Hero Rush - Obstacle Race

It's been a few days since I've posted. I know you have all been losing sleep wondering if i ran at all this past week! hahaha ok well it's been busy, but I did get my first obstacle race out of the way this past weekend. The Hero Rush out in Maryland. Just under 5 miles of over 17 obstacles and some running. It was the first of many obstacle races to come. I was blessed to get to do it with my body building BFF and a few others. She got me through the obstacles and I got her through all the running. I gotta say it was the MOST FUN I've had in a very long time! Sure we got tired at some point, but there were a few backups at a couple obstacles that allowed us catch our breath. 
It all began running up a few stairs and sliding down a fire pole. Not gonna lie, those stairs were pretty narrow and freaked me out a bit. As soon as we touched the ground we were off and the race began. First obstacle was hopping/climbing over a wooden wall, through a little jungle of doors where you had to find an open one to run through and finally climb through a window. Next was what they called Crowd Control, running through some tires on the ground and then a few hanging hoping not to bump any or they bumped you out or down to the ground. Those things are not lightweight! Most of the running was on a trail so it wasn't smooth pavement. Plenty of potholes and mud with hardly any flat surfaces. Definitely a lot of inclines(my favorite! haha). <I wont go through every obstacle as I can't even really remember them all myself, but i'll go through a few listed on their website. It's a lovely thing this thing they call the internet!>  I remember the entanglement obstacle. That's prob where i got most of the bruises on my knee. Picture large tubes meant to be crawled through and then picture random bungee cords spread out across it all the way through. Just one big mess that i had to somehow get myself through only to find another one just like it at the end. I definitely got stuck a few times! Hoarder's Hell was interesting... basically you climb a ladder into a "house" consumed in smoke. I remember getting towards the top and all i could hear is one girls calling out for help. I'm thinking she may have had a fear of heights. Got into the house, found her and helped her out the other side. Once on the other side, you had to climb down except there was no ladder. It was some kind of rope netting. not too bad, but def nice to finally get out of all that smoke! The Stretcher Evac is where my BFF and I were able to come together and put our skills to good use. Picture 2 heavy sandbags tied on a stretcher. You and a buddy had to carry this "person" over a wooden wall, crawl under some barbed wire dragging the person with you and back over another wooden wall finishing with going over more barbed wire. This person was not light! Nope, but we did it. There were a few other dead weight obstacles like carrying 2 tires over your back over and under a few walls/fences. There were times we had to run with fire hoses and drag a hose with a tire tied to the end. The Basement Entrapment was probably the most frightening for me out of all of them. There was no harness to ease my worries of falling face down to the ground after having climbed a tall ladder to the top. Imagine 3 wide ropes. 2 up top for your arms/hands and on in between that you WALK DOWN on. Those who know me, know that I have terrible coordination. I saw my life flash before my eyes with each step. A little dramatic you say? Truth is what I say! The water obstacles were more fun than obstacles really. A nice refresher to have throughout the run and the best part... jumping over fire just before the finish line! Seriously, I don't think I've ever jumped so high in my life, but i loved it. I practically sprinted to grab my medal. Much deserved and of course you know I was looking for my free banana before meeting the rest of our group  :)
I'm not gonna say i survived. I'm gonna say i thrived! i look like someone threw me in a bag and then kicked the crap out of me. So bruised up, but each one earned with pride! Here's a little collage i put together from the before and after shots. Website is supposed to post pics of the obstacles later this week. I'm dying to see if I made it into any action shots! Well the good news is, with that out of the way I am more than ready to take on the Warrior Dash in a couple weeks! BRING IT ON!!

How's that for motivation!

do more, live more, run more

Saturday morning was my first 10k. Plugged in the wrong address for destination and long story short - ended up running with the 5k-ers! I was so upset. I was really looking forward to seeing where I was for a 10k. I guess another time. A friend of mine was signed up for the 5k so I started with her and eventually moved up hoping to run into the 10k crowd. They were nowhere in site, though. Came up to a water station and thought to myself how I should take a cup of water and try to drink it as I run. I had seen this done in videos and I had heard of it being quite difficult, but I had to see for myself. Well, let's just say 5% of the water in the cup actually made it into my mouth. The rest made it onto my face and shirt! I eventually made the halfway loop on the 5k to turn back and ran into my friend from the starting line. I decided i would loop around and run with her to get some more miles in. It actually ended up being a lot of fun and continued throughout the race. I would make loops back and around to her until she completed the 5k. Figured maybe I wont get to do the 10k, but i can at least make my own 8k while i'm here! I had gotten to the last water station and turned around to find my friend. Ran back again and realized that station was about a quarter mile from the finish line. So i decided to do another loop. I had gotten so close to the water station, I could hear everyone cheering and letting us know how close we were. I smiled awkwardly as i knew they were not going to expect me to loop back around again. As i turned quietly to run back, I heard a woman ask what I was doing and a man behind me yell "Jesus Christ! How's that for motivation!" haha i'm not going to lie. It totally made me laugh. Caught up to my friend, told her the story and kept encouraging her to start running again so we could finish and that's exactly what we did! We finished!
Maybe I didn't get my 10k, but I think i made the most out of this 5k and had a wonderful time. The weather was beautiful, warm and sunny. The people were positive and friendly. Best part? There was food everywhere for the runners. We got ourselves re-hydrated and situated then headed back home where I spent the afternoon at the batting cages! A wonderful weekend indeed  :)

