Goodbye Gold's, Hello Soldierfit

So last weekend  I worked the open house at Soldierfit and represented my store. I had always heard about it through my coworkers and my customers but never witnessed it myself. I loved the open space in the gym - a giant turf for bootcamp workouts, sprints, tire flips, pushing/pulling weights around, you name it. The weight area - tons of racks, benches, free weights, ropes, rings, and there's even a pulley rig for cable work. This place has everything I need besides maybe a treadmill. There's also a martial arts center which is cool but not something I personally need. Simply put, I was in a pretty serious gym!

The manager is a good friend/business partner of our store and she offered me a free workout so I could come try it myself.

I went on Thursday evening.... kind of had to drag myself there really, because it was after a pretty awful day and I was totally not feeling it. But I went anyway because I knew I'd feel way better afterwards.

Soldierfit offers 1 hour bootcamp style classes - kind of like military training meets functional fitness. They all start with a warm up and stretch, but beyong that each class is different. The particular class I did went something like this

Station 1 - Stand on the rim of a tire, then simultaneously squat and tricep press a kettlebell

Station 2 - Donkey kicks onto the wall

Station 3 - Wall balls

Station 4 - 10 Box jumps, then put a weight plate on the box and push it down the field and back. Rinse/repeat

Station 5 - Those circular slider things... put your hands on them and bear crawl down the field, then put your feet on them and donkey kick 10 times. Rinse, repeat

Stations 2 and 5 were hardest for me. I took 5 second breaks as needed. 

We did this 3 times. We also did relay sprints down the field and then hold a plank until the next person relieved us.

It was a good workout and very different from how I normally train. I didn't do terribly for my first class but it definitely showed me where I need to improve (Power and speed) It left me feeling pretty spent, but not sore in the traditional sense. I slept really well that night! 

So anyway - I'm going to be leaving Gold's and going to Soldierfit. How could I not? I mean look at this!

I will probably lift 2-3 x a week, do the class 2x a week, and run 2-3 x a week. We'll see how it goes. I think it's something good to incorporate into my training. I have another month at Gold's which is good cause I can use their treadmills.. March weather is unpredictable

Bye bye Gold's - it was fun but it's time for me to move on!

Going back home

Finally... I'm excited to say that we got some good news last night. We're moving back home to Georgia sometime in the summer! No exact details just yet but apparently a position came up that's perfect for my husband. Hopefully soon we get the exact specs and we can start planning for our move.

We're both excited to get back to our house

Athletically... there's so much promise... many more easily accessible running trails, better weather for year round running, Crossfit, events with RWB..

But mostly just feeling like we're home again.

And... there's a possibility of me going back to school, but more on that later.


Right now I'm just happy

3 year anniversary

It's been 3 years to the day since I made a choice to lose weight and become active.

3 years ago... my husband was still in the Army and we had just moved to our new house in Georgia. He just got back from a 1 year tour overseas during which we had not seen each other at all. So it was a great time in my life because we were happily reunited, had a great vacation together... also we just bought my Jeep and became homeowners for the first time. Still, I was unhappy with myself. Over the years I had really put on some weight. Not that I was ever thin to begin with, but this was kind of a new low for myself. I remember feeling so disgusting just sitting around all the time and not doing anything. I was also diagnosed with PCOS around this time, so now it was even more important to be at a healthier weight. It was time for a change.

Summer 2012

I began running. This was a huge change for me, I had never really been active before. I did swim team and other sports in elementary school, but did absolutely nothing in high school. In my early 20's I'd make a sad attempt to go to the gym every now and then, just bobbing up and down on the elliptical and maybe using 20 lbs on the chest press machine. Like once a week. I remember running the mile in school and how much it kicked my ass. So this was some really new and uncomfortable territory for me. I could run for like 30 seconds and then take a 5 minute walk. But I resolved to do this and each time I went out there I pushed myself a little harder. And as time went on I got better and really grew to love it. I felt like I was doing something meaningful with my body. I started signing up for races. I suffered through a few injuries, but eventually I would always get back out there.

In the early months I was also counting calories, cooking most of my own meals and exercising a whole lot of will power to say no to treats most of the time.

