8 miles from hell

Uh. So I did my long run today...

Here's what I usually do. Legs at the gym on Monday, 2 short runs during the week, and a long run on Saturday so my legs are fully recovered by then. Circumstances changed this week because I was asked to help out at work on Saturday, leaving me Thursday to do a long run. My legs are still sore from Monday.

But I had to do it. This is my last chance to get a long run in before Tough Mudder. This weekend I work and next weekend I'll be in VA because my mother in law is getting married. So - had no choice but to STFU and go do it.

That being said, today's run was far from ideal.

Bad things
Slept in, woke up way too late
Took way too long to get moving today
Almost walked out the door forgetting keys and sunglasses
Forgot to put body glide on my thighs
Added a bunch of new songs to my playlist yet shuffle didn't play a single one, so it was all songs I was kind of tired of.
The heat.
The heat.
The motherf'n HEAT.

Things I did right
Brought my Camelback instead of my Nathan belt which means lots of water
Uh, I did it?


I knew sleeping in and not getting out the door until 10 was a bad idea because of the heat.

It. Was. RIDICULOUS.

I've said it many times before - I'm not made to run long distances in any weather over 70. I sweat uncontrollably, turn fire engine red all over, can't breathe, my head hurts, my pace is slow, and I just feel like I'm gonna die.

It was 83 and rising by the time I got out. By mile 2 I had regrets. My legs were already hurting. Here it was still pretty shady from the trees, but by the time I got to the lake which was around mile 3 I was struggling. There is a wide open field with a bunch of hills. Running hills in the sun sucks a big one. I began to question why the hell I was out here doing this. I was the only person crazy enough to. Yes there were other runners but surely none doing 8 miles in this mess, they would have had water with them. There was a girl wearing tights - really bitch? My skin is on fire and you're out here running in tights? Please go die. My legs felt like cinder blocks. I must have looked like I was near death because almost everyone I passed spoke to me (Couldn't hear exactly what with my headphones on) and usually they might just wave or not do anything at all.

I felt like I was in hell. I really did. There were so many moments where I thought about turning around. I actually started to at mile 3.5 but I made myself keep going to make 4. So many times I wanted to walk. But I refused to do it. I knew that moments like these is what it means to be an endurance athlete. Part of my training is learning how to "embrace the suck" so that when I am facing something like a Spartan Beast on a mountain, I have the mental toughness to push through it. The moments when I am suffering through a run, workout, or endurance race are the moments that make me better.

I have no regrets. Well maybe some, but do I regret doing it at all? No. I'm glad I got through it and I am in a good mood now, feeling good except for a mild headache. After my run I got some Chipotle, looked around at Dick's but didn't buy anything, went to Target for snacks, and had a really nice and funny conversation with my dad. Speaking of which, I must get my dislike for running in the heat from him because he was a cold weather runner himself. Or maybe I get it from my mom's side and I'm just a reincarnated Viking? Either way I guess I was doomed to suffer in the heat.

Now to finish out my week with a back workout, 1 more short run, and a rest day! And lots of work.

May Stridebox

Stridebox! Yay!

Ha. You better believe I earn my showers, and I have the sweat to prove it.

Glukos energy gel - This is weird! It's liquid, where the consistency of most other gels is.. well, gel. And it's a huge pack. Not sure how I will like this one? We'll see.
Massage ball - I have a Foot Rub which is similar, so I tucked this in with my mom's birthday presents because I figure maybe she can make good use of it. These things are awesome for your feet and hands.
GU Chews - It tasted just like a Ring Pop! Hah, memories. I had this before a 4 miler that was post-leg day, it really helped give me some extra energy to push through the soreness in my legs.
Osmo hydreation powders - Tried the mango one first, I didn't stir it well enough so most of it sat in the bottom and it resulted in me not really tasting the flavor. Tried the blackberry one, stirred it well but some still settled in the bottom. It tastes good though. I like the fact that these actually have sugar in them (Hello drink companies?? Athletes actually need sugar for energy and recovery!) As it gets hotter out I'm definitely gonna need a hydration product post run and even during long runs. I tend to get headaches out there in the heat and I think getting enough sugar/electrolytes prevents that.
Vitaperk - This is a vitamin powder that you put into your coffee! I'm gonna use this on a day when I really need some extra oomph, probably this Sunday's shift at work.
Tiger Balm patch - I have heard so many good things about Tiger Balm and I can't wait to use this. But I'll have to wait until I actually have a pain to use it on.
Bounce protein ball - This was a cute little mint chocolate protein ball! Sadly it didn't taste too great, not sweet enough and it had a bunch of seeds in it. It definitely needed more flavor to make the texture more palatable.


