The Next Challenge

It's always exciting when you win something.  No matter what it is.  Hey, you've won a teddy bear from the crane machine!!  You've won a pack of mints!!!  You've won a new car!!!  Okay, that 3rd one has never happened to me.  However, I did enter into a giveaway for entry into any US Spartan Race over at A Nation of Moms.  Lo and behold, I WON!!!!  I am excited and fearful at the same time.  Anyone that knows me knows that I don't like to go away from my family.  So, I haven't done any events that I couldn't get both to and from in the same day.  (i.e. Lincoln Marathon - Lincoln (x2), Mud Factor - Bellevue, Glow Run - Omaha, Nebraska (Half) Marathon - Omaha, Spartan Race Nebraska - Lincoln, UNO Claussen-Leahy Maverick Run - Omaha, GOATz 21 mile as part of the GOATz 50k - Omaha, Tough Mudder - Kansas, etc.)

So, when I look at the Spartan Race locations I feel like I'm in a forgotten "dead zone" in the country.  The nearest Spartan Race is 8+ hours away.  And if I want to do 2017, you are talking 10+ hours away.  So, you are talking at least a 2 day commitment in order to drive safe and be rested for the event.  I spoke with my buddy about it to see what Spartan Races he is signed up for because he always has one on the horizon.  He said that he has Breckenridge and Dallas.  Breckenridge is August 26th, 2017 and Dallas is October 28th, 2017.  Both are a drive, so I know that we'd be leaving on Friday and would likely come home Sunday/Monday.  This automatically makes me think that I just need to give the code to someone that can use it, but I chat with my awesome wife and she says to figure out which one I'm going to with him and sign up.  So, with her blessing and some pushing from my buddy I am going to sign up for my next Spartan Race.  Now, which one to sign up for?

When I chatted with my buddy about it to see what distance he was doing because each of these locations has the courses for multiple distances.  They have the Sprint, the Beast, and the Ultra Beast.  I have run a Spartan Sprint before and did plenty of burpees, so I figure that I could run that for sure or even a Super.  I figured that worst case he would be running the Beast and I could work my butt off for the next 2 months or 4 months to get ready to try to run with him.  WRONG!!!  He is running the Ultra Beast in Breckenridge and the HH12HR in Dallas.  There is NO WAY I would be ready for an Ultra Beast in 2 months; maybe in 4 months I could possibly grit through it.  And I wouldn't be ready for a HH12HR in 4 months!! I don't think my code would even work for that anyway.  I guess that I should explain why I am freaking out for those that don't know what each of these entails.

A Spartan Sprint is 3-5 miles with 20-23 intense obstacles.  I've ran one of these before and got my butt handed to me in the form of fatigue and burpees!  A Spartan Super is a 8-10 mile course with 24-29 draining obstacles.  I figure I could prepare relatively well for this since I've ran a Sprint and a 10+ mile Tough Mudder course before.  The Spartan Beast is 12-14 miles with 30-35 obstacles spread in this half marathon course.  I will have to work my tail off for this, but I think that I can manage and grit through this.  The Spartan Ultra Beast is a double Beast! So, you are doing a marathon with 60-70 obstacles kicking your butt the whole way.  They estimate this one to take 7+ hours for the fastest finishers. Oh, and there is a cutoff!! I would not likely finish this by cutoff.  It would be a miracle if I did.  The HH12HR is a different "beast" all on its own!!!  It's an in-between for the Hurricane Heat (HH) and the Agoge; both of which I want to do some day.  The HH12HR is a 12 hour event in which you work as a team with the other participants to complete "challenges" and emphasizes "The Warrior's Ethos."  Given more time to prepare I could be ready for some of these challenges, but not now.

