OCR, a Fresh Start to Life

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August 2011 I was approaching the age of 40 so I went into the doctors for a physical.  I knew I put on a few pounds and was not the athlete I was in high school and college.  When the doctor told me I was overweight, had high blood pressure, high triglycerides, and my childhood asthma was returning, I was hit right in the face.  She started to pull out her pad to write me up a list of pills to start taking. 


My immediate response was….”Whoaaaa..wait!!!  If I start to diet and exercise, will that fix all of these issues”.  She replied yes, with a a look of “I’ve heard this BS line before”.  She told me to give that a try for 3 months and come back.  So at that point it was using some online tools to track my food intake and exercise. 

Fast forward 3 months, over 20 lbs. lost, and a new set of blood work. Everything was where it needed to be. 

So now what do I with myself?  I have always been competitive by nature, and I knew that if I didn’t have something as a goal, something to train for, I would start to lose focus, and would be back in the doctors office looking at a list of pills to take.  So I heard of this new upcoming sport called Obstacle Course Racing.  I had been a runner in high school and college, seemed to be a good fit.  So in June 2012 I did Warrior Dash, and did OK.  Suddenly I had this new sense of life, energy, felt like I was where I belonged. 

Throughout 2012 I ran OCRs and 5ks and was steadily improving, getting some top 5 finishes in age group, and I was feeling competitive, alive!!!  The health issues disappeared, I was back where I wanted to be in life. 

As the summer of 2012 wound down I started to look at what I could do to gear up more from diet and exercise, to eating right and training.  So I started to CrossFit at a local affiliate.  I was suddenly in better shape in my 40s than I was in my 30s…hell in my 20s!!!!

2013 brought me a 2nd overall finish at a MudManX competitive heat, a Spartan TriFecta, a scaled CrosFit competition win, and top 10 in age groups in a few races.  But the competitor in me wanted more…what else…

2014…racing Spartan Elite, and other OCRs in the Elite/Competitive group now….

So what’s this all mean????  It’s never too late….you’re never too old….you have no excuses…

OCR recharged me, gave me a new lease on life, and I am never going to let go.  Looking forward to the rest of this season, and whatever 2015 has in store.

See you at the start line, but more importantly at the finish!!!

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James Grbac
OCR has brought back that competitive fire in me that I had year's ago when I ran track in high school. You will see me out on most weekends at a race, or out training. The day's of just sitting around and watching life go by are behind me, I now make life happen. The OCR family is such a great community I have made so many new friends in the past year it is amazing how everyone gets along. I now have my wife and son engaged in being fit, as we are a fit family, and looking forward to doing some races together as a family. Looking forward to the next race when it's go time.

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