Now in late 2014 I got more serious about weight lifting. I hadn't done much of it up until now, but I knew it was key to preventing injury and being better at obstacle racing. I also did 5 Crossfit classes last year with Team RWB. This was all so new to me and so much fun. Then we unexpectedly moved to Maryland and I took like 2 months off. Around the new year I started running again, signed up with Gold's up here and that's where things exploded. I began to lift heavy 3x a week and it's been a game changer. I have muscles now. Back then I could maybe bench 40, squat 50, and deadlift 60. Now I can do 100+, 165, and 185 respectively. I am so much better at obstacles now too.

Recently I've lapsed in running, partly because of the summer weather. It's been hard to motivate myself to get up at 6am and run in a bunch of 80 degree humidity. Also lately I've found that lifting is giving me the awesome feeling that running did back when I was new to it. But - the past week I've gotten back out there a few times and I'm resolving to make it a regular part of my life again. I did 6 miles the other day and felt awesome. I need it for cardio fitness, future races, and also to help keep my weight down. I am by no means skinny, as I still like food just a little bit too much, but I'm damn better off than where I was 3 years ago.

Spring 2015, Savage Race finish

I'm stronger and more confident. Stuff bothers me less because I know I can go smash some weights around in the gym or go on a nice long run. Everyday physical tasks are easier as well. I've taken on some tough challenges in distance running and obstacle racing, completed things I'd never dreamed of attempting. In the future I'm going to continue on with what I have been doing, but possibly branch out into Crossfit and weightlifting competitions. Being active has been a whole new crazy adventure in my life. It's something I never thought I would be doing, but I wouldn't want to be doing anything else.

PA Spartan Super

I'm trying to find the words to describe the brutality that was the 2015 PA Spartan Super.

Put simply, this was the hardest Spartan I have ever done.

I'm not sure what exactly happened, but I was clearly not ready for it. Blame my lack of trail running in 2015? Either way, I don't have any mountains to train on. And the mountain itself is what did me in I think.

A shot of the mountain from the parking lot

Let's start from the beginning. I arrived bright and early to Blue Mountain ski resort to meet my team for our 9am start. It was my neighbor and 2 of his friends - Andrew and Chris. The course was 8 miles, 32 obstacles, and 3200 feet of elevation gain. Shortly after a nice uphill start we found some log hurdles which were easy to get over, then it was straight up for our first ascent. A cargo net climb was somewhere in there. It didn't take long for me to realize my team was in way better shape than me. They were running up the mountain and I just couldn't. They said they were going to take it slow, but their definition of slow was clearly different than mine. I said they could go on ahead if they wanted, but I didn't actually expect them to leave me behind. Most folks I've run with have been pretty team oriented. Ah well. Around mile 2 we reached the summit of the mountain. The Hercules Hoist awaited us. It was refreshingly heavy. The women's bags used to be heavy, then they made them lighter, and now they're heavy again. You're allowed to have help if you need it, but I am a champ at this obstacle so I'm glad they made it heavy enough to be a challenge again. Right after it was mountain top monkey bar. Again with the really far apart monkey bars. Aced this one as usual! 

The sandbag carry. Usually not a very intimidating obstacle, hell even in NJ it was easy. This was ridiculous. Straight down and then back up a double black diamond slope. I swear some bastard hosed them down too because mine was soaking wet. The downhill wasn't fun, and I knew just what kind of special hell I was in for on the uphill because I could see it. I stopped several times - but I refused to put my bag on the ground once. I dunno, some weird challenge I made for myself. At the top of the hill I met up with the guys again and we all took on the spear throw together. That was the last time I saw them as a group. For the first time ever I was really close to hitting the target! It went exactly where it needed to go, just didn't go far enough. Back into some woods, very slippery rocks and soft ground so treaded carefully here. We hit a regular wall followed by an inverted wall. I think they made the inverted walls higher this year cause I've been having trouble getting over them without a boost. But the boost was received and the wall climbed. Next they had this thing called "Stairway to Sparta" which was a wall with a ladder on top. Not really a big deal. After this we had a pretty crazy descent. All wooded, rocky, extremely slippery trails. It took alot of muscular coordination in my feet and legs to navigate it. My feet were killing me already and we were only in the 3rd mile. It was also very mentally tiring because I had to calculate every single move and step. It felt like forever but eventually I found myself at the bottom of the mountain with an Atlas stone to carry. This thing keeps getting easier. 75 lbs isn't a huge deal to me anymore, just the roundness of the weight is awkward. A few more obstacles - a plate drag and farmer's log carry. A couple smaller uphills here and there, then the set of 2 walls. Badass moment of the day - I climbed my first wall by myself! This was either 7 or 8 feet and it had a tiny foothold just big enough to get your toe on. I put one toe on it, jumped up to get my hands on the top, and not really expecting to get anywhere I pushed myself up. I found I had the strength to push myself all the way up and over the wall. Finally! The next wall proved to be too much for me to climb on my own simply because it was taller and I couldn't reach the top by myself. But it was still a victory for me. 

