Check out my review of the electric run (and see if people actually run…and what they’re actually wearing!) right here…

http://todayiwillbefit.com/2013/04/06/review-of-electric-run/

Ten thousand people, a hundred thousand glowsticks, running 3.1 miles through worlds of light… and then everyone meets at the end for a musical and light extravaganza, the ultimate dance party where the attire ranges from a plain white shirt and a glow stick to the more adventurous adorning glow in the dark body paint and battery powered light up clothes.  And don’t you worry if you forgot your glowsticks.  There are plenty to go around.

The event was held at the Travis County Expo Center where the rodeo takes place.  There was one little light show area in the barn with the smell of recent rodeo animals, but the great jellyfish and bubbles setup made up for the aroma.  There were stretches of running in between the light set ups, some longer than others.   Some people opted out of the running and were able to cut through (*ahem* some of my friends) and drastically shorten the length of their run.  Not gonna lie, when our last stretch of running ended up being over half a mile of minimal lights and mostly walking, we cut a corner here and there but it was all in good fun

As my group casually jog/walked, ambitious dads lapped me, pushing their strollers in front, kids gawked at the elaborate setups, and the good natured participants enjoyed the cool breeze that accompanied the perfect weather that evening.

Great for families, people of all ages, not for the serious runner.  Was it worth the price?  Eh.  There was a pretty awesome rave/party at the end where they served food and alcohol and were GIVING AWAY FREE Zico coconut water (I personally missed this opportunity- sad face) so the combination of the 5k and the light-show-dance-music party made it worth the race entry fee.  At the end of the registration don’t get the add ons.  Go get your own.

Would I do it again?

It was fun.  I really enjoyed getting together to make costumes and go a little crazy with the neon paint.  The experience was worth it.  It was a healthy activity that brings people together, and I am glad I participated.

We left pretty soon after we finished the 5k.  The party was raging pretty hard when we left but we hadn’t eaten much before the race and had all worked up an appetite.  Hunger ruled over dance music… my friends hadn’t eaten in awhile and concession hot dogs didn’t quite cut it.

I challenge you to find some time to do something physical in your weekend.  Hit up the park and play some catch, go dancing, play a round of golf, check out the local hike/bike/run/walk trails.  Enjoy moving while you have the ability to do so.

2013-03-30          The Electric Run Review

Check out my other race reviews here!

5ks

• Blacklight Run (coming soon)
• Ridiculous Obstacle Course (ROC) review (coming soon)

Mud Runs/Obstacle Course Races:

• Spartan Sprint
• Spartan Beast (coming soon)
• Tough Mudder

I AM SPARTAN!

TRAIN HARD OR GO HOME.

During last year’s training for the Spartan I THOUGHT I knew what I was getting into.  I thought, hey, I did the Warrior Dash (Fall 2011).  I can do this Spartan thing.

I underestimated the difficulty level just a tad…

Had to do burpees. 2012 Spartan Sprint

It was around 5 miles and the course was technically as well as physically challenging.  If you don’t complete the obstacle correctly you have a punishment of 30 burpees before you can move on.   Brutal!

So needless to say I was a little under-prepared.  My time ende up being 1 hr 43 min and I knew I could do better.  I started doing Crossfit in July of 2012 and switched to a similar type of gym doing strength and conditioning.  The  workouts are tough, but they are effective at making athletes stronger and faster.

Perfect training for OCR!

So the Spartan Sprint again?  I know what I’m in for.  And this time I’m (more) prepared.  It will still be a challenge.

Overall, what I remember most distinctly is crossing the finish line… battered and bruised, tired and sore, but triumphant.

Spartan Sprint 2012 Finish Line

Been working on my burpees too!

So how should you train for a mud run?

1. Run.  Be able to run at least the distance of the race.
2. Start adding in obstacles every so often… Throw in some mountain climbers, burpees, jumping squats.  If you can find some pull up bars, definitely do pull ups!
   
3. Grab a backpack or duffel bag, stuff it full, and start exercising with it!  Do some hill runs carrying it, see if you can run or do sprints with the extra load.

Vary up your training, but also understand that if you are not in the competitive heat, people will help you.  They will encourage you.  They will be there to support you and everyone who is out there is treated like the courageous awesome BAMF that they are.

I also have YouTube videos that show good workouts to do for prepping for an Obstacle Course race.  Check them out HERE.

Check out this awesome post from BlondePonytail.com blog about BURPEE variations!  She nails it, from beginner to advanced.

http://blondeponytail.com/2012/08/excuse-me-i-burpeed/#comment-64238

After completing the Spartan Sprint, I signed up for the Tough Mudder in October of 2012 and the Spartan Beast in Dec 2012.  Way to end the year.  Click on the links for reviews of those crazy races.

For anyone who wants to sign up for the Spartan, you get a discount if you use the code below.

http://share.spartanrace.com/x/LSC8c

Have you done a mud run?  Thinking of doing one?  Tell me about it!

Till next time folks!

Can I have some more swag please?