So, what choice do I make?  Sprint/Beast in Breckenridge, or Sprint/Beast in Dallas.  I fear going to do it in Breckenridge because when I went there for my amazing honeymoon I got altitude sickness and was not well the 1st 36 hours we were there.  So much that we visited an oxygen bar to help.  Yeah, that is actually a thing and has me Googling "altitude sickness prevention!!"  So, you can see how that would be a concern.  And it is the one that is only 2 months away.  On the flip side, I would LOVE to revisit Breckenridge and I think I can work hard enough the next couple of months to be somewhat ready.  And with my buddy doing the Ultra Beast there is a chance that he would be starting his 2nd lap when it is time for me to run, so I'd be able to run with him and I'd probably volunteer when he was running and I wasn't.  Dallas is 4 months away, so I'd be able to have twice as much time for training.  And I've never been outside of the DFW Airport, so I don't consider that I've ever actually "been to" Texas.  The temps should be around 70, so I don't have to worry about heat/cold for this one, but since my buddy is doing the HH12HR I wouldn't have any chance of running with him and would be "alone" for most of my time there.

Now, as the image I posted on Dreadmill Drummer HERE that you see above suggests I have already chosen that I will be running the Beast (Lord help me) in one of the locations as I have already weighed out the options that I've described above.  I'm going to the Beast in Breckenridge, Colorado!!  Time to train my tail off and work on that grip.  I even chatted with Hunter McIntyre about how to prepare and he shared how to strengthen my grip.  Now to put together a plan and go for it! I'm already working my hydration more than I have in the past.  Being a Nuunbassador I have the Nuun Hydration hookup to help me out with that!  And out of odd inspiration last Monday I started watching my foods and nutrition more closely than before.  I also did meal prep for all of my daytime meals and snacks (minus dinner).  I suppose that God already knew that this would be coming and gave me the "push" before I even knew.

Until next time, keep those beats coming!

Orange Pain....A Tough Mudder Kansas Recap

Before the race

Now, I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted.  I am WAY behind.  I have this post to finish and I have Spartan Race Nebraska that I have already run 2 recap, and I have a Tiger Balm review and giveaway to post, but for now let's get down to the meat of Tough Mudder Kansas.

So, picture this if you will.  You are at a friends birthday dinner and you know that afterwards you are all going to go out somewhere.  Now picture everyone else around you having a drink or 3 while you are drinking water in order to make sure you are hydrated for your run the next day.  Well this was me the day before Tough Mudder.  Now picture looking at your alarm clock after you set it for 4:15 A.M. so that you can get ready and drive for 3 hours to meet up with the rest of the group that is doing the run with you.  And then reading it say 12:13 A.M.  Yes, again this was me.  Now, after you do get to sleep imagine waking up and looking at the clock at 2:00 A.M. and thinking you overslept only to realize that you've barely slept.  I did that until my alarm finally went off about every 20-30 minutes.  Even know I was only running on a few hours of sleep I was still pretty energetic.  I think I was really excited about the run.  So, as my wife lay there sleeping I finished getting myself ready.  I had a 3 hour drive ahead of me to Topeka and I was ready.  The drive down was quiet to say the least with nobody else with me.  It was a pretty cool sunrise, and I think I got myself a little worked up as I was going down.  I got to see the stars, then I got the sun come up, and I even got some really cool pictures of the sunrise.

Once I got to Topeka I was able to find my friends pretty easily once they gave me the address.  We all met up at one location to get our gear on and headed out.  With my friend's inaccurate GPS they plugged in the address to the raceway and it lead us one way, and as we were going it told us to do a u-turn.  Then a few moments later it told her to do another u-turn.  So, my buddies wife used her GPS and it told us to go another way entirely.  So, instead of relying on the GPS we stopped at a gas station to ask for directions. Most of us wanted to get some water for hydration anyway and we asked the gas station attendant and he told us that the GPS would lead us wrong and told us how to get to the raceway.  Once we got there I realized that as usual I forgot my waiver form at home. So, I had to go see find in new one while everybody else got their bibs.  We met up with the more people that were running with us and we were watching some of the competitions.  There was one where people were doing tire flipping and pull up for the fastest time and all of our team said that they were not going to wear themselves out before doing a 10 and a half mile obstacle course race. We got some pre-race pictures done, got our bags checked, and decided to go line up

In order to get to the starting position they make you do a wall climb.  I don't know if anybody has watched the Tough Mudder videos or heard the speech that is given, but the MC that they have on those videos is actual one to get you pumped up and going.  I think that it is so awesome that they recognize all of the military members before you even start.  Past and present.