This has been a pretty good box from what I have tried so far!

Bad run, good run

3 days, 2 runs. 2 very different runs.

Friday I woke up with a very sore upper body. Ok, time to run instead. Planned on just 3 before driving to Rockville for work. Problem was, I didn't go to the bathroom before this run. Side note - I'm very "regular" if you know what I mean. Every morning like clockwork. The previous night I had to go but I held it because I wanted to watch a movie with my husband. Didn't go before my run either. This nearly resulted in a disaster. For the first 2 miles I was fine, then all of a sudden it became an absolute emergency. I stayed in the butter zone between not going too fast, but going fast enough to get me home so I could GO. By the time I got back to the lake near my house (2.7 miles) I could no longer run. There was just no way - something was gonna come out if I kept running. Stopped my watch, slowed down to a brisk powerwalk which I'm sure looked hilarious to others. But it worked and the crisis was averted.

That sucked.

So this morning I went out for 5 before work, headed to Rockville once again for a long day there. And this run was exactly the opposite of Friday's. Felt great, temperature was perfect so I wasn't overheated, negative splits, kept my pace nicely throughout the run with a nice sprint at the end, and most important of all I was just out there enjoying myself. Runs like this are the best! Happy to have redeemed myself from Friday's fail.

From today's run!

So, there you have it. The worst of runs and the best of runs!

Worst girl ever

Uh, so I have a problem. A shoe problem. My job has just fueled the habit.

I have -
Newton Kismet (road running)
Merrell Bare Access Arc (road running)
Inov8 Trailroc (trail running)  (About to buy a Saucony Peregrine to start rotating the Inov8's out cause they are near dead)
Reebok Nano (gym)
Vibram Bikila (??? Got it for $27 at work)
Saucony Kinvara (Mainly wearing to work, got for $27)
Nike Vomero (Got for free from work)
Adidas Energy Boost (For work)
Oofos flip flops

Then some random things like hiking shoes, more flip flops and slip ons. I have a billion shoes but no dress shoes or "cute" shoes. That's just how I roll - not good at being girly, never was and never will be.

I'm the worst girl ever :)

So I found some shoes for $60 on Amazon (my work is out of the color/size I want). I don't need them. Not exactly sure what I'll use them for yet. But I couldn't resist...

They. Are. So. CUTE!

It's the Mizuno Hayate. A trail stability shoe - hey, I can actually make use of that! I think I will take this out on the trails for light use (no mud or anything crazy) and then wear them to work for "Mizuno Monday". This is a size 10, maybe a tad big on me but I prefer my shoes big and especially for Mizuno which can run short and narrow. 

Ahhhh they're just so cute. 

Yes, I have a shoe problem. But not in the way you'd think. As I said, I'm not good at being girly.

Worked out!

Oh. I'm kinda tired.

Last night was awesome cause I came home from a super long day at work (my last customer took forever to pick a damn shoe) and I just cuddled/rough housed with my husband on the couch. He was hungry so we went and got some tasty mexican food. I really gotta stop eating so bad. I'm just too lazy to cook things and I love food. Most often the food wins.

Today was my day off so I rolled out of bed late, got to the gym at the sprightly hour of 10am.