There's a barb wire crawl right before this slip wall

And so began the most miserable climb ever. Uphill in the hot sun, just a never ending climb from hell. I stopped for so many breaks - we all did - and it just felt like there were hot coals in my shoes. I had a splitting headache by this point. I really think this is where things started to turn south for me. I just couldn't get my energy back because the hills were so taxing. The worst part about it was, immediately after we reached the summit we turned a corner and went all the way back down. At least put an obstacle or some distance up there to make it feel less pointless! There was some sort of obstacle at the bottom, more walls or something. And then there was more climbing of course. We exited the woods onto the slope and all I heard was "LOG!!!!" The log carry was above us uphill and a stray log was tumbling full speed down the hill. Racers scrambled to get out of the way and no one was hurt. We moved on, now knowing what awaited us at the summit. Yes, a 50lb log carry down (and up) hill. Thre was a very steep tiny hill to get down at the beginning, the kind where you should get on all fours and scooch down on your butt. While holding a log. I slid mine down the hill on the cut side because I know I would have fallen and dropped it if I tried to walk down. The downhill sucked. The uphill was a nightmare. I was stopping, sitting on my log, just absolutely exhausted. Logs were rolling left and right as people lost them. Whoever thought of this obstacle is a bastard. After an eternity I dropped that son of a bitch log back at it's station and moved on with my life. Then down the mountain again. I was trying to keep my mind from going to a dark place, chatting with people and listening to their conversations just to keep my mind occupied. I couldn't help but feel abandoned because my team had left me behind. We found some mud hills and pits next, I normally love them but was too exhausted to even care. A Tyrolean was next. Nothing new, I still can't cross it. A refreshing swim shortly followed, there was an option to swim in 8ft water and go underneath floats, but I was so tired I just waded through the chest deep part just so I could cool off and recouperate for a bit. It felt amazing. After we got out I was dismayed to see the traverse wall, an obstacle I'm not good at. I didn't make it far before my hip started to cramp up and I was down for the count. I turned a corner to see them. Buckets. Rocks. The goddamn bucket carry. The third uphill loaded carry of the day. I looked at this thing and said Fuck This. I don't usually skip obstacles but I was literally feeling sick at this point. So I moved on to the rope climb. I have never made it. And knowing how tired I was my chances were definitely low, but I went for it to see what would happen. I ALMOST MADE IT. For the first time ever. I was one more segment away from reaching the bell, but I could feel my foot slipping off the last knot. I went back down to retry. Still slipping. My strength was failing and I knew it wasn't going to happen. I guided myself back down 2 knots, then dropped and fell the last 2. My whole body was shaking from the effort and I was almost in tears because I was so close. My first Spartan I couldn't even MOVE on the rope, not one inch. And now I'm almost at the top despite being in a state of complete exhaustion. 

The Rig and the fire pit right before the finish line

The final stretch - I was close to the festival now, and thus the finish line. I saw Chris here, I guess the team had left him behind too. So it was 2 very long barb wire crawls. 1 crawl in the grass, then a slippery wall, then another barb wire crawl in the dirt. Think of it like a U shape. This did me in. By the time I was in the second barb wire pit I was about to throw up and pass out. I had nothing left in me to even attempt "The Rig". I walked right on past. All I wanted to do is be done. I jumped the fire and it was over. 8 miles of pure insanity. Finished. 

All I did was get my bag, mumble something in response when the volunteer asked me a question, sit in the shade and eat a banana. I felt better about 20 minutes after eating it. 

And about 30 minutes later I was already looking forward to doing the Sprint next month.