As the race starts the very first thing we got to run through was the shower.  And that's only because right after that you get out of it you get to jump over fire.  Who doesn't like jumping over fire.  One obstacle of this race that was very present, but well used was the concrete barriers.  It's a race track and they are everywhere,  And they use them, and use them, and use them, and use them again.  I lost count at how many concrete barriers we actually went over.  The cool part is is that you actually get to run on the race track.  So a race on a race track; not quite the purpose they intended for it but still pretty cool.  I will tell you for anyone that's looking at the videos that the ice water is really, REALLY COLD!!!  It really does take away your breath. Your best bet is to jump in, get under the barrier, and get out quick.

I will admit that all of the obstacles were challenging, but I am proud of myself of how well I did on some of them.  I completely expected to fall on "Funky Monkey" and I made it all the way across!  Now I'm getting ahead of myself because "Funky Monkey" was towards the end, but it's one of the ones I totally expected to fall.  I know my daughter Bella is loving the fact that her dad can do the same thing that she likes to do.  She loves to go across the monkey bars at school.  I will also let anybody know that the "Mud Mile" is a mess to go through.  It takes forever and there were shoes everywhere.  I can and can't believe how many shoes I saw off to the side from people digging out shoes that they thought where there's.  They were throwing them out so they can finish the obstacle to come back to only to find out that it wasn't their shoe(s) that they dug up.  "Walk the Plank" was a-maz-ing!  It was such a rush to jump off and land in that water.  There were several people who were sitting there saying, "I don't think I can do this! I don't think I can do this!"  I told them its just 2 feet and I jumped.  Technically I wasn't lying...you do jump in with just two feet.

To kind of skip around I knew "Everest" was still coming up.  It is one of the last obstacles  and I know that at other events that I have always done fairly well at.  I generally have been able to get up them in my first 1 or 2 tries, but I knew "Everest" was going to be a challenge.  Especially since I've already rubbed out several leg cramps to this point in the run.  So, as I started to run and made it all the way to the top I grabbed a hand.  I grabbed another hand  and started to make my way up.  As I was walking up the wall with assistance my grip failed and down I went.  Now I was determined to get up this wall so I went back to the gate for another try.  I ran and made it up the wall to my waist and was at the top, but I wasn't able to quite get over and my buddy Aaron and the volunteer hesitated as I reached out for their arms.  So, I went down again.  Now I am on my third try and they always say 3rd time is the charm.  So, my 3rd time I ran up to the top got my grip and got 1 leg up to the top.  My right leg was up and what would happen as I'm pulling up.  My right calf cramps really bad!  I lost all mobility in my right leg so it went limp.  I lost my grip and I tumbled down.  Only this time I knew I wasn't going to be able to make another attempt.  I limped off to the side of "Everest" and sat down.  I looked at my calf and the cramp was so bad that I could see what looked like a finger in my calf so I knew I needed a minute to rub it out and let it get better.  The medic came over to check me out to see if I was okay and offer me some water.  I politely thanked him for his help and waved him off and let him know that I would be okay.  I just needed a minute to let the cramps subside.  He asked me if I was sure and I said I was fine.  I just needed the time to let the cramp go away and that even if it didn't the finish line was right there.  I was less than a quarter mile from finishing my first ever Tough Mudder and I was going to finish and earn my head band.  Just like I thought within a minute or 2 the cramps subsided enough that I was able to get up and finish.

All that stood between me and the finish line was "Electroshock Therapy" and I wasn't stopping.  With my buddy Aaron and his wife Spring with me we kept going.  We didn't stop even as we were looking at the dangling electric wires.  We made it through and none of us got shocked!  Naturally we were "shocked!"  So as I limped to get a Clif bar and some water someone placed my orange headband on my head and I knew that I've completed an amazing feat.  I had finally joined the ranks of those that had finished earlier.  I finished it with some of my closest friends and I thought I couldn't have a better group of friends to complete this with.

Until next time, keep those beats coming!