Spartan Street Team – making things happen

Race Expo Weekend!  The Austin 10/20 is this Sunday April 14…. Ten miles, twenty bands.  Austin knows how to do a race right.  I’m working the conference at the Spartan booth, sharing the love for mud and OCR.  This looks like a really fun race and if I wasn’t leaving for my yoga retreat next week I would want to run.

MY FAVORITE THING ABOUT EXPOS…

FREE SWAG!!

We are sitting in a booth across from Oatmega bar and some raw kombucha soda (yum)… getting free water bottles from insurance companies… sunscreen and “anti-chafing” cream from another company.  Too bad spibelt isn’t giving away anything free.  Those are so cool.

Oatmega Bar Girls!

I also got the hook up with a “complimentary nerve system analysis” from Maximized Living and the chiropractor pretty much told me if I keep doing what I’m doing I’m pretty much guaranteed to have arthritis.  He had some device that measured the spinal pressure around my neck and on the screen displaying my vertebrae there were RED highlighted spots EVERYWHERE.  Red is bad, and blue is good.

Granted, everyone at a tradeshow is there to sell their product or market their ideas, and he did a damn good job of marketing my future thoracic damage.  From his experience he says most active women he sees start seeing the affects of a lifetime worth of physical activity around the age of 43-47.  Well shuckle me timbers.  I kind of want to give it a shot but of course I’m wary of people trying to tell me stuff.  But as someone who believes preventative care is key to long term health, it might be something beneficial.  The doc suggested coming in for an evaluation followed by a treatment plan utilizing adjustments and self physical therapy to strengthen and realign the spine.

Does anyone else have experience with chiropractors?  Any thoughts/opinions?

In May of 2012 I participated in the Spartan Sprint at Reveille Ranch in Burnet, TX.  The only OCR I had participated in was the Warrior Dash, which is a 5k with obstacles.  The Spartan Sprint advertised to be 3+ miles, so having finished the Warrior Dash without too much difficulty and a finish time of 48 minutes, I signed up with expectations that it would be similar in difficulty level.

I was wrong.

I had increased my training a bit through a local gym X-Train that offered a weekly workout to prep for the race and had started running more distance and more consistently.   But I wasn’t expecting this level of intensity.  This shit was hard.  Let’s recap…

Before and After photos

On race day I met up with a local Meetup Mud Run group member and rode the hour out to Burnet.  The ranch was beautiful… rolling hills and green grass.  My anticipation and excitement was growing as we pulled into the parking lot and heightened as we tattooed our race numbers on our arms and foreheads in black permanent marker.

After we entered the venue, we checked our bags and headed to the start line.  We only had a minute until our heat started because we were a little late, and began to start running as soon as our heat began.  And running we did for quite some time before the first obstacle.  The landscape was beautiful and there were quite a few streams of water, rocky boulders, and hills to maneuver through on the trail.  Some of the obstacles included climbing ropes, muddy monkey bars, jumping on wooden posts placed several feet apart, flipping tires, and lifting buckets of rocks on pulleys.  I had NOT trained enough and I failed at a few of the obstacles and had to suffer the penalty of 30 burpees.  NOT FUN!  There was quite a bit of running, as approximately 15 obstacles were spread out through 6 miles of terrain.  The time flew by with each obstacle but I was grateful for the multiple water stations offered on the course.

Red cheeks!
Burnet, TX Spartan Sprint 2012

The running was the most challenging part for me, and my upper body was getting tired towards the end.  I kept saying positive quotes to help keep me going when it got tough.

“It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish”

Towards the end of the race there was a 100 yard barbed wire crawl where I ended up rolling underneath to save energy, getting covered in mud head to toe in the process.  After one last rope climb, I headed towards the flaming fire pit and jumped over it with the last of my energy.  Then only a few Spartan volunteers with foam bats shaped like big Q-tips standing between me and the finish line.

Rope Climb Spartan Sprint 2012. Rawr!

Oh that finish line.

After over 5 miles, 15+ obstacles (you kind of lose count), 1 hour and 43 minutes later, I crossed it.  A wave of accomplishment and pride swept over me as I passed the black “FINISH” banners and crowds of cheering people.  All the sweat, scrapes and bruises, fatigue, pain, and happiness… it was all worth it.

Bring it!

I signed up for a few other OCRs such as the Tough Mudder and the Spartan Beast, which I’ll review and post pics soon!  And I started training a little bit harder  Check out my YouTube videos and blog on how to train for an obstacle course race.

Sign up here for 15% off your next Spartan Race!  http://share.spartanrace.com/x/LSC8c

What races do you plan on doing this year?  Have you tried an obstacle course race yet?

Anyone in training for an obstacle course race or mud run? Whats the difference you say, in OCRs versus a normal run?

Upper body strength is more necessary in races where you have to pull your body weight off the ground, such as the wall climbs in the Spartan and Tough Mudder. If there is any lifting, pulling, or pushing, you’ll need somore core strength.

Want to do a fun little interval drill that will get you ready?