Isn't that so messed up? I just stumbled through this sadistic ass course and now I'm looking forward to doing a 5 mile one of these in a month?

I don't feel good about how I did. Yes, I have strengthened in some areas which is new and exciting, but I did not have the endurance to tackle this mountain like I wanted. I don't feel good about skipping obstacles, but trust me when I say I literally felt like I was going to collapse. I made some judgement calls where necessary.

That being said, I clearly need to get my ass in gear for future races so I can continue to do better.

Tough Mudder Virginia 2015

About a year ago I did my first Tough Mudder in Georgia and had a blast. I had to go back for more, and opportunity presented itself to run the Virginia TM last weekend! I was so there.

This was at the Meadow Event Park, about 1.5 hours from my parents house. I came down the night before and crashed with them, then it was out the door at 6am. By the time I got there it was already hot. Like 85 degrees at 8:30 am hot. I was actually very nervous about it. We all know I don't do well in hot weather. Got into the warm up area (this was new) did the warm up thing and then it was into the start corral. Announcer was great just like last year, funny and encouraging. My stomach felt like an ocean was tumbling around inside it, I was already drenched in sweat and hadn't even done anything yet. My original goal was to finish in about 2:30 but I had to write that off. I told myself it was ok to walk, just do whatever I needed to do to survive in the heat.

By the time I got through the warm up stuff it was 9:30, and off we went into the hot sun. Ran past my mom and waved, then it wasn't long until we encountered the inverted wall. There wasn't anything to grab onto so I had to get a boost from someone. Within the first mile I was already taking walk breaks. It was insultingly hot. Luckily TM was on top of their game and added extra water stations, and there was the first one. Right after it was a log carry where you had to navigate 2 walls and not set the log down. Joined a team of 3 gentlemen to carry this tree trunk of a log. A shoulder killer for sure. Up next - Birth Canal. This was an obstacle where you had to crawl underneath a plastic sheet with water on top - so the water was bearing down on you while you were in there. Loved the fact that the water was red, given the name of the obstacle. It was no big thing until someone entered the obstacle behind me and the weight shifted all to the left. It was pretty much crushing me and it took a good bit of strength to move through it. Definitely one of those obstacles not good for people with fear of tight spaces.

I passed my mom again and gave her an update - it was way too damn hot to finish in 2.5 hours. She said Ok, They had this water mister you could run through and I hung out in there while I talked to her. Through a tunnel to the other side of the park grounds, to find "Balls Out", a slanted wall you traversed sideways with ropes to grab onto. This obstacle was all about momentum. Did one similar to it at Battlefrog and had no problems, but this one the ropes were super far apart and I did not get very far before I just started falling off. Oh well! That's what I love about TM, you try your best but no big deal if you can't do something.

Next up, probably the most fun Tough Mudder obstacle. The Mud Mile. It's a series of mud pits followed by hills to get over. There is absolutely nothing to grab onto so you need help to get over. This year they did like 6 or 7 of these in a row and it was a blast. And the cool muddy water felt great too. Almost immediately after was the Beached Whale. Basically a giant inflatable blob with nothing to grab onto except a rope at the top, so once again nearly impossible to get over without help. I got a boost and then somehow got stuck underneath 2 people at the top who were helping others over. It took a bit of yelling at them but eventually they moved and I was no longer pinned.

At this point the course did alot of zig zagging. There was absolutely no shade to be found. Just us running back and forth in the hot sun. Another water station greeted us and then we were at Cry Baby. This is a new obstacle where you crawl through a box filled with tear gas. My strategy for this was to keep moving and only breathe when necessary. It was like the air had suddenly turned into Vicks Vapor Rub. A cooling menthol breeze filled my lungs. This is definitely one of those obstacles where you just shut off your brain and keep your body moving. Because my brain was thoroughly confused. At the end of the chamber there was suddenly a wall. Uh, how do I get out? Help? There was no space big enough to crawl under. Then someone opened a hatch from above and I could climb out. Really should have put an arrow or something in there so people know what to do. This thing cleared out my sinuses. Made the corners of my eyes water just a bit, and my skin did not itch at all. I talked about it with my husband and he says it's definitely a milder form of the gas, I think cause they want to keep everybody moving and not render them unable to continue the course. The kind they use in Army basic training has the potential to mess you up for a little bit. But I say, this was not bad. Next!