Virtual 1/2 Recap

My very 1st half marathon.  Holy cow!  Did I just say that I actually ran a half marathon?!  Never in my life did I think that I would like running.  Let alone be able to and wanting to run a half marathon.  Once back when I started high school I asked my dad to take me out to a cross country meeting about joining.  He had me run the dike behind our house to get a feel for what it would be like to run.  I run about 2 miles, but I don't quite remember if I didn't go out because I never spoke another word and just dropped it after that, or if I didn't like running so I purposely didn't bring it up, or if it conflicted too much with my band schedule (yes I was a band geek) and I dropped it because of that.

So, I came along the idea of running a half marathon when I "found" the RunningNerds.  They created the Virtual Half Marathon and Treadmill 5k Challenge and I contacted them because I was interested in the half marathon, but I knew that I might not be able to pay for it so I was probably going to do the 5k.  The "leader" of the RunningNerds, Tes Sobomehin, contacted me back and helped me out.  So, I was able to run the half marathon at a discounted rate in exchange for helping to promote the event.  I graciously agreed to this offer.  They were giving me the opportunity to represent Nebraska as the 1st runner.  I did promote this via my Twitter account and also some on Facebook.  The basic "rules" of the run were to run where you wanted, when you wanted, and how you wanted.  This means that you plot your own course or run the distance on a treadmill.  You choose when you want to run between Dec 22, 2012 - Jan 1, 2013.  You are to then upload your time to the Zulu Racing site for the results to be given publicly.  The final results can be found here.

Now that I'm done rambling, on to the actual recap of the morning.

The day started out with the alarm going off at 6:00 AM.  I laid out my clothing the night before.  We had actually ran to get me some compression pants the night before because I realized that I didn't have any and I should probably have another layer on my legs.  So, you'll notice that most of my gear is C9 by Champion.  It's only available at Target stores, but it was certainly within my budget.  I also have my Swiftwick Sustains that a won courtesy of Larisa over at 0to26point2.  I also wore my Mizuno Wave Creation 13's that I also won.  These were courtesy of Mizuno's Mezamashii Project and Louise Cunningham over at Runners Ramblings for the invite into the project.

As I walked out the door it didn't feel that bad outside.  I looked at the temperature and it read that it was 10 degrees out.  Wait, was I really going to do this?!  Not only have I never ran a half marathon, but I also have not really run when it's that cold out.  I knew that my 3 running buds were expecting me by 7:30 AM to do what was now being called the "Polar Bear Friendship Run 2012" between us.  We were going to run around Zorinksy Lake a couple of times to make the distance we needed.  I had actually heard from my boss the day before because he runs Zorinsky regularly and had ran it the day before.  He was letting me know that the trails looked pretty good.  I had made a pit stop on the way in order to grab a bar for before and after since I didn't eat anything before I left home and a bottled water to hydrate some more beforehand.

We all started together and for about the first 2 or 3 miles we were within about a quarter mile of each other.  After that time frame we all kind of hit the stride that we were used to.  Me being the only non-military/non-fitness person of the bunch I figured I'd be last, but Aaron kept about the same pace as I.  I was glad to have him running with me to keep me company because I am sure it helped the time go by much quicker than it would have otherwise.  I wasn't opposed to running the whole thing by myself, that was how I was originally expecting to do it.  We both kept one of our headphones in, but ran together chatting as we were going.  It actually turned out to be a great morning to do the run.

After about the half way point I ran into an issue.  On my right foot behind the "ring toe" in the padding of my foot it felt like I was "rolling" a bone every time my foot hit the ground.  I was upset about this because I was already running at a pace faster than I normally run at.  I knew I would have to slow my speed so I didn't hurt myself.  I kept on running though.  The view was great and the company was great so I couldn't complain much.

As we were running along towards the end I felt some sweat running down around my mouth.  I went to wipe it away and noticed that I had ice crystals around my mouth.  I hadn't even noticed them until now.  Aaron said that I looked like Jack Frost.  I guess you can look for yourself as I took a picture.  It's in the pictures below.

Once all four of us finished I certainly felt accomplished.  We took a little different routes, but we all finished. Aaron and I took a different route so we finished first.  3-5 minutes after we finished Brian trotted in to the finish.  He got something to drink and had to leave after he "cooled off" a bit because he had somewhere to be.  Mike finished shortly after Brian.  He was what I'm describing as drone running from the distance.  He is active Army and is used to running, but not this distance and not this temperature.  He just got back from a deployment in Kuwait.  So, we was used to it being 120+ degrees. VERY different temperatures.