Did a few different things today

- Close grip bench press. 75 lbs, 3 sets of 10. Not used to doing these so it was interesting
- Push presses. Been awhile since I worked on these. 50 lbs
- Push ups to failure. Literally, to muscle failure. Yowza. First set was 17, then 11, then 9.
- Overhead tricep presses, 25lbs. Haven't done them in awhile cause I don't really like them, but wanted to change it up from my usual skullcrushers, tricep dips, and pulldowns.

My arms are like noodles after all that.

Also did some flys, front raises, single arm presses, leg raises, kettlebell cleans, jump rope, and no burpees cause I literally couldn't do the push ups. I was so damn tired at the end of this. Then around 3pm I got super sleepy and haven't really recovered. Should have taken a nap but I didn't want to? I don't know. All I know is I'm tired and I have earned a good night's rest.

I have to go work in Rockville for this week's remaining shifts. Not looking forward to it. It's 45 minutes away and traffic is shitty. I like my store and my coworkers. Their people aren't as fun - in fact, one of them seriously said this to describe a customer - "He's hoping to do a marathon in the fall, but he might not be able to work his mileage up to that level so let's just stick with a less cushioned shoe" Uh, what? You're supposed to say "Yes, you can ABSOLUTELY do that marathon!" So I kind of saved the moment for the customer and said "Oh you have plenty of time to train, and we're gonna do our best to help!" That didn't sit well with me and just shows the difference between their store's and my store's attitudes. But evidently I impressed the regional manager so much that they requested me to come help out. And still, I have a good job that I enjoy so I can't complain too much.

Then I think this weekend we are going to VA Beach to see my husband's stepsister so probably no long run for me, but that's ok. Life is more important sometimes.

Keep Moving

I have been feeling lazy of late. It's affecting my workouts slightly but for the most part I am staying consistent. Had to drag my ass out of bed this morning and now I'm going for a run in about 40 minutes.

Saturday I didn't do my long run. After weeks of doing something every single saturday, plus the fact that my calves were painfully sore, I skipped my run, got breakfast and played games with my husband instead. It was nice. I have no regrets - I don't have to run or do something every single weekend.

However, later on in the day I got the urge to take a walk. Asked my husband if we could go and he says "Actually I was thinking about going for a run" Okay! I asked him how long and he said he wanted to be out there for at least an hour. I was pleasantly surprised. Grabbed the water belt for both of us to use cause it was kinda hot out there. We headed out around 4, he started running and I did my best to stick with him. He's a slower runner, and I'm not fast by any means but I found it hard to run at that pace and always ended up 15-20 feet ahead of him. Before we knew it he had gone 1.5 miles before stopping for a break. We walked for a little bit and it started to rain a tiny bit. Felt good considering how hot it was. Once we reached the field he asked me where the 2 mile mark was. "Just a little bit up ahead." By this point he was wanting to turn around but I persuaded him to go to the 2 mile mark. I may have embellished the distance a little bit, but I have this thing about reaching mile markers before turning around. And I like to push him to do more. We turned a few corners and then hit the bridge which marks 2 miles. He stopped to stretch because his hip was bothering him. It helped out but from this point on he needed to do run/walk intervals. We picked landmarks to sprint to, At one point he started a sprint and he was going faster than me! But that lasted about 10 seconds before he slowed down. Back in the day he was a decently fast runner, I guess he has retained it to some degree. We continued this all the way back home - a grand total of 4 miles

Got back just in time to avoid a massive thunderstorm, got sandwiches for dinner then saw Mad Max (it was awesome!!!!)

I'm so proud of him - he's been working out 2-3 times a week and running or walking occasionally too.  He's improved so much already, going a mile and a half without stopping is impressive for someone who is just starting to run. It's great seeing him be active again.

Stronger Every Day

Yesterday I started off Monday morning like any other, by going to the gym. Only thing I did differently is switched it to a back day instead of a leg day. My legs aren't sore but I figure I should rest them for a bit after running the half.