I know the Texas Spartan Sprint is 2 days away. I know there’s tons of mud runs coming up this summer.  Don’t get left in the dirt, make sure you are prepared!

Get a “sandbag.” I know you have a backpack or duffel you can throw a couple water bottles and a towel in. Make it work. For beginners it doesn’t need to be much.

Beginners: 10-20 pound sandbag, 1 round (optional no sandbag)

Intermediate: 15-40 pound sandbag, 2 rounds

Advanced: 40-60 pound sandbag, 2-3 rounds

Get out there and get it done. Bookmark it so you can come back and do it again and again, adding weight and reps as you get stronger. Fuerte!

Add in some running and strength training a couple times a week based upon the fitness level required by your race (5ks vs marathons).

What do you have to expect?  Check out some of my race reviews below…

Spartan Sprint Race Review

Spartan Beast Race Review (coming soon)

Tough Mudder Race Review

5k Race reviews:

• Electric Run Race Review
• Blacklight Run Race Review (coming soon)
• Ridiculous Obstacle Course Race Review (coming soon)

Exercise and black lights?  Sounds like a good time to me.

This looks like the nighttime version of the Color Run but with black light sensitive light.  You run a route about 5k long and wear a white shirt.  As you run along the route, different colors are sprayed into the crowd.  Held in November (ignore the date in the pic below), I have quite some time until the event to recruit a team

Check out the details HERE.

Anyone else doing any fun races this year?

Before I signed up for the Tough Mudder, the furthest I had ever run was 7 miles.  I had run the Warrior Dash, the Spartan Sprint, and signed up with a buddy of mine who had a team.

Then the training began.  I increased my running and started doing CrossFit workouts to increase my endurance and my strength.  In retrospect, I should have run more.

RACE DAY

We got to the race and went through the usual ritual.  Parking, checking in, writing your bib number all over your body/pinning bib (HINT: NEVER pin bib on your back, that is how they identify you for your race highlight pictures).

*Note that for the group pic above, I am wearing the bib in the front.  Someone had a last minute great idea and switched her bib to the back of her shirt.  Good move, D.

I led the boys through some warm up exercises and we headed to the starting line.  We were the second heat time of the day:  perfect for the Texas heat and the muddy obstacles, as they get muddier later in the day.

THE RACE

The race speaker did a good job of motivating us… honoring our wounded warriors and men and women who have served in our armed forces.  The name of the game is teamwork, and we are instructed to help out our fellow mudders so that everyone finishes.

The countdown begins…

Adrenaline starts pumping…

3…

2…

1…

GO!

The energy in the crowd is palpable as the momentum surges forward and we all take off on this adrenaline and banana fueled adventure.

We get into a few barbed wire crawls to begin with, getting nice and muddy.

The obstacles are about half a mile to a mile apart, and you have enough recovery time to regain your strength in between.  A few obstacles require jumping, crawling, pushing, and pulling, so they wear you out quickly.

A couple of miles in, and we hit the Arctic Enema obstacle, where you are submerged in a bath of ice-cold water.  You have to swim underneath these wooden barriers and essentially get your whole body wet in freezing water.  Love it. Ha!  I probably looked like this coming out from underneath…

But at least all the mud was cleaned off!  Temporarily, at least.

Up and down some tough hills, asking for help when needed.  Everyone was more than willing to lend a hand.

Ready for some high voltage?

Don’t worry, it’s the amperage that kills you.

How about getting shocked through water?

Because getting electrocuted in the dark isn’t enough.

Oh and we’re not halfway done you say.

Hmm.

Hope you’re not claustrophobic.

And that you can swim.

Then the running….

oh the running….

There was a lot of running.  I started to feel it in my hip flexors around mile 6.  Trails and mud offer greater resistance than the flat, groomed hike and bike trail of Town Lake that I had previously been running on.

We traversed walls (um, you need a lot of grip strength and the ability to keep your center of gravity close to the wall.

Look at this determination.

I like to think I looked this fierce, but I know my face was definitely more red than hers.

And my hair more frizzy.

We climbed mountains of hay.

They liked to add little “inspirational messages” along the route….

We climbed mountains of dirt.

We got by with a little help from our friends.

Traversed across monkey bars (that got pretty muddy later in the day…)

Funky Monkey (I admit… I didn’t make it more than a third of the way)

More walls.

Next year, I’m gonna climb these by myself.

This year, I needed some helping hands and knees.

At the end, we faced Everest.  My teammates went ahead and made it up, one at a time with a little help.  While they were struggling with each other, I saw two other guys gesturing for me to come up to them.  I took a running start and made it almost all the way to the top, reaching out those last few inches towards four outstretched arms.

Once I was safely over the ledge, I thanked my new friends and checked with my buddies to make sure they were doing all right.

Check.

I looked towards the finish line, saw the one last obstacle that stood before me and the finish line, and kept moving forward.  As I got closer, I started running, seeing what was ahead and figuring it was better to run through it than walk slowly.