off track and onto a trail

I had spent some time earlier today thinking about the upcoming weeks with all the runs and obstacle races I had signed up for. Sounds like a lot of fun... sure hope it proves to be the same! Good thing is, for the most part, I have friends doing it with me. At least the obstacle races. The runs I don't mind doing on my own, but the obstacle races... pretty sure I will need someone to pick me up along the way! haha
This Saturday is my first 10k. Right now, I'm not worried about placing first, I just want to make sure I finish with enough energy and strength to last until the next day. Would love to get a hike in on Sunday. Guess we'll see...
Speaking of hiking! This evening was pretty wonderful! Took a little spur of the moment mini hike out to watch the sunset with a buddy of mine. Sometimes it's just nice to sit back and appreciate nature's beauty. Nice, peaceful way to do some reflecting. I could definitely use some tranquil reflecting with my upcoming schedule. Seems every weekend i have some kind of run and obstacle race to complete. I'm especially looking forward to the Warrior Dash towards the end of May as it will be my first "fit event" with le boyfriend. We've been wanting to do it for some time, but have just never been able to decide on a date and time. Well we're all signed up for it now, but before that, I have the Hero Rush. 4-5 miles designed entirely by firefighters! May God have mercy on my soul! I wont bore you with my list of activities as you'll be hearing about every single one of them as they occur! Get excited! 
Tonight's mini trail run was to a beautiful sight in West Virginia. It was nice to sit back and think of where I was a year ago today and where I am now. So many things have changed and I cant be more thankful for good health, family and friends. I couldn't be in a better environment these days :)

Boston Memorial Run

I remember signing up for this event. Finally a chance to pay my respects and make it a point that we must keep pushing, training, and living. I remember thinking "oh i'll be fine! The Glo Run is just a little 5k. I'll do a slow jog and salvage what i can for the 5 mile Boston Memorial Run in the morning." Yea, it totally did NOT go as planned. Aside from being forced to sprint most of the 5k, I didn't get to sleep until almost 2am from the little runner's high and then had to be out the door at 6:30am to make it to this next run. I thought very seriously about not going. I was exhausted! My friend was late to the house too, but that's OK because it meant a few more minutes of sleep! As soon as i got into the car, I told her "you know we're pretty much walking this whole thing, right? I don't even know how i'm functioning right now!" she agreed with the little bit of energy she had left as well from the lack of sleep. 

We had originally planned on making our own Amurrica shirts and topping it off with flag headbands. We decided the shirts were not so important by the time we made it back the night before and waking up early to attempt to create a masterpiece was just not going to happen. Did i mention it was quite chilly?! SO. NOT. IDEAL. We arrived at the same time as another friend of ours... I believe the final count of participants was 500 and this event was only just organized 4 days before. I thought that was pretty great! Everyone donated to help the families of the victims at the Boston Marathon Bombings. It was quite amazing to see everyone get together and show their support. More so because the planning was so last minute. Wasn't long before i was pumped and ready to start taking off running! ...or was it because i was so cold and wanted desperately to warm up? I really didn't care where the energy came from, as long as it was in me. 

The girl I went with was recovering from a recent hip injury. I promised to stay with her at the same pace even if she decided to walk. Well she did end up walking, but i kept jogging. Sure it might have been at the speed of a turtle, but i compensated with knee highs and butt kicks. Point is to keep moving right? I'm proud to say i did not walk any of those 5 miles. Maybe a lot of jogging in place, but i jogged the whole thing. I'm really quite proud of myself. I also paid for it later that day. 

Let me just say, by the time I made it home yesterday I only had energy for a shower, to change into my pajamas and post up for a Duck Dynasty marathon! It was a weekend WELL DONE! oh and did i mention our flag headbands were a big hit! We got several compliments! :)

Now, to find more runs and obstacle races. Gotta keep moving! 

Finish What You Started!

I don't know what I enjoy most... getting my outfit together for a fun run or the actually running itself. They both go hand in hand. It was quite an eventful Saturday for this one right here. Spent most of the day buying material and supplies for my Glo Run 5k outfit at The National Harbor and putting it all together. It was my 2nd year doing it, but just my luck we got stuck in crazy traffic. What should've been a 45 minute drive turned into a 2.5hr long drive! We were stuck on the ramp to get off for over an hour. I could see the runners lining up to take off. Hardest thing to watch, really. To know you're supposed to be part of that group and you're not there. 