I had a pretty awesome day in the gym

Last week I did my deadlifts at 65# x15 for 3 sets. Yesterday 65 wasn't enough so I upped it to 85. 15 deadlifts in a row gets tiring, so I'm feeling pretty awesome for being able to up the weight.
(I'm doing an experiment for a few weeks and doing less weight at more reps to increase my muscular endurance, I figure it will be useful for obstacle racing as well as just training in a different way than I'm used to)

I think soon I'll be ready to up my lat pulldown weight, #85 is getting too easy.

And I'm getting better at Turkish get ups. Worked on them a couple months ago and I couldn't even get through 10 reps on each side. I am not using heavy weight at all, but now I can go 10 reps on each side no problem. They're still an exercise straight from hell, but I can see where I have made a drastic improvement since the last time I attempted them. I did 2 sets of 10 on each side, would have gone for a third set but I ran out of time.

Also - feels like it's taken forever, but my back muscles are finally showing through. I noticed it in the mirror yesterday while doing my pull ups. Been noticing it while doing squats too. Another way you can tell you have a muscular back - the edge of the tub hurts like hell when you lay back against it to shave your legs. No more fatty cushion to lean back on!

I really do love lifting. I can't live without it. It's the most liberating, empowering thing you can do for yourself on a regular basis. For me it's all about performance - how much can I lift? How am I gonna do on my next obstacle race? How long can I go before my limits have been reached? I won't ever look perfect. I still have my tummy pouch, which likely won't ever go away because I love food too much. But I have still leaned out a bit despite that fact, and I'm seeing more and more muscle definition as the months pass by. I love my muscles!

Oh yeah - my mother in law's wedding date has changed, and you know what that means! I'm going to Tough Mudder! And it also most likely means I can see my family for a bit because they are in VA. I'm quite excited.

Maryland Half Marathon

Half Marathon #3 is now in the books!

Pretty much given up on making normal faces

So first, a bit of background. HM's #1 and 2 were slow. I was injured for both. During the Augusta Half I was dealing with some metatarsal tendonitis. It popped up out of nowhere 2 weeks before the race. In mile 3 of the race it started to seize up so I had to take my pace way down to prevent it from locking up. It kept doing it every few minutes but as long as I went slow I could keep running. Then I did the Wildwood Games half which was a trail run, and at the time my hamstring issues were really bad. Once again running slowly seemed to be maintainable, but anything too fast would have been painful. Both races were done in about 2:45. I knew I was capable of better.

This time - no injuries. Dealing with some knee pain lately but it's nothing I can't run through. It was time to redeem myself and actually try to get a decent time. My goal for today was 2:20 or better. 

Got up early this morning to make it to Fulton, still in HoCo (Howard County) about 15 minutes from my house. The race was in this planned type of community called Maple Lawn. Somehow I didn't have myself together this morning and rolled up to the parking lot at 7:50. Yikes. Porta potties conveniently located near my car so I could hit the bathroom, then ran to the start line. The weather called for 70's and cloudy, didn't say anything about any rain - yet we had some. It was a light rain at the start, and I was starting to wonder if leaving my hat at home was a good idea. But the rain eventually gave way to a light "misting" which was on and off during the race, kind of nice actually. It was a bit humid but every now and then you'd get a cool breeze. Between the mist, humidity, and sweating I was drenched to say the least. So anyway, the gun went off and I was ready to roll. Through the streets and traffic circles of this manicured little community of offices and townhomes, then turned onto a smaller road that took us away from all that. I have mixed feelings about living in this state, and although I do miss Georgia and await returning to *our* house, I do have to give it to Maryland because their countryside is beautiful. Everything is so lush and green. Fields with rolling hills, huge leafy green trees, and colorful flowers and bushes everywhere. Georgia is beautiful too but not quite as "green", must be all the pine trees and clay soil. Most of this race was in rural areas with some really beautiful scenery. Some nice houses out there too.