Electroshock Therapy

TERRAIN

Nice trails, a few streams, lots of trees and open spaces.  A few hills, but nothing too extreme.

OVERALL?

It was a well organized, well run event.  The frequent water stations were helpful, as well as the bananas given along the way to help the participants not suffer from depletion of electrolytes.  My friend cut his eye towards the very end when he fell and the aid stations were not very sophisticated so I would suggest bringing a first aid kit in the car.

WOULD I DO IT AGAIN?

Yeah I probably will.  I love this stuff.  I’ll get roped into doing it again with friends.  A group of coworkers is also doing the October one coming up… I always say yes.  Minus shocking myself, it’s a really fun experience and I really enjoy the challenge.

This year I’ll run more.

My favorite part was the teamwork and how the experience brought everyone closer together.  It didn’t matter if someone was your teammate, the atmosphere was one of support and encouragement.

It was really cool how they took this “after” pic while I was in the restroom.

I was pretty worn out towards the end, so it was probably for the better.

No one wants to see that.

Have you run a Tough Mudder or other obstacle course race?

Did you enjoy it?

Would you do it again?

I have had the fortune of getting to meet some elite athletes. As a recreational athlete, it is a really great experience. One of these athletes is Ella Kociuba, a Spartan elite racer who has already placed 1st in her age group in five races this year.  She won 1st place in the Arizona and Carolina Spartan Sprints, and in the Spartan Beasts (which took me 4.5 hours), she finished in sub 3 hours.  What. A. Badass.

When I read Ella’s story, I was taken aback at what she had been through.  At the age of 12, she was training for a long-distance endurance race with her horse and was thrown off and broke her back in two places.  Doctors said she would never be able to ride horses or play sports again, but after months of therapy, medications, braces, and doctors, she went in for an experimental surgery.  A few metal rods and screws later, she pushed through the pain of recovery to start being physically active, running, and riding again.  That type of adversity “develops mental toughness that [you] can’t create.”

Spartan Race barbed wire crawl

I met Ella at an obstacle course training camp in September of 2012. There were a few companies there to teach skills that could be used during OCR and it had been advertised that “Spartan Elite Racers” Ella Kociuba and Isaiah Vidal would be attending. These people were OCR badasses that had competed in the notorious Spartan Death Race the previous year. Needless to say, I was slightly intimated when Ella and I were placed in the same group.  She was really down to earth and joked around but when it came time to learn, she was engaged and focused.

I admire her devotion and intensity. She ran in the Spartan Death Race, the most physically and mentally challenging obstacle course race on the planet.   The intensity of this thing is crazy… they play mind games, have you chopping wood and lifting rocks for hours, make you memorize lines and run up a mountain and if you don’t recite it perfectly at the top you have to do it all over again.  You are pushed to your limit and the worst part is, you DON’T KNOW WHEN IT ENDS.  Due to a fracture in her tibia, she was forced to drop out after 16 hours and months later, the disappointment was palpable. We ran a little 1.5 mile race at the end of the training sessions both days and on the second day a huge rain storm soaked the entire course. In the mildly cold pouring down rain, she was the first one in line to run.

Spartan Race. Ahead of the pack.

There’s not an ounce of quit in this girl.

Before the May 2013 Texas Spartan Sprint, an injury prevented Ella from racing. Naturally, she was upset at the inability to participate in a sport she loves.  Even though she was not going to be running, she went out that weekend to support the other racers and give finish line hugs.

Spartan Race finish line – Ella hugs!

Ella inspires me to work hard in the weight room when I see her posting pics and her smiling face.  Her grace and openness is genuine and all athletes who have worked their way to the top should take a lesson from this elite, but humble star.

Spartan Race jumping over fire

She is not only someone I would want to watch in a race, but to also befriend — All the easier to cheer her on.  If anyone has had an excuse to feel sorry for herself and their situation, it’s Ella.  Instead, she has used these obstacles to strengthen her resolve, fuel her drive, and push her through trials and tribulations.

Fit and Fearless Training Camp

I have just a (little) girl crush…

photo by Curtis Sullivan Photography

Read more about Ella in a blog from The Athletic Build here.

So I’ll never get a chance to be a rock star but I did get the chance to be a ROC star for a day. It was my first time ever participating in the Ridiculous Obstacle Challenge here in Austin, TX and ridiculous it was. Spartan Race, Warrior Dash, Electric Run, etc. are things I love doing. They challenge me to push to the finish line, achieve the best I can, and have some fun. The ROC is ALL about fun. They don’t time you, you aren’t racing, and it’s simply a wacky physical challenge.

Right when you pull up, you see the crazy costumes and hear the DJ playing music. At the start line people are buzzing and anxious to get weird. Before you even cross the start line, the grandmaster has you doing out of the box movements to warm you up. My favorite, making a peanut butter and jelly…hard to explain.

