Giggity

Tyrolean Traverse. Yikes!

Yep, that describes me right about now. Really, Giggity. I get to race in the Spartan Beast in T-4 days. I am was strangely calm. Not nervous, at least not yet. (Spartan sent out an email about what to expect. Gulp) Right now, I'm just really thinking about the logistics of getting to and prepping for the race. Thoughts include: Can I fit all of my Gu's plus my necessary liquid toiletries in a one-quart bag to carry on the plane? How am I going to make my smoothie Saturday morning? I need to stop at The Walmart in TX to pick up supplies including sweet potatoes and probably a really cheap blender. Can I pack some protein powder in a zip loc bag without the drug dogs sniffing me out? Shorts or Capri's? The weather will reach a high of 80. Shorts = cooler, but very scraped up legs. Capris = less scrapes, but much hotter. How the hell am I getting across the Tyrolean Traverse? On top or under? How to protect my ankles and the back of my knees? Are we there yet?

Which shoe to wear? Yep, back to picking out shoes to race in. My Brooks PureGrits have been my go to, but I've also been struggling with shin splints and a funky soreness on the top of my right foot. It was really bad after the Tough Mudder. I recently purchased yet another pair of trail shoes from The Clymb. With the colder, wetter weather approaching I started researching weather proof trail shoes. I learned about Gortex. I thought it was some brand new technology and proceeded to tell Jon all about this magic fabric that is breathable but water proof. He then informed me that it has been around forever, first developed for skiers. My brother then tells me they make trail shoes from this material. Well, gotta get me some of these winter wonderland magic shoes. One of Spartan Race's sponsors is Innov8. Everyone swears by them, but I'm not one to drink the Kool-aid (unless its grape). Plus no one carries them locally so I have no idea what size to get or if they're wide enough. So, The Clymb had Innov8's on sale one day, and included in the sale were their Roclite 275 GTX. Basically, a minimalist trail shoe made with Gortex. Perfect. Not having ever tried them on, I went with my average size and ordered an 8. They showed up last Saturday, and I couldn't be more happy. They are a wide shoe, so my Flintstone feet fit in them comfortably. I've since trail tested them, and they are a great ride. I've worked out in them on my soccer field and on grassy hills. My feet stayed dry both times. I like them much more than my Brooks Cascadia (not a minimalist). Yesterday, I wore my PureGrits to work just to stretch them out since I haven't worn them since cleaning them after the Super. I could immediately tell the difference between the two. My PureGrits are squishy and I could feel tenderness/soreness in the areas of my feet/legs that have been a bother. My calves and feet were super sore last night. So there you have it. Two shoes, one tough decision. The PureGrits are proven, but I will be hurting after the Beast. My Roclites are new and haven't been over 5 miles or tested in an OCR. Decisions, decisions.....

Yesterday the weather was unusually warm for December in Cincy. The high reached the upper 60's. I drove home from work with windows and sun roof open. Perfect weather for playing in the backyard. It was, of course, dark when I got home so I got to play in my headlamp. You can see our backyard from a side street and at one point a car stopped for an extended period of time. I presume to figure out what was driving the beam of light up and down our backyard in the pitch dark.

TOD 12/3/2012

Warm up: Jump Rope to a song

Flip tire across yard (about 5-6 flips)

x

Sledge hammer - 30 times

x

Flip tire back across yard

x

Sledge hammer with other side - 30 times

Repeat above 5 times = 55 flips, 300 sledge hammers, 2 blisters

2.5 rope climbs

10 push ups

100 bicycle crunches