Ok, so my regret for this race - trying to stuff my phone, car key, and 3 gels into my belt. I guess I hadn't done a test run with quite this many items before. But it wasn't working at all, my poor little belt was flipping and sliding around all over the place. I had to keep fiddling with it and it messed up my music 3 times. Had to keep taking off my belt, turn my music back on, put the gels back in, and put the belt back on - while running. I'm sure this messed up my pace. But the problem was gone by mile 4 when I was back down to 2 gels. I guess 2 is fine but 3 is too damn much, lol.

This race was hilly. I wasn't expecting so many hills. No really steep climbs or anything, but very little of the course was completely flat. We were either uphill or downhill almost the entire time.

Thoughts -
Mile 2-3 - There were a few long hill climbs in here. I actually feel like this is where I was slowest, between all the hills and fiddling with my belt. The humidity was really bad and I could actually see a foggy haze in the distance. I was feeling ok at this point, but it seemed like I was tiring out faster than I should have been.
Mile 4-5 - Took my first gel, a Caramel Macchiato GU. I have preferred Honey Stingers over GU's but holy shit this flavor is so good. Plenty of water stations so far. We ended up near a school and turned a corner, beautiful fields beside us, and wound up on a neighborhood street with more hills.
Mile 6-7 - Feeling really good here. Picked up the pace and dipped down into the 9:00's when I could, there were some flat areas here. The volunteers were super encouraging, one even high fived me. Passed a house where a whole family was out there playing bongos! The spectators were few, but they were throughout the course and had lots of enthusiasm for us.
Mile 8-9 - Took my second gel at mile 8, should have been 7 but wanted to wait for an aid station so I could have water with it. Turned onto another neighborhood street, this one was kind of a long, gradual uphill that seemed to never end. I kept trucking along, was actually passing people at this point. A headache was setting in, but not surprising because I'm very prone to headaches on any run where I really push myself.
Mile 10 - Turned back towards the Maple Lawn area. Still feeling pretty good energy wise, going fast when possible. The headache is annoying but bearable. Took my last gel to stay on top of my blood sugar levels. Passed Grey Camo Shirt Man, who has been hovering in front of me for the entire race. Left him behind in the dust. Turned a corner and saw a sign that said "Mile 2" Ok I know it's from the 5k course but really? Not something you wanna see at mile 10 of a half marathon :)
Mile 11 - Entered the main area of Maple Lawn. Fuck, it's up hill. One long street of townhomes that's all uphill. Chugged along, maintained my speed despite my body screaming at me to slow down. Passed a bunch more people.
Mile 12 - Shit, more hills. Really? By this point I was ready to see the finish line and be done. I knew we had to turn back around in the other direction, kept on waiting to hit the turn around point but the course just kept on taking us in the wrong direction. After what felt like forever, finally turned around and headed back towards the finish line. Up a long hill. Fuuhhhk. But I'm still running strong, I know I don't have much distance left so it's time to burn the rest of the fuel in the tank. Approached the finish line, saw my husband who also gave me a high five.
Mile 13.1 - Done!


Ahh, victory is sweet!

So how did I do?

My time was 2:16. Average pace 10:22 or something. Not bad considering how freaking hilly it was. I beat goal so I'm happy with it! Oh yeah, and of course it's a PR!

Oh, and the shoe choice worked out great. Even saw a couple other women rockin some Kismets out there. All I do now is look at people's shoes.

Found my husband - so happy he came out! Basically I told him to show up at 10 because I figured I would finish somewhere in the 2:10-2:20 mark. Worked out perfect. And there was a pub right next to the finish line so that's where we headed next

Got me a big ass plate of nachos (nachos are one of my favorite things on the planet)
After leaving the race I promptly went to the store to get snacks. I have Lemon Milano cookies!
Already took my post half marathon nap which was amazing. Was gonna see Avengers tonight but it seems my husband got caught up in car/yard work and he's just now cleaning up. Oh well. It has been a glorious yet tiring day, so I guess I'll just relax tonight.

Savage Race results

I finally have my pics from Savage Race!