The overall feel and energy of the race has been compared to the TV show Wipeout. There is definitely more distance between challenges but being that the focus is fun not time, many people (not all) opt to walk and enjoy watching the other people being silly. This race caters to all fitness levels. As long as you can walk, go up hill, sit down, and stand up, you can complete this challenge. There is no pressure if you want to skip the monkey bars…. This is definitely the most relaxed obstacle challenge I have ever done.

IIf you hear of reviews complaining about lines at the obstacles, you might find a few of the challenges that do.  This IS NOT a timed event, and not a competitive race. Most people are excited to chat about the previous challenge with friends and laugh while waiting, and some get a kick watching the people go before them. The longest line I experienced was the wrecking balls. Two huge padded balls that try to knock people into 4 feet of water as they are traveling across padded beams. I laughed so hard watching people and listening to the announcer in his tuxedo speedo, I didn’t even think about the fact I was waiting in line.

When I registered, the cost was about $50. We paid $10 to park at the expo center and the experience was totally worth it to me. I would do this challenge again but there are a few other new ones for me I’d like to spend my money on before circling back to this one. I’m a pretty ridiculous person as it is, but I got to bring out the kid in me that day. Water tubing down a hill, tight rope walking, tarzaning a rope, and going down a gigantic waterslide are just a couple of the things that had me leave there smiling.

This is a guest blog by Christine Ziegler. 

So apparently I’m doing a triathlon in April. I’ve resisted long enough. I have decent relationships with swimming, biking, and running, but the thought of doing them in succession and around other people who are trying to do them faster has never really appealed to me.

But this time, instead of my usual “well maybe next time…” I decided to jump on board.  I need something to train for… Something that’ll motivate me to get on a good training schedule.  Something to look forward to and get excited about.

So April 27, here I come.  The HITS triathlon series has several different levels, from beginner, sprint, olympic, half and full options.  I’m starting light, so 750 meter swim, 12.4 mile bike, 3.2 mile run.  Although in the hill country of Texas, I’d better get started training on some hills.  Like.  Now.

Fortunately I have some good resources at Atomic; more experienced triathletes, a former collegiate swimmer turned swim coach, cyclists, runners, current/former competitors of all kinds (from crossfit to jujitsu, figure competitor to army ranger), sport specific chiropractors, and basically all around mentally fit badasses. Lots of advice and motivation to not chump out during training.

And a lot of motivation to add something to my training regimen.  Try something challenging.  Try a new first…

Source: Photo by United States Armed Forces (Defense.gov News Photo 090530-N-1722M-677.jpg) via WikiCommons

And hey, if guys like these are gonna be racing…

…this might not be my last.

The Social Cycling club I joined has Saturday rides to help get me stronger and get to know some of the trails and good routes around town.  And keeping up with other people from the gym who are training for the same race.  Fortunately there is a public swimming pool a mile from my house.  I have no excuses…

Training Schedule January:

Strength and Conditioning - Atomic Athlete 4x/week

Swim – 30 minutes 2x/week

Bike - 1 long (10 mile+ bike)/week

- 2 short (1-5 miles)/week

Run - 2x/week

Source: (DHL Triathlon Mission Bay 2008.jpg) via WikiCommons

Source: Photo by lucyllas (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucyllas/639808878/in/photostream/) via Flickr

This is what I got for the next 2 weeks as I iron out the details.

I’m getting excited…

All right Tuesday I got you.

Can I have some more swag please?

Spartan Street Team – making things happen

Race Expo Weekend!  The Austin 10/20 is this Sunday April 14…. Ten miles, twenty bands.  Austin knows how to do a race right.  I’m working the conference at the Spartan booth, sharing the love for mud and OCR.  This looks like a really fun race and if I wasn’t leaving for my yoga retreat next week I would want to run.

MY FAVORITE THING ABOUT EXPOS…

FREE SWAG!!

We are sitting in a booth across from Oatmega bar and some raw kombucha soda (yum)… getting free water bottles from insurance companies… sunscreen and “anti-chafing” cream from another company.  Too bad spibelt isn’t giving away anything free.  Those are so cool.

Oatmega Bar Girls!

I also got the hook up with a “complimentary nerve system analysis” from Maximized Living and the chiropractor pretty much told me if I keep doing what I’m doing I’m pretty much guaranteed to have arthritis.  He had some device that measured the spinal pressure around my neck and on the screen displaying my vertebrae there were RED highlighted spots EVERYWHERE.  Red is bad, and blue is good.

Granted, everyone at a tradeshow is there to sell their product or market their ideas, and he did a damn good job of marketing my future thoracic damage.  From his experience he says most active women he sees start seeing the affects of a lifetime worth of physical activity around the age of 43-47.  Well shuckle me timbers.  I kind of want to give it a shot but of course I’m wary of people trying to tell me stuff.  But as someone who believes preventative care is key to long term health, it might be something beneficial.  The doc suggested coming in for an evaluation followed by a treatment plan utilizing adjustments and self physical therapy to strengthen and realign the spine.

Does anyone else have experience with chiropractors?  Any thoughts/opinions?