Warrior Carry. A gent carried me through this - well most of it. I'm a heavy girl and perhaps he underestimated me. I'm sure the picture is just my pink and purple butt in the air cause he carried me over his shoulder. More zig zagging through a field. Came to find "The Liberator" which is a steep incline wall where you climb up using pegs. The pegs were already fixated into the wall so it was just a matter of finding footing to get you to the next place. Coming up to this obstacle all I heard was "Hey, it's pink tie dye shorts girl!" It was 3 guys who I kept running into. I said "You know what, why don't I just run with yall?" And so it was. I joined Brian, Matt, and .. Greg? Now, they kept me ON POINT!!! I would have done SO much more walking if not for them, just for not wanting to over exert myself in this heat. But after every obstacle we jogged to the next one. They were struggling in the heat as well but we did very little walking.

Arctic Enema! Yes! I seriously needed about 4 more of these on this course. You know it's too damn hot when you approach this obstacle and it's dead silent!!! Usually you hear screams of absolute terror as people plunge into the ice bath. It felt amazing. And Matt's wife was spectating and grabbed a picture of us after we got out. My feet were a little chilly as we stood there but that went away soon as we headed back out into the hot sunny field. Next we found 10 foot walls followed by a ladder wall. Nothing too crazy.

At the top of the ladder (on the left)

We toiled on under the hot sun, to be refreshingly greeted by "King of the Swingers" A new obstacle where you jump off a platform to a bar hanging in mid air, the bar swings forward, you let go and try to ring a bell, and fall 15 feet into water below. The line for this was long, some folks started to chicken out but we all cheered them on until they overcame the fear and did it. The bell in my lane was broken so I just tried to jump out and reach the bar (I did!) and just let myself fall since there was no bell to ring. It was really fun! The water felt great too. This was followed by some more things like a big hay bale stack to climb, a pipe to crawl through, and FINALLY we retreated into the woods for a mile or so. SHADE! I was so happy. There was mud to trudge through, then we came to a clearing to face Funky Monkey. I was apprehensive about the changes, because historically I don't do well with transitions. But here goes. Made the monkey bar climb. Made the switch to the trapeze bar (which moves by the way), Made the switch to the pipe, then once I went to put my left hand on the pipe my right hand slipped and I fell. But I did pretty good to get so far I think. Unfortunately, tore my hand open in 3 places from that fall. It made doing Dead Ringer impossible. But I conquered Everest the half pipe sprint on the first try, even though I needed some help to get over the edge. Skipped Electric Shock Therapy once again, I have an irregular heart beat and don't feel like some silly obstacle is worth the potential risk.

And then it was across the finish line with the group! I picked up my orange headband, and my brand new green headband for completing my second Tough Mudder!
Never saw them after that, but 2 of them did friend me on Facebook so I could see all the pics. I found my mom, rinsed off, enjoyed a beer, then headed home.

Also picked up this shirt

This is so perfect. Gotta represent the state I'm from :)

So - my thoughts on this race. It didn't "wow" me as much as Georgia did last year. The course was kinda "meh", even aside from the heat factor. It was pretty uninteresting, just lots of running through fields and zig zagging through the same areas. The wooded trail towards the end was nice but very brief. Definitely needed some pizzazz in their course design.
Finisher shirts and merch are not as nice - what happened to the Under Armor gear? For the price of this race I would have appreciated the tech shirt like we got last year, and also the good merch for sale.
Free samples were very good, tons of preworkout, hydration, protein, gummies, and even beef jerky to munch on. Water stations were plentiful.
Loved the new obstacles, they do a good job of keeping it fresh every year. They were a good mix of challenging and fun. Great teamwork and camraderie as always.
Photos - what the hell? I waited a whole week before publishing this post, thinking I'd get some action shots of myself. None to be found. I know they took pictures of me, but I guess now TM only takes the liberty of posting the ones they like. Half of them were of their sponsors' products. Booo.

Overall - TM VA had it's ups and downs, I had a great time but it was not quite as amazing as my experience in GA last year. Still, I'm definitely down to run Tough Mudder #3 next year and upgrade my headband to whatever the next color is!