These logs weren't heavy enough!!! 

Results wise I was quite pleased with how I did.

Finished in 1:46
I got 36th in my age group/gender category, 248 total females in my age group
129th in my age group overall

At least they took the pic before I fell off

Pretty good considering I wasn't really trying for speed. I made sure to keep up the pace and challenge myself, but by no means was this a balls to the wall effort. Priority #1 was to have fun, so I savored the experience versus rushing through it, plus I stopped to help people from time to time.

This year I'm also noticing a nice change in my appearance vs last year's race photos. I look (slightly!) leaner and much more muscular. Noticing my leg muscles are more pronounced, bigger butt and smaller yet more muscular arms. Hooray for progress!

 They also got a pic of me exiting the ice bath. It was a little bit cold :)

Finally, I managed to make an appearance in the official video. I'm at the start line at some point and then there's a shot of me at the monkey bars. Pretty cool cause I usually never make the videos or featured shots. The photo/video coverage of this race was excellent. Very good quality photos and they take them at all the right moments!

Highly debating signing up for it again when they return in the fall!

The Great Shoe Debate

So - Half Marathon #3 is approaching. Yeah, first mention of it here on my blog. Had it on my radar for awhile but actually signed up for real this week.

I thought I was sure about what shoes I would wear. Turns out I'm not ...

These are my Merrell Bare Access Arc's. I got them in January and proceeded to rack up training miles on them, the longest being 11 miles. They got me through the Hot Chocolate 15k. And they've been pretty good shoes.

Bare Access Arc's (plus my cat's toy duckie on a stick, she drags it around everywhere)

However...

In February I started my job at a running store and learned all kinds of new things about gait and shoes. My gait analysis revealed I *should* be in a stability shoe. I overpronate a little bit, mainly on the right side. Fairly flexible ankles and medium arches. Heh, I've been running in neutral shoes this whole time. 2.5 years ago I started running, and my first pair of shoes were some New Balance Minimus from the outlet. I learned how to run in minimally cushioned shoes, with a low heel to toe drop, and I do not heel strike. So I'm trying to do the right thing and use stability shoes. Problem is, most of them tend to be more traditional - higher heel to toe drop, lots of heel cushioning, the medial post which is a piece of plastic in the shoe to help control over pronation. Well shit. I don't like traditional running shoes. So I tried on a few of my store's "performance" stability shoes, and some of them are contenders, but I felt like I was still missing the roomier fit and wide toe box that I love. 

Behold, my Newton Kismets.

Kismet! They're dirty

These shoes have more cushion yet with a low drop (4mm) and have "lugs" on the bottom to promote a mid/forefoot strike and help get your feet off the ground faster.I love these shoes so far. Haven't taken them on any long runs yet but they do feel very comfortable and natural. The only thing is, the lugs seem to make running up and down hills a bit tricky. But they have definitely warmed me up to the idea of wearing stability shoes.

So this morning I went out for 5 miles - I've been super lazy and sleepy in the mornings and haven't gotten my ass out of bed to run as much as I should. Today I took my Merrell's - noticed a huge difference, and not in a good way! Everything kind of hurt. My feet felt really wobbly too. I dunno, it wasn't good. Maybe after the past month of running in something with a little more cushion and stability I'm just feeling all the impact and overpronation much more? My mind wandered to the Kismets - maybe I should just wear those for the half! But I've never run more than 4 miles in them! They do feel so much better though. 

Hmmm.... I am thinking the Kismet will be the one for the half. I guess the only thing I'm worried about is the fact that I haven't put in any long runs in them, and what if something changes halfway through and the lugs start hurting my feet or something? But the Merrell's are hurting me now that I am used to the Newtons...

Ahhh what the hell. I am the one who signed up for a Spartan Beast at a ski resort, 2 weeks ahead of time with no formal training. 

Screw it! :)

Savage Race

My Savage Race adventure is complete.

Stupid photo - mission accomplished

6 miles, 25-ish? obstacles. Let's do it!