The post Austin 10/20 Expo – Music and Miles appeared first on Today I Will Be Fit.

Spartan Sprint challenges and victories

In May of 2012 I participated in the Spartan Sprint at Reveille Ranch in Burnet, TX.  The only OCR I had participated in was the Warrior Dash, which is a 5k with obstacles.  The Spartan Sprint advertised to be 3+ miles, so having finished the Warrior Dash without too much difficulty and a finish time of 48 minutes, I signed up with expectations that it would be similar in difficulty level.

I was wrong.

The Training

I had increased my training a bit through a local gym X-Train that offered a weekly workout to prep for the race and had started running more distance and more consistently.   But I wasn’t expecting this level of intensity.  This shit was hard.  Let’s recap…

Before and After photos

The Race Day

On race day I met up with a local Meetup Mud Run group member and rode the hour out to Burnet.  The ranch was beautiful… rolling hills and green grass.  My anticipation and excitement was growing as we pulled into the parking lot and heightened as we tattooed our race numbers on our arms and foreheads in black permanent marker.

After we entered the venue, we checked our bags and headed to the start line.  We only had a minute until our heat started because we were a little late, and began to start running as soon as our heat began.  And running we did for quite some time before the first obstacle.  The landscape was beautiful and there were quite a few streams of water, rocky boulders, and hills to maneuver through on the trail.  Some of the obstacles included climbing ropes, muddy monkey bars, jumping on wooden posts placed several feet apart, flipping tires, and lifting buckets of rocks on pulleys.  I had NOT trained enough and I failed at a few of the obstacles and had to suffer the penalty of 30 burpees.  NOT FUN!  There was quite a bit of running, as approximately 15 obstacles were spread out through 6 miles of terrain.  The time flew by with each obstacle but I was grateful for the multiple water stations offered on the course.

Red cheeks!
Burnet, TX Spartan Sprint 2012

The Struggle

The running was the most challenging part for me, and my upper body was getting tired towards the end.  I kept saying positive quotes to help keep me going when it got tough.

“It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish”

Towards the end of the race there was a 100 yard barbed wire crawl where I ended up rolling underneath to save energy, getting covered in mud head to toe in the process.  After one last rope climb, I headed towards the flaming fire pit and jumped over it with the last of my energy.  Then only a few Spartan volunteers with foam bats shaped like big Q-tips standing between me and the finish line.

Rope Climb Spartan Sprint 2012. Rawr!

The Finisher Feeling

Oh that finish line.

After over 5 miles, 15+ obstacles (you kind of lose count), 1 hour and 43 minutes later, I crossed it.  A wave of accomplishment and pride swept over me as I passed the black “FINISH” banners and crowds of cheering people.  All the sweat, scrapes and bruises, fatigue, pain, and happiness… it was all worth it.

Bring it!

I signed up for a few other OCRs such as the Tough Mudder and the Spartan Beast, which I’ll review and post pics soon!  And I started training a little bit harder  Check out my YouTube videos and blog on how to train for an obstacle course race.

What races do you plan on doing this year?  Have you tried an obstacle course race yet?

The post Spartan Sprint Race Review appeared first on Today I Will Be Fit.

How to train for an obstacle course mud run

Upper body strength is more necessary in races where you have to pull your body weight off the ground, such as the wall climbs in the Spartan and Tough Mudder. If there is any lifting, pulling, or pushing, you’ll need somore core strength.

Want to do a fun little interval drill that will get you ready?

I know the Texas Spartan Sprint is 2 days away. I know there’s tons of mud runs coming up this summer.  Don’t get left in the dirt, make sure you are prepared!

Get a “sandbag.” I know you have a backpack or duffel you can throw a couple water bottles and a towel in. Make it work. For beginners it doesn’t need to be much.

So let’s go.

Check out my Obstacle Course Training Video below

Beginners: 10-20 pound sandbag, 1 round (optional no sandbag)

Intermediate: 15-40 pound sandbag, 2 rounds

Advanced: 40-60 pound sandbag, 2-3 rounds

Get out there and get it done. Bookmark it so you can come back and do it again and again, adding weight and reps as you get stronger. Fuerte!

Add in some running and strength training a couple times a week based upon the fitness level required by your race (5ks vs marathons).

What do you have to expect?  Check out some of my race reviews below…

Spartan Sprint Race Review

Spartan Beast Race Review (coming soon)

Tough Mudder Race Review

5k Race reviews:

• Electric Run Race Review

The post How to train for an obstacle course appeared first on Today I Will Be Fit.

Exercise and black lights?  Sounds like a good time to me.

This looks like the nighttime version of the Color Run but with black light sensitive light.  You run a route about 5k long and wear a white shirt.  As you run along the route, different colors are sprayed into the crowd.  Held in November (ignore the date in the pic below), I have quite some time until the event to recruit a team

Check out the details HERE.

Anyone else doing any fun races this year?

The post Signed up for the Blacklight Run! appeared first on Today I Will Be Fit.

