#Spartan30 Squat Challenge (Resurrected)

Does anyone remember the Spartan 30 challenges that Spartan Race used to do?  I certainly do!!  And as I am training to run my 1st Spartan Beast next month in Breckenridge I figured I could use some more "help" and motivation.  I mean, we ALL need motivation from somewhere.  So, why can't I help motivate myself by helping to motivate others!?  So, I re-present to you the #Spartan30 Squat Challenge (Resurrected)!!

The goal of this challenge is to do 30 squats a day for 30 days.  This is significant for me because I have 30 days starting today before I leave to go run the Colorado Rockies Spartan Beast.  So, I will be doing 30 squats IN ADDITION to any other training that I have scheduled for today.  Even rest days will be included.  We'll consider them to be the "favorite" term of "active rest."  You can read about how I wrangled myself into tackling the Spartan Beast HERE.

JOIN THE CHALLENGE AT: http://bit.ly/Spartan30Resurrected

If you don't know how to do a proper squat, or want to make sure that you are doing a squat correctly I even dug up the original #Spartan30 Squat Tutorial that Spartan Race shared on YouTube back in 2014 when they 1st ran this challenge!  Now that I've resurrected this challenge, check it out below for your viewing pleasure!



Now that you know how to do a proper squat, you can read a little more about my preparations.

I have been looking for a good trail shoe that would also work well during an OCR (Obstacle Course Race) like a Spartan.  Back in 2013 when I ran the Nebraska Spartan Sprint I was selected to be inov-8's Masked Mudder!  (You can read about that experience HERE! Unfortunately, I think they discontinued the persona in 2015 as I haven't seen any activity suggesting that this is still alive.)  As part of this I wore some inov-8 trail running shoes, the inov-8 Trailroc 255.  I was lucky to find some shoes that I think will help me out.  I introduce my newest (not here yet) addition to my footwear lineup. The inov-8 X-Talon 225!!! Oooh! Aaaah!!! Aren't they pretty!?  Don't forget to look at the picture below to actually see them instead of just reading what I have typed.

And for nostalgia sake, lets take a look at my previous Spartan Race pictures as the inov-8 Masked Mudder!!!

JOIN THE CHALLENGE AT: http://bit.ly/Spartan30Resurrected

Until next time, keep those beats coming!

Nebraska, Spartan Race, Inov-8 and Giveaway

You might be asking what Nebraska, Spartan Race, and Inov-8 have in common.  Well, the answer is me!  I signed up to run the Nebraska Spartan Sprint in Lincoln, NE on Saturday October 12th, 2013.  Inov-8 has a persona that they created called the "Masked Mudder."  They choose a different Masked Mudder for each event.  I was lucky enough that they chose me for this one.  So, what did that mean!?  That meant that I got to run the race with some awesome gear.  They gave me a couple of their Wrag 30s (See more HERE) to wear for my "mask," a special Masked Mudder jersey to wear, an awesome race pack, and a free pair of shoes to represent in.  Oh yeah, I also got to give some away.  They gave me several wrags to give away with codes written on the inside for free shoes!  Now how awesome is that?!  I had several winners, more than I even expected.

Training image to get used to the "mask."

My Masked Mudder gear. Inov-8 Trailroc 255, Inov-8 Race pack, Masked Mudder jersey, lots of wrags!

Now, since I live not far from Lincoln there wasn't a pre-race trip really.  It was a short 35-45 minute drive that a few friends and I made.  Now, I had joined the Spartan Street Team in order to help promote the event.  I was wanting to participate in the event that much.  If you want to race you can click the link to the top-right and save 15%.  You can also contact me directly and I'll help out.  One of my buddies even volunteered at the event.  During pre-race we got to take some pictures, I even handed out some swag.  I had connected with a few people on the Blackshirt Spartans group on Facebook that were looking out for me.  I only came across one and he let his wife draw a wrag.  And she won a pair of Inov-8s!

My 1st Inov-8 winner.

This little one drew for her mom,
not a winner but cute still.

Pre-race Selfie

Now, this event was A-MA-ZING!!!  It tested not only my endurance, but it also tested my (non-existent) upper body.  During Tough Mudder I had both tested, but you are "allowed" to skip an obstacle if you feel that you can't perform it or if you fail in your attempt.  At a Spartan Race you aren't allowed to skip or fail otherwise you feel the wrath of the burpee.  Most people in fitness have a love/hate relationship with the burpee.  And I am no exception by any means.  I did at least 120 burpees while doing the race.  I know for sure I failed the spear throw (harder than it looks), the rope climb (made it halfway before slipping), the monkey bars (couldn't believe it!), and something else that I'm not remembering.  I know, I'd remember if I had wrote my recap closer to the event.

Barb wire crawl

Traversal Wall

Under the wall through MUDDY water I got a mouth full!

Most people get a cool "over the fire" picture, I got just after landing.

Spartan pugil hit to finish.

And now I am a Spartan after 3.8 "wonderful" miles and 120+ burpees.

The feeling you get when you finish is just awesome.  You are dirty and sore, but you are almost ready to run again or find your next event.  I know that I will probably be running the Nebraska Spring again in 2014, but I want to run a Super Spartan or even a Spartan Beast.  Eventually I would like to earn my trifecta!  In order to do that you have to run all 3 types of races (Sprint, Super, and Beast) in 1 race season.  I'll get there one day, but until then I'll support my fellow Spartans that have the ability to do it.