This morning I made the drive across the bay and through some very pretty countryside to Kennedysville, got there just in time to jump into the 11:00 wave (I wave jumped - I'm sorry, but I had no desire to run at 1:00)

Crowd surfing at the start line

The announcer did a great job getting us all hyped up. He led a quick warm up followed by some shouting matches, locking arms with our fellow racers, and crowd surfing. A young guy in USMC shorts and no shirt standing right next to me was chosen to lead the screaming contests. After some more yelling and chanting we were off! Ran through the field for a bit before reaching the first set of obstacles. Hurdles, a ladder wall, then surprisingly within the first mile was Shriveled Richard - an ice bath obstacle. This would have felt great later on in the race, but all it really did was knock the wind out of me when I hit the water. But I knew the key was to stay moving and use the wall to pull myself forward so I could get out as fast as possible.

The trails were pretty easy, mostly flat with maybe the occasional hill but nothing to cry about. I think the next obstacle was the balance beam. My clumsy ass made it about halfway across before falling. Oh well. Back into the woods for more trail running. Met up with a pack of Avengers, a bunch of guys wearing those Under Armor superhero shirts. Every Avenger was represented and there was even one of the X Men thrown in there. I kept running into the USMC shorts dude from the start line, we got to chatting and turns out he did the NJ Beast too. But I was about to leave him in the dust permanently because he injured his leg on an obstacle.

At one point we faced some walls - a straight wall with a large overhang that you had to maneuver over. It wasn't too bad. The other side was inverted with 2 footholds. The second wall was the first wall only in reverse. Climb up a slanted wall with 2 footholds, they were muddy and there was no rope so it took some time but I got over ok. The top is where I kind of froze. The upper lip stuck out and there wasn't really any way to get down other than dropping. But they put some hay bales there, and I just knew I would fall and roll an ankle or something if I just relied on the hay bales to catch me. A guy talked me through it because I was freaking out a little bit, he suggested I turn around and drop off that way. It worked. Thanks, random stranger!

Somewhere in here was an A frame cargo net, and a barb wire crawl through grass. Following the barb wire was an obstacle that was basically one of those big black plastic pipes that was set up like a see saw. You crawl up into the pipe and once you get to the middle your weight makes the pipe shift down and you slide out to the other side. Alot of females were backing out of this one and once I entered my pipe I saw why - there was nothing to grab onto. I just pushed my back into the walls of the pipe to act as a brace. It really hurt my knees. But before I knew it the pipe was tilting and I was sliding out the other side.

Soon we were back in the woods and entered a big mud pit. As soon as I stepped in I was on all fours. The mud was so slick that I was just sliding around everywhere. Getting out of the pit meant scaling a hillside - a guy offered me a hand which was not needed, but I thanked him and took it anyway. A bunch of other girls were screaming and sliding around trying to get up the hill so maybe he felt like he had to help out, but I was flying up that hill and grabbing tree branches to pull myself up, then I was out of there. Right after the big mud pit was Pipe Dreams - a pipe to shimmy across horizontally. Tried to dry my hands off as best I could to prepare. Despite being good at monkey bar type obstacles, I failed a similar obstacle at the Beast, so I wasn't about to let this one claim me. Felt my hands slipping a few times but I made it. Next was Me So Thorny, a barb wire crawl that had barb wire on the sides too, boxing you in completely. I think after this was the traverse wall. I got SO CLOSE!!! I had like 2 more holds to go and my foot slipped. The volunteer consoled me by telling me I was one of the few to have gotten so far. I think she was right, I saw alot of people fall off at the beginning and only heard 2 bell rings.