Before I signed up for the Tough Mudder, the furthest I had ever run was 7 miles.  I had run the Warrior Dash, the Spartan Sprint, and signed up with a buddy of mine who had a team.

Then the training began.  I increased my running and started doing CrossFit workouts to increase my endurance and my strength.  In retrospect, I should have run more.

RACE DAY

We got to the race and went through the usual ritual.  Parking, checking in, writing your bib number all over your body/pinning bib (HINT: NEVER pin bib on your back, that is how they identify you for your race highlight pictures).

*Note that for the group pic above, I am wearing the bib in the front.  Someone had a last minute great idea and switched her bib to the back of her shirt.  Good move, D.

I led the boys through some warm up exercises and we headed to the starting line.  We were the second heat time of the day:  perfect for the Texas heat and the muddy obstacles, as they get muddier later in the day.

THE RACE

The race speaker did a good job of motivating us… honoring our wounded warriors and men and women who have served in our armed forces.  The name of the game is teamwork, and we are instructed to help out our fellow mudders so that everyone finishes.

The countdown begins…

Adrenaline starts pumping…

3…

2…

1…

GO!

The energy in the crowd is palpable as the momentum surges forward and we all take off on this adrenaline and banana fueled adventure.

We get into a few barbed wire crawls to begin with, getting nice and muddy.

The obstacles are about half a mile to a mile apart, and you have enough recovery time to regain your strength in between.  A few obstacles require jumping, crawling, pushing, and pulling, so they wear you out quickly.

A couple of miles in, and we hit the Arctic Enema obstacle, where you are submerged in a bath of ice-cold water.  You have to swim underneath these wooden barriers and essentially get your whole body wet in freezing water.  Love it. Ha!  I probably looked like this coming out from underneath…

But at least all the mud was cleaned off!  Temporarily, at least.

Up and down some tough hills, asking for help when needed.  Everyone was more than willing to lend a hand.

Ready for some high voltage?

Don’t worry, it’s the amperage that kills you.

How about getting shocked through water?

Because getting electrocuted in the dark isn’t enough.

Oh and we’re not halfway done you say.

Hmm.

Hope you’re not claustrophobic.

And that you can swim.

Then the running….

oh the running….

There was a lot of running.  I started to feel it in my hip flexors around mile 6.  Trails and mud offer greater resistance than the flat, groomed hike and bike trail of Town Lake that I had previously been running on.

We traversed walls (um, you need a lot of grip strength and the ability to keep your center of gravity close to the wall.

Look at this determination.

I like to think I looked this fierce, but I know my face was definitely more red than hers.

And my hair more frizzy.

We climbed mountains of hay.

They liked to add little “inspirational messages” along the route….

We climbed mountains of dirt.

We got by with a little help from our friends.

Traversed across monkey bars (that got pretty muddy later in the day…)

Funky Monkey (I admit… I didn’t make it more than a third of the way)

More walls.

Next year, I’m gonna climb these by myself.

This year, I needed some helping hands and knees.

At the end, we faced Everest.  My teammates went ahead and made it up, one at a time with a little help.  While they were struggling with each other, I saw two other guys gesturing for me to come up to them.  I took a running start and made it almost all the way to the top, reaching out those last few inches towards four outstretched arms.

Once I was safely over the ledge, I thanked my new friends and checked with my buddies to make sure they were doing all right.

Check.

I looked towards the finish line, saw the one last obstacle that stood before me and the finish line, and kept moving forward.  As I got closer, I started running, seeing what was ahead and figuring it was better to run through it than walk slowly.

Electroshock Therapy

TERRAIN

Nice trails, a few streams, lots of trees and open spaces.  A few hills, but nothing too extreme.

OVERALL?

It was a well organized, well run event.  The frequent water stations were helpful, as well as the bananas given along the way to help the participants not suffer from depletion of electrolytes.  My friend cut his eye towards the very end when he fell and the aid stations were not very sophisticated so I would suggest bringing a first aid kit in the car.

WOULD I DO IT AGAIN?

Yeah I probably will.  I love this stuff.  I’ll get roped into doing it again with friends.  A group of coworkers is also doing the October one coming up… I always say yes.  Minus shocking myself, it’s a really fun experience and I really enjoy the challenge.

This year I’ll run more.

My favorite part was the teamwork and how the experience brought everyone closer together.  It didn’t matter if someone was your teammate, the atmosphere was one of support and encouragement.

It was really cool how they took this “after” pic while I was in the restroom.

I was pretty worn out towards the end, so it was probably for the better.

No one wants to see that.

Have you run a Tough Mudder or other obstacle course race?

Did you enjoy it?

Would you do it again?

The post race recap: Texas Tough Mudder October 2012 appeared first on Today I Will Be Fit.

Ella Kociuba, athlete, inspiration, and all around badass

I have had the fortune of getting to meet some elite athletes. As a recreational athlete, it is a really great experience. One of these athletes is Ella Kociuba, a Spartan elite racer who has already placed 1st in her age group in five races this year.  She won 1st place in the Arizona and Carolina Spartan Sprints, and in the Spartan Beasts (which took me 4.5 hours), she finished in sub 3 hours.  What. A. Badass.