Below are the pictures that I took of the day:

Here is the gear I wore. 2 layers on bottom, 3 on top.  My top always seems to get colder.  I could probably have ran in shorts except that I didn't want wind burn on my legs and to end up sick.  Notice, I wore my new Swiftwick Sustains on this run. I also just noticed that I forgot to add a my Mizuno Wave Creation 13's to the picture. (Note: The link is to the 14's page as there is a new model out now.)

The view beyond my buddy Brian's car is just a great one to start a morning run.

My buddy Brian while we wait for the other 2 runners to arrive.

A quick snapshot of me.

As we start to run this is what I see. You can see my buddy Brian ahead in white and my buddy Mike with his yellow reflective stripe.

We had an onlooker that we were onlooking that was playing hockey by himself in the middle of the lake.

A quick post-race shot as we wait for all of us to finish.

And here is the 4th runner, Aaron having a post-run smoke

You have to love an ice beard!  This is even after I pulled some off.  I thought I should have a picture to share before I take it all off.  I was told that I looked like Jack Frost running!

Now, here is runner Mike and runner Aaron the night before our run.  Mistake?  Or equalizer?

Post run I added a 4th layer since I was cooling off and sweaty, but I'm still smiling!

So, what did we do to celebrate...some more beer the night after the run to celebrate the New Year as well!

Aaron was my running buddy as we ran most of the time together.

The 4th runner that we haven't seen yet.  This is Mike.  Or as he looked at the end of the run, the Dumb & Dumber Zombie.  He was "drone running" with snot frozen to his face similar to you see in the movie.

Now that all of that is done, where to next?  I guess I'll have to look forward to training.  I'm trying some interval training to increase my speed and endurance.  I was talking with Aaron and he talked about maybe heading out to Zorinsky to train more.  I guess we'll see where we end up.

UPDATE: I forgot to post my time yesterday.  I finished with a time of 2:39:36!

Until next time, keep those beats coming!

Pre Half Marathon

I've never ran a 1/2 marathon before.  Honestly, I never thought that I would in my entire life.  I never thought I would be a runner to be completely honest.  Yet here I am not only a runner, but soon to be a half marathoner!  I'm so nervous and excited at the same time.  I have a 5k (Glow Run Omaha) and a 5k mud obstacle run (Mud Factor Omaha) under my belt why couldn't I just be happy with just 5k's?  To be honest, they aren't far enough now.  I am running 3.5 miles to 5 miles on my "normal" weekend runs and I still want MORE.  I am getting in 2.5 miles to 3.5 miles on my lunch break at work.  I've even started using the Zombies, Run! 5k app to entertain myself some while I run and I plan on getting the full app as well. (Review to come when I complete the training.)

Back to the topic at hand, the 1/2 marathon that I am running.  It's hosted by a group called the RunningNerds.  How fitting since my fiance calls me a computer nerd/geek all of the time.  The run is a virtual one in which you sign up, you are given a time frame to run it in, you map your own route, run it on your own time in your own location with whom you want, you time yourself using any means that you have (recommended is a tracking app like Endomondo or MapMyFitness), and then you report your time to the site they give you.  You still get the swag that you normally would from a run.  You can see mine below.  You get to skip out on registration day of and parking fees (unless you park where you are not supposed to).

I ran over 6 miles between yesterday's lunch and today's lunch runs.  Tomorrow is going to be a rest day for me so that I don't overdue it and can't perform to the level that I hope I can.  Especially since of the 4 of us that are running 2 of the guys are former active duty Marines and 1 is active duty Army and just got back from a deployment in which he did lot's of running.  Oh yeah, and one of the Marines is not only doing Crossfit, but he is also in school to become a personal trainer.  And me, well the closest I came to the military was to become a Cadet Colonel in the IA-951 Air Force Junior ROTC at Abraham Lincoln High School.  So, I've probably got a challenge ahead of me with what I am running with, but they are awesome friends and I wouldn't want to do this with anyone else.

So, until my post race recap I bid you a good day and happy trails behind you!