I had been training ALL WEEK for this! Race started at 8:15pm and we didn't get to the starting line until minutes after 9pm. Everyone was finishing up and the track to start the race was pretty much a dead zone. Empty and dark. No one was running! My friend was not about to run it with me either. She was so frustrated saying it was stupid and that she didn't wanna do it. Well, I don't know about you, but there was no way I could just not run this race. I mean c'mon... I made my own tutu from scratch! It was not about to be for nothing. No way! Not this guy! I don't care what time I finish. I paid for it, I'm dressed for it, and I'm gonna run it! So that's what I did, I took off running. 

So much for working on pacing myself. I was so paranoid they were taking the track down so I just tried to sprint the whole way through. They had these neat tents set up throughout the course with strobe lights and fog machines. Each had their own group of supporters cheering on all the runners as they went through. I remember running through the track in an almost pitch black area, finally stopping to walk when i see a tent with lights and people standing around. They see me coming and immediately start screaming, yelling and cheering. I thought "oh wow! how neat! who else is running with me?!" I looked back, left and right. No one in sight. Just me. Of course I couldn't walk as they cheered! I immediately started running and as i approached the tent of happiness, i ran straight through with arms up doing the Rocky Balboa victory dance!

I did end up seeing more runners after the first mile, but spent most of the time running on my own. I gotta say, I liked it better than last year. Didn't have to worry about the crowd, dodging the walkers or speeding up if I needed to pass someone and when I did end up walking, I didn't feel bad about holding up any runners because well... it was just me! Felt really good to finish, though. Even if I did end up running alone. I feel like I enjoyed more of it this year than last year. The track was even different. All that training for one specific incline and there ended up being about 20 of them! haha ok not 20, but it wasn't the only incline I had to worry about. Luckily my friend was keeping track of my time. She clocked me at 30 minutes. Best time I've ever done! Not bad for having walked a bit  :)

DAMN YOU SCUBA STEVE!

Disclaimer: I'm new to this whole blog thing, so please bare with me as I continue to write whatever comes to mind with no actual direction. Thanks mucho :)

I didn't get a very long run in today. Just 20 minutes since I promised a friend I'd join her at Zumba. I did intervals tonight pushing the hardest on the inclines. I REFUSE to let this hill kick my butt on Saturday. I did this same 5k last year and that hill left me traumatized. I have no problem with the distance, only that damn MILE long incline! I was so upset last year when i had to stop and walk it. I mean c'mon... i do about 5 miles almost daily. Why am i walking on a 5k?! Not this year. Nope! hmm well then again, I didn't have the same endurance then that i have now, but if I can just run that incline straight through from beginning to end, I will be happy. All week I've been pushing myself on inclines. Usually they're outdoor runs, but today i got stuck on a treadmill. Anyone that knows me, knows i HATE treadmills. It's just not the same and maybe I'm a little claustrophobic. Just a little! I prefer running outdoors, but although i hate treadmills, there is a positive to running on them: I can actually pace myself on a treadmill. That's honestly the biggest obstacle I face when I go out running. It's so hard for me to control my pace and keep it steady. I pretty much go straight into sprinting until i can't go anymore. I've gotten so much better with it, but being on the treadmill today helped me focus on my form so I could push further. So far so good, but this weekend will be the real test. Wish me luck!

Tonight's Fitness Goal: Own every incline!

Breath of Fresh Air

"It's the only sport in the world where if a competitor falls, the others around will pick him or her up. It's the only sport in the world open to absolutely everyone, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity or any other division you can think of. It's the only occasion when thousands of people assemble, often in a major city, for a reason that is totally peaceful, healthy and well-meaning. It's the only sport in the world where no one ever boos anybody." -Runners World

It's so true when they say running is cheaper than therapy. I don't know where I'd be had i never decided to take those first few steps outside my door, but what I love most about running is basking and breathing in nature's beauty. There is no other sport that can bring me to such a state of tranquility. To be surrounded by beautiful trees, flowers and sunshine... it's really quite soothing. It's the only way I can really clear my head.
With recent events, I've lost most of the remaining little bit of faith I had in humanity(Boston Marathon attacks) and as I ran to my playlist this evening, I noticed most of my community outside doing some kind of activity. Spouses going for an evening walk together, mothers out with their daughters, kids shooting hoops and fathers playing catch or basketball with their children. Some were working in their garden while others were out riding bikes. There were definitely quite a few runners as well as individual walkers. Such an active community and what better way to keep the messages positive and the spirits lively! Active lifestyles lead to positive thoughts. Happy people don't just go around killing other people! If we could just take the initiative, get outside our box and visit or care for our neighbors, this world would be a much better place! 

Today's Fitness Goal: better my endurance on inclines to prepare for Saturday's race!