When I read Ella’s story, I was taken aback at what she had been through.  At the age of 12, she was training for a long-distance endurance race with her horse and was thrown off and broke her back in two places.  Doctors said she would never be able to ride horses or play sports again, but after months of therapy, medications, braces, and doctors, she went in for an experimental surgery.  A few metal rods and screws later, she pushed through the pain of recovery to start being physically active, running, and riding again.  That type of adversity “develops mental toughness that [you] can’t create.”

Spartan Race barbed wire crawl

I met Ella

at an obstacle course training camp in September of 2012. There were a few companies there to teach skills that could be used during OCR and it had been advertised that “Spartan Elite Racers” Ella Kociuba and Isaiah Vidal would be attending. These people were OCR badasses that had competed in the notorious Spartan Death Race the previous year. Needless to say, I was slightly intimated when Ella and I were placed in the same group.  She was really down to earth and joked around but when it came time to learn, she was engaged and focused.

I admire her devotion and intensity. She ran in the Spartan Death Race, the most physically and mentally challenging obstacle course race on the planet.  The intensity of this thing is crazy. They play mind games, have you chopping wood and lifting rocks for hours, make you memorize lines and run up a mountain and if you don’t recite it perfectly at the top you have to do it all over again.  You are pushed to your limit and the worst part is, you DON’T KNOW WHEN IT ENDS.  Due to a fracture in her tibia, she was forced to drop out after 16 hours and months later, the disappointment was palpable.

We ran a little 1.5 mile race at the end of the training sessions both days and on the second day a huge rain storm soaked the entire course. In the mildly cold pouring down rain, she was the first one in line to run.

Spartan Race. Ahead of the pack.

There’s not an ounce of quit in this girl.

Before the May 2013 Texas Spartan Sprint, an injury prevented Ella from racing. Naturally, she was upset at the inability to participate in a sport she loves.  Even though she was not going to be running, she went out that weekend to support the other racers and give finish line hugs.

Spartan Race finish line – Ella hugs!

Ella inspires me

to work hard in the weight room when I see her posting pics and her smiling face.  Her grace and openness is genuine and all athletes who have worked their way to the top should take a lesson from this elite, but humble star.

Spartan Race jumping over fire

She is not only someone I would want to watch in a race, but to also befriend — All the easier to cheer her on.  If anyone has had an excuse to feel sorry for herself and their situation, it’s Ella. Instead, she has used these obstacles to strengthen her resolve, fuel her drive, and push her through trials and tribulations.

Fit and Fearless Training Camp

I have just a (little) girl crush…

photo by Curtis Sullivan Photography

Read more about Ella in a blog from The Athletic Build here.

The post A Day in the Mud with Spartan Elite Racer Ella Kociuba appeared first on Today I Will Be Fit.

So I’ll never get a chance to be a rock star but I did get the chance to be a ROC star for a day. It was my first time ever participating in the Ridiculous Obstacle Challenge here in Austin, TX and ridiculous it was. Spartan Race, Warrior Dash, Electric Run, etc. are things I love doing. They challenge me to push to the finish line, achieve the best I can, and have some fun. The ROC is ALL about fun. They don’t time you, you aren’t racing, and it’s simply a wacky physical challenge.

Right when you pull up, you see the crazy costumes and hear the DJ playing music. At the start line people are buzzing and anxious to get weird. Before you even cross the start line, the grandmaster has you doing out of the box movements to warm you up. My favorite, making a peanut butter and jelly…hard to explain.

The overall feel and energy of the race has been compared to the TV show Wipeout. There is definitely more distance between challenges but being that the focus is fun not time, many people (not all) opt to walk and enjoy watching the other people being silly. This race caters to all fitness levels. As long as you can walk, go up hill, sit down, and stand up, you can complete this challenge. There is no pressure if you want to skip the monkey bars…. This is definitely the most relaxed obstacle challenge I have ever done.

IIf you hear of reviews complaining about lines at the obstacles, you might find a few of the challenges that do.  This IS NOT a timed event, and not a competitive race. Most people are excited to chat about the previous challenge with friends and laugh while waiting, and some get a kick watching the people go before them. The longest line I experienced was the wrecking balls. Two huge padded balls that try to knock people into 4 feet of water as they are traveling across padded beams. I laughed so hard watching people and listening to the announcer in his tuxedo speedo, I didn’t even think about the fact I was waiting in line.

When I registered, the cost was about $50. We paid $10 to park at the expo center and the experience was totally worth it to me. I would do this challenge again but there are a few other new ones for me I’d like to spend my money on before circling back to this one. I’m a pretty ridiculous person as it is, but I got to bring out the kid in me that day. Water tubing down a hill, tight rope walking, tarzaning a rope, and going down a gigantic waterslide are just a couple of the things that had me leave there smiling.

This is a guest blog by Christine Ziegler. 

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