A picture of a picture of Sawtooth

Around mile 4 or 5 we were out in the fields again and encountered an obstacle called Thor's Grundle. A mud pit with 2 walls you had to pass underneath by going underwater. Saw someone try to go over top despite the fact there was barb wire there. A couple "Pthhbbthhpph" 's later I was out of the obstacle and furiously spitting mud out of my face. Running through the fields, noticed most everybody was walking at this point. The next obstacle was a log carry through a pond, the sign said "Grab 2 if you're a bad ass!" 2 logs it was! They were really light, should have grabbed more logs. The most logs carried by 1 person all day was 9. Next was the cliff jump obstacle. I got to the top and alot of people were scared so they said go ahead. Took the middle spot and had 2 people on my right and we were waiting for the countdown to all jump at the same time. As soon as he said "go" I let out a loud "WOOOO!" and was up in the air. Didn't even see the other 2 jump. Feeling the rush of joy/fear as I fell, then hit the water and brought myself back to the surface. Whee! Nice and refreshing too. Closing in on the end here. Sawtooth was next. These monkey bars were really tall and really far apart. I got halfway - up to the "tooth" part, and when it was time to go back up it was just too tall of a gap and I didn't make it.

The race was almost over. I didn't even care, I was having so much fun. Still running, had energy and was just enjoying the ride really. There was a third barb wire crawl, this time through water/mud. Chicked the guy next to me! But then I was slipping and falling all over the place trying to wade through the mud after the obstacle. Next we had some over/under walls. Got over all 4 walls, struggled with the 3rd because it was slippery. I saw a lady try to step through the barb wire on the "under" wall - seriously people, wtf??? The barb wire is there because you're NOT supposed to go over the wall! There's even signs pointing down! Anyway - approached a cinder block drag - pull the cinder block on a rope up hill, then carry it back down. It wasn't heavy, no big deal. The next obstacle was interesting, pull yourself up a slide with a cargo net while you're on your back. It had running water so you wouldn't get stuck, so at the very top I couldn't see what I was doing because water was hitting me in the face. 2 kids were standing there with a water bottle and asked "Wanna get wet?" I said "Sure!" and they proceeded to splash the water on me.

In the home stretch - time to face Colossus. the quarter pipe obstacle. Had to wait for a good bit and watch people attempt it, it was about 50/50 from what I could see. The ropes were really short. I sprinted towards my rope - couldn't quite get it and slid all the way down. Damn. Waited for a bit and tried again. Sprinted, reached - and fumbled again! Slid down and gashed up my elbow in the process. Well crap. I didn't try again because of all the people waiting for their turn. Felt pretty defeated but moved on to jump over the fire and cross the finish line!

This race was awesome! Very fun, loved the obstacles - a good mix of challenges, some obstacles were easier but fun, and other obstacles were really challenging. I loved all the water obstacles too. Volunteers were great, they actually had 3 water stations with full water bottles for every racer. Think I would have preferred cups though, I didn't want to waste too much water so I drank half the bottle/poured the rest onto myself, but I ended up having a full bladder from over hydrating. Savage Race does a great job at getting you pumped up and ready to go, yet they are laid back and don't punish you for failing or opting out of obstacles. I was having fun the whole time, there wasn't ever a point where I was hoping the race would end.

Anxious to see what my finishing time was - didn't try for speed and stopped to help others/cheer people on, but considering how many people were walking at the end I'm thinking maybe I did ok. The pictures should be good too!

I picked up a case of beer on the way home - really coming to love Shock Top lately, especially the lemon flavor. Hanging out and eating some baked ziti I ordered, the husband is trying to watch the Mayweather/Pacquiao fight so maybe I'll get in on that. Laters!

New Stuff - Savage Race

Yes. It's finally happening. Tomorrow I am running a Savage Race for the first time. I have wanted to do it for a very long time. Savage is an obstacle race series that comes very highly recommended from those who have run it. Some of my GA/SC buddies ran it in GA recently and had a blast. I would have been there with them if I hadn't moved. But it's coming here to MD this weekend and tomorrow I shall head up there to see what Savage is all about.

6 miles, lots of obstacles - very fun looking, some of the obstacles are standard and others I haven't even seen before.

Here's a video of the GA race - watching it gets me hyped up!