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.

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!

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!

NJ Beast - The official pictures

During the Beast last weekend I noticed photographers throughout the course. Despite how challenging the race was, I did my best to look decent whenever I saw a camera. Usually that backfires on me because I'm not very photogenic. But I gotta say, these aren't too bad.

I like how the only real pictures of us doing obstacles are at the 2 obstacles I struggled with the most.

I look ok, but the reality is that bucket carry was hell. Looking back on it now though, I am stronger for having completed it.

After the dunk wall. I didn't have to put my head all the way under, but my face was covered in mud from falling off the rope and into the mud pit - which happened about 30 seconds before this picture was taken

This was towards the beginning of the second barb wire crawl

Right before the finish line!

48 hours after the Beast

So uhh..

I was scheduled to go to work early this morning and had no idea why. Turns out the regional manager is coming this week and we have to clean. So I was tasked with vacuuming (oww, my sore arms and back) and wiping down all the shelves/clothing racks/baseboards. Uh, ever hear of a duster? Other than my calves, wasn't having too much leg soreness - until I had to bend down and clean all this shit. My boss knew I was running Spartan this weekend. I fully believe this was intentional. He asked me how it was. This picture sums it up perfectly.

I also nabbed some of the official Spartan pics off their Facebook page. These capture the obstacles in (nearly) their full glory..

Start line hill

Bucket carry from hell

2 shots of the final barb wire crawl. 

Not a hard obstacle but the view was amazing!


I think I will go foam roll my back and hang out for the rest of the night. Right now I am thinking I'll be back in the gym Wednesday - we'll see!

NJ Spartan Beast

The Beast. 

That's what this was alright.

So - 2 weeks ago I signed up for the NJ Spartan Beast. I had planned on doing a different beast later in the year, but this just made more sense logistically, so without specifically training for it I took the plunge. I did SC last year and made it through, but that's like comparing apples to oranges.

Not so great picture of the start, straight up the mountain

Entered Mountain Creek ski resort. Parking and traffic was fine, they did a good job planning everything. I was there super early and actually witnessed the first male elite finish the race, in some ridiculous time like 2:30. Inhuman! My turn to go was 10:00. The wall just to get into the start corral was higher this year and I actually needed help to get over it. The start sent you straight up the mountain with snow on it. As for the snow on the course, it was definitely a scare tactic because it was just them turning on the snow machines in certain places. Everywhere else was snow free and it was actually a warm and sunny 70 degrees. Dressed perfectly in a short sleeve and capris. Anyway - off we went, straight up a hill that did not end. It was seriously a mile of nothing but uphill. Mixed in were some snow hills to climb over. Then a little while later we encountered some log hurdles to hoist ourselves over. At one point we were under the chair lift which was just straight up rock climbing. None of us were moving very fast. I knew this race would be mostly hiking, very little running. My goal is simply to finish - having never done a mountain race I did not want to burn myself out trying to go for time. 12.3 miles plus obstacles = just over 13 miles. 4800 feet of elevation gain

Finally we reached the summit of the mountain and wow, what a view. I admired it for a second before moving on. I had started talking to a fellow racer and wound up doing the entire race with her. Her name was Ashleigh and she was there with her boyfriend, who I vaguely remember seeing when we first met up but he went ahead and kind of left her behind. She was just coming off of a back injury due to car accident and planned to take it slow. I felt bad that her boyfriend left her behind and I also wanted some company. So we ended up talking and found out we have alot in common. At the top of the mountain there was a cargo net climb, at which I accidentally kicked her in the face. I felt awful about it but she assured me it was ok. Down the mountain, encountered the log hop. We were gonna help each other across but the volunteer was a jerk and said no helping. Booo. We both fell off and did burpees - squats for Ashleigh due to her back injury. Not long after the logs was the Rig, or "Multi Bars". It's basically a pipe you have to shimmy across, then grab onto 2 ropes, then grab onto another pipe. I got across the pipe (sideways - whatever works, right?) but when it came time to transition to the knotted rope I fell off. Damn, already 2 failures. Thankfully the Spartan gods put my favorite obstacle up next - Herc hoist. I seriously considered doing the mens, if it wasn't a Beast I would have. Demolished it and swore to myself to do the men's weight at all Sprints and Supers.  At some point early on in the race we were given a code to memorize and we would be tested on it later. Mike 025 5788. Also early on in the race was a nice muddy river to wade through. It was cold but it felt great.. the men didn't seem to agree with me however because I heard alot of nice high pitched shouts.