After the race I cleaned up, put on my finisher's shirt and gave out the rest of the Inov-8 wrags.  Each picture has a winner and a winner.  One a winner because they finished the race and got a wrag, the other because they did those and won a free pair of shoes.  Can you guess which one in each picture won?

After the race I switched from my Inov-8's to my Bedrock Sandals.

I also went shopping for some Spartan gear.  I got the tank on the left for my future Spartan 1 year old.  The band on the right I got for myself with my free $5 credit that came in my registration!

Now that we've had some picture overload, how about you check out this awesome video next!?

That's right folks!  For those that haven't been able to run a Spartan run, or even if you have you will be able to watch the championships on NBC tomorrow!  And in honor of this, Spartan has given me a code so that one of you can run your choice of Spartan.  Yes, that means you can win entry!  All you have to do at a bare minimum is claim your "awesome entry" and your name will be in the hat.  If you'd like more entries, there are some other things you can do.  Like follow Dreadmill Drummer in the different ways you can, tweet daily, follow +Spartan Race on Google+, follow @SpartanRace on Twitter, like Spartan Race on Facebook, and I may even add entry methods.  So, be sure to check back in order to find out those.  I do need to apologize ahead of time to any non-continental US readers as this giveaway does exclude you.  I'm sorry, it's not my rules.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Until next time, keep those beats coming!

Awesome Announcement and ENERGYbits Winner

First off, I want to share my awesome announcement.  I have been chosen as the Masked Mudder!!! Now most people may not know what that is, so I'll fill in the gaps.  The awesome guys over at Inov-8 have created this persona that they call the "Masked Mudder."  Now this "person" shows up at different adventure races (mainly the Spartan Races) and represents Inov-8 at the event.  They get to show that they are a #committed athlete and practice the #mudrules of a mudder!  First I drop on you the Masked Mudder persona, now I'm dropping new hashtags at you.  What is this #committed and #mudrules you speak of?  Well, the folks over at Inov-8 say that they are the "Home of the #committed".  To explain this I'm going to borrow directly from the Team Inov-8 site:

You’ve been called crazy… Inspiring…Obsessed…Heroic…

Some of your friends don’t understand you- like why you were up at 4am or why your hands are bleeding.

It doesn’t matter what sport you compete in or what you’re training for. A PR is a PR and you’re out to beat yours.

Your body is a machine, your tool, your art, your temple and you fine tune it, you optimize it, you nurture it.

Sometimes you feel alone- in your head, it’s you vs. you- improving yourself, being your own toughest coach, toughest critic.

But you’re not alone in this obsession. Together, we are even stronger. We can inspire one another, learn from one another, and push one another harder.

Here, we get you. We know why you train. Even if it can’t be explained, it’s the heart of the committed athlete.  Share your stories here.

We don’t think you’re crazy.

We know you’re just

#committed.

Now as far as the #mudrules, these are "rules" that mudders "follow" when running a mud run.  Below is a few #mudrules from Twitter including one of the ones that I submitted and one that Inov-8 posted.  Now you can submit your own #mudrules and also let the folks at Inov-8 know which Spartan you are running and you too could be the next Masked Mudder, but for now that title belongs to me until I finish the Nebraska Spartan Sprint on October 12th.  For reference you can visit the Masked Mudder post on Team Inov-8's site to read how to "apply" at http://team.inov-8.com/2013/07/17/be-the-next-masked-mudder/.  Here's the 3 main pieces:

1. Tag @maskedmudder in your Tweet.
2. Tag #mudrules
3. Include the Spartan Race you want to participate
4. Don't forget your rule!

Now one of the awesome things is that I get some new swag from Inov-8.  I will be getting a new pair of shoes, a jersey, and 2 wrags to complete the persona.  Now for all of you that will be at the Nebraska Spartan Sprint on October 12th be sure to keep a look out for the "Masked Mudder" as he will be handing out some Inov-8 wrags.  Once you do get these wrags you need to check the inside as some might be a winner of a pair of Inov-8 shoes!  Now how awesome is that even!?

Since I am the current Masked Mudder for Nebraska I will be tweeting under the handle @MaskedMudder for a little while.  I will still be tweeting and retweeting under my normal handle @CVermule as well.  So, if you aren't already following the @MaskedMudder on Twitter be sure to do so.  And don't forget to follow the amazing people over at Inov-8.  Their handle is @inov_8.  You can also check out their line of equipment on their website http://www.inov-8.com.

If you want to run the Nebraska Spartan Sprint, or any other Spartan race just click HERE and you will get an automatic 15% discount!  Even if you have a Groupon or similar that provides you with a code for checkout it would be awesome if you used the link so that they know that I referred you.  I am a part of the Spartan Street Team as well.

Wait.....I know I'm forgetting something.  OH YEAH!!! The winner of the ENERGYbits giveaway is Tanya Wright!!!  Please send me your address information to cecil [dot] vermule [at] gmail [dot] com and I'll forward your information to Jonathan over at ENERGYbits and he'll be sure to get your tin of bits out soon!

Until next time, keep those beats coming!