Training Schedule (and how I’ll be balancing with homeschooling + content curation!)
• Obstacles Faced 
• Items Which Helped (or Didn’t Help) Me
• Books/Podcasts For The Week 
• Results (Or Setbacks) 
• Recipes +/- Products I Am Loving ♥️
• Any Other Juicy Bits 
• What I’m Celebrating + How

04 // WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

My end goal misogi is actually on November 17-19th 2023; however, as mentioned earlier, this is broken down into THREE sections of various lengths. 

• 12 Weeks → July: Participating in 29029 Event In Wyoming 
•  4 Weeks → August: Participating in Big Foot 200 in Washington 
• 13 Weeks → November: Finally Countdown To Misogi

You also need to know what works for me, MAY NOT work for you.  I am by no means suggesting or recommending any training or nutritional guidelines to you - always check with your primary care physician before starting a new fitness program or nutritional plan.  This personal documentation is strictly for personal viewing purposes. 

05 // LET'S GET INTO IT

You know how some great performers or athletes do a “run through” before the actual performance or event, well, last week was that for me.  I did a quick run through of training, cooking meals with Gillies help, balancing work with homeschooling + endurance training and figuring out what would work best for me.  

In full transparency, this week was a bit brutal because even though I am happily married - my hubster was incognito a LOT due to his work schedule and previous commitments which meant I was solo parenting, ubering the kids to appointments, household chores, taking care of all the animals and such all by myself.  

Meaning, it was not an ideal time to start… but it never will be an ideal time to start, right? 

Here’s what I learned: 

• Stock up the fridge and freezer with protein.  A few of my favorite items include:  Promix marshmallow bars which I top with almond butter for an after-dinner dessert.  So delicious. 
• It’s vital for me to wake up BEFORE the hubster heads out to work to get my training done, otherwise, he distracts me.
• Set my training clothes in the bathroom so I change as soon as I wake. 
• Map out my macros the week before using Dr. Mindy’s guidelines from her newest book, Fast Like A Girl

The run through went absolutely fantastic, although, my nutrition was not as stellar on Thursday night as we were celebrating!  *I ordered fish tacos from a local restaurant.  DELICIOUS and on-point with my nutritional goals; however, I didn’t say no to the chips and salsa.* 

The results from this past prep week were a loss of 5lbs (1% BF), sound sleep and when the Gillies (our 9yr twins) got sick, mama didn’t.  I feel like the latter should be celebrated the most. 

06 // INTENTION FOR NEXT WEEK

Setting my intentions for the upcoming week which is week 1 (of 12) in our journey to Amber’s misogi.  

• Training schedule:  morning fasted cardio rounds (M-Th, S/S); afternoon strength training (M-F); evening easy pace + weighted hikes/step ups (M-Su)
• This training plan is centered around the Gillies schedule - cardio is before they rise, strength training is after homeschool and hikes are for after bedtime.  It’s all about getting the work in without sacrificing what matters most to me which is quality time with the Gilies.
• Nutritional plan: *following Fast Like A Girl’s guidelines* 
• Based on my cycle (TMI?), I’m in the manifestation phase which sounds lovely.  My macros will be aimed towards 130g protein and 100g carbs.  The goal is to increase root vegetables, certain grains and fruits (like bananas).  
• My eating window for this week for those who geek out on this include: 11am, 2pm and 6pm.  This also means the morning coffee as well as pre-workout will be within the 11am-6pm eating window.
• Note:  this is not an caloric or restrictive nutritional plan - I am eating and listening to my body; however, my negative go-to when training is not to eat.  By stating my eating window and times for my meals reminds me TO EAT.  
• Remember, you do you boo.  This is not a recommendation for you. 
• Morning routine will also include: morning walks outside with the Gillies when they rise to soak up all the sunshine goodness. Plus, focusing on my magical morning routine which I’ll explain next week as this is getting lengthy. 
• Ways I’ll be celebrating this week?  I already booked my hair appointment for Friday as a celebratory, you kicked tooshie reward. 

07 // TIME TO WRAP UP

Thank you for reading this far, I realize this is the longest blog written by yours truly in a long time; however, it’s important to me to have you here - listening to my struggles, hearing my goals and seeing me take action.  

If you have any questions or want to learn more about a certain piece of this journey, just let me know via DM on Instagram.  You can also catch glimpses of the journey in my stories which are happening in real time. 

Thank you for being here.

Thank you for your support. 

Thank you for just, well, being you. 

Until next week.

Grit + Gumption. 

ALG 

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