A spear throw made it's appearance early on. Nothing new here, I didn't get it. Then the monkey bars. They seemed really far apart this year! I got halfway through and lost my momentum. I was hanging there for a few seconds, and I knew that if I didn't get my momentum back I would be done for. So I swung my whole body forward and reached for the next bar. Got it. Proceeded to fly through the rest of them. Not a couple seconds after I finished I heard my name. Ashleigh was halfway through and needed help. I got underneath her and she rode on my shoulders to complete her monkey bars. Yay, we both did it and I am 5 out of 6 on monkey bars at Spartan races. My victory was kind of short lived, because the next obstacle was the traverse wall. Now they are doing them in a Z shape so you have to navigate corners. I have never completed this. Ashleigh held me up while I moved across my wall. Trying to figure out my foot placement for the corners was tough but she was giving me guidance along the way. Navigated the blind corner, but I felt my strength failing me. Got about 2 pegs from the end when my right foot slipped and I fell off. I was so pissed off. But I learned an important lesson - I took too long. If I had gone faster I would have had more grip strength, but by taking too long I wasted alot of energy just holding on to the thing. Ashleigh didn't need any help because she's a champion. Seriously this chick is good at obstacles. We descended a hill again to find a random hay bale to climb over (really? this is considered an obstacle?) then turned the corner to find a water station. Then, up the mountain again and there it was. The goddamn bucket carry. I hated life when I did this last year, and this bucket carry was a freaking nightmare. For one, the volunteers were super strict about filling your buckets. People cheated anyway, but I filled mine up because I did not want to be forced to repeat the obstacle like they were threatening to make you do. Straight up the mountain. I had to take so many breaks, a break every few feet!!! It was killing my hands. A plastic Home Depot bucket with pounds of muddy rocks in it isn't fun to carry by the bottom. I felt like I was in hell. This took me so long to do, but at long last I was dumping my rocks back into the station and said goodbye to that damned bucket. This obstacle took alot of energy out of me and killed what strength I had in my forearms. But we were almost to the halfway point! All we had to do was 1 more of what we just did!

Walls, 10 or 12 feet?

We turned the corner and it was time to climb the mountain again. A little ways up the slope was a plate with a sandbag on top of it that we had to drag through snow. There was a line so I chose the plate on the end with no one at it. I soon realized why no one was using it. It was the hardest one because it had the most snow. The plate kept getting stuck in the snow and I actually needed help getting it back down the hill. Sometimes the path less traveled isn't always the best. More climbing - Ashleigh had a somewhat amusing angry meltdown, then calmed down a bit and felt better afterwards. Another summit reached, time for some barb wire crawls. This one wasn't too bad, but it ended just in time because I was starting to get tired. Had a very motivating volunteer who pushed us to keep going. Time to cool off in some mud hills and pits. Maybe I'm weird but I always appreciate the mud and water obstacles. They're fun! If memory serves, this was one of the flatter areas of the course. Soon it was time for the sandbag carry, it was an easy one but it was very long. Probably half a mile at least. The hill descents did get a little tricky with footing at times. I think at my next race I will do the men's weight. We were now in a relatively flat, wooded area. Up comes the memory test. I got a bit of stage fright and transposed 2 of my numbers, but on the next guess I got it right. Ashleigh heard me say "MIKE" and it screwed her up, but the volunteer was cool and gave her another try. We passed through an area with cabins, some type of abandoned kids playground, then approached the inverted wall. I dunno if it was the 9 miles of insane climbing and obstacles, or the fact that we already climbed 2 walls, but I couldn't do this one alone and had to get a boost. Ashleigh almost fell off but she saved herself and got over. Instantly following was the Tyrolean traverse over dry ground. I tried, but I just can't get it yet. Following this was some more nice cold water to walk in, we were approaching a lake and even got to cross the dam. The trail got kind of monotonous for awhile, then we climbed even more. Very rocky, lots of fallen logs to climb over/under, then we wound up on another summit with an A frame cargo on top. Climbing a mini mountain on top of a mountain. The view at the top was amazing.

Rope Climb

Atlas carry somewhere in here. I think because it was so late in the race I had a harder time with it, but I got the stone where it needed to go. We began another steep descent with snow, down to the big walls (pictured above) They are either 10 or 12 feet, got help of course. Immediately after was the rope climb. This rope was drier than SC. I got up the first knot, got my feet on the second but they slipped and I fell into the water. But I'm getting better and better every time I attempt it! Ashleigh's back seized up so she didn't make it either. Next we did the under water wall followed by the slippery wall. I swear they made this thing taller. I got up it with no problems. We were in the final mile. But ahead of us was a true test...
the long barb wire crawl, uphill in the snow. The snow part wasn't bad, just made my hands cold and painful, but halfway through it got muddy and very rocky. This thing nearly broke me. I took breaks. At one point I considered just standing up and walking out. It sucked all the energy out of me. Every move I made hurt. My knees, elbows, everything. I heard several grunts of pain and frustration from everyone around me. People getting their skin stuck on barb wire, cramping, etc. At the very end I was so relieved it was over, but when I went to stand up it happened - Calf cramp. I couldn't move for about 30 seconds, it almost brought tears to my eyes. Ashleigh helped me stretch it out and once the pain faded a bit I moved out of the way and got on with the race. Last climb, also the worst climb. This slope was absolutely brutal. I had zero energy left. Ashleigh had to stop often because of her back, she was crying a little bit it hurt so bad. Her morale was gone and she was ready to quit. I helped her up and told her I wouldn't let her. At this point it was all about putting one foot in front of the other. The final descent was hell on my knees and my hip. We reached the bottom which held a Tarzan swing above a mud pit, a fire jump, and a water pit to cross. Then, the finish line. We crossed at the same time, the green medals were ours. 7 hours, 13 crazy miles, 33 obstacles. My greatest challenge to date, and I won.

Ashleigh was reunited with her boyfriend, and I was united with my free beer (Shock top!!) hung out for a bit, got cleaned off and on my way back to the hotel. Well first I went to Applebees for dinner, not a place I usually like but I saw they had brisket nachos so duh, of course I had to go.

They were good except for the brisket itself, it was all slimy and unappealing. I picked around it mostly.. and only ate about half of what you see here, lol.

I had a great time. It was brutal both physically and mentally. But it was also fun to experience it all. Ashleigh and I randomly met at mile 1 and were kind of there for each other through the whole thing.  We talked the whole time which helped take our minds off of the tasks ahead of us. I failed alot of obstacles but kicked ass at others. I did my best and finished all in one piece! 

I'm sore and bruised today, but feeling good.

Spartan Beast Eve

Yes ladies and gents, it is Spartan Beast Eve. The day we officially panic and flip out!

The rumor is - 14 miles, 33 obstacles, plus the mountain still has snow on it. See...

Barb wire crawl uphill in the snow? Something tells me grandpa didn't do this "back in his day"

(What the hell am I going to wear? Packing a bunch of stuff and deciding in the morning I guess... )

I am freaking out a little in these final 24 hours. I have never run a Beast in the mountains - just SC, which pales in comparison to the mountain races. I always hear about how brutal the VA and VT races are just because of the mountains themselves. They are saying this beast might be the hardest yet - don't know if that is just a scare tactic, but Norm Koch is the course designer and supposedly he is known for designing very punishing courses. Lots of uphill sandbag and bucket carries.

However, all of this impending craziness also excites me. This is going to challenge me like nothing ever before. The mountain will test me. The obstacles are harder this year, but I'm ready to see how much my strength has improved since last year, now that I have been working hard on a *consistent* basis for 4 months. I know one thing, my upper body is finally starting to come together with some visible muscles.

Weighed myself out of random curiosity this morning - 166. A far cry from 2 years ago when I was 155 with little to no muscle.

Ass on the counter! But I swear I can see the beginnings of some back definition.

I am stronger than ever before. Right now I am at the point where I can go out and run 10 miles on hilly trails after 6 months of not even touching a trail. I didn't specifically train for this race - signed up 2 weeks ago - but this year I am hungry for Trifecta #2. Let's get 2015 started with a Beast! 

Arrrrrooooo..... :)