No Rest for the Weary

The Tough Mudder has come and gone, which completed part 1 of 3 of my week of pain. Still to come is my Spartan Hurricane Heat on Friday night and the Super Spartan on Saturday.

Thoughts/Reflections going into this week:

• I felt pretty good overall on Saturday. I crushed all the hills with no problem. Let me tell you, there was no shortage of them. And they were big. Yay, for weight vest hill sprints, walking lunges, and having a strange love for going up and down hills.
• I had zero cramping, which the rest of my team suffered from. Thus, my Gu's and Nuun worked. With a slight allergy to bananas and peanuts, I had to bring my own nutrition on the course. Glad I did. I carried them in a little wrist pouch I had bought a while ago at TJ Maxx for about $5. Worked like a charm. I was never really thirsty, so I was properly hydrated prior to the start. But I made sure to drink water at all of the water stations.
• I am not built like a walrus or any other Arctic creature. I froze the entire time. My teeth were chattering before, during, and after the race. I joked with Brendan that my shoulders would be sore from shaking. Well, they are. I ended up leaving the team somewhere around mile 8 and ran the rest. There was no stopping at that point cause I probably wouldn't have been able to restart. 
• Gloves are necessary when cold, even if I don't need them for the obstacles. I made the decision at the start line to ditch them. I was flexing my hands the entire time to try to keep them warm. Luckily Jon showed up on the sidelines around mile 7 maybe, and I got my gloves. I simply took them off and tossed them to the side on water obstacles. 
• My shoes are the shit. No problemos on the slippery slopes we had to climb. Once again, not too heavy. To anyone seriously looking to getting into OCR, buy and train with Minimalist Trail shoes. Be sure to train with them though. Your feet, ankles, and shins need the time to adjust.
• My tights retained water. This weekend I'm wearing Capri's. Also, less layers on top. I had my Spartan Chick tank, UA Cold Gear Mock Turtle neck, and our 'Team' shirt, a UA Heat Gear Long sleeve shirt. Independently, they are all great and wick well. Together, not so much. I'm restrategizing.
• I am that annoying girl that is all giggles and cracking jokes that she thinks are funny the entire course. Even when the going gets tough and my lips are blue, I am still smiling, laughing, and having a great time. I love OCR. It is a sport that I see myself doing for as long as I am capable. Some people run road races, ride bike races, compete in Tri's, knit, bake, swim, etc. I am an OCRer. I enjoy the full body workout. I love running on the trails and through the woods. I love the always changing challenges from race to race. I love the training. I love the camaraderie between perfect strangers on an OCR course. I love the community and support of my fellow Spartan Chicks. Its my hobby. Its the reason I get out of bed every morning (literally). My brother signing us up for the IN Spartan has changed my life. And I will forever be grateful for that cold, wet day in April where I found the joy in pushing myself beyond my comfort level and rediscovering the basic human in me.

Post race: The top of my right foot is sore. I've been through this before. This week's focus will be on getting it back to normal. Gym shoes are out. I've been barefoot or in sandals (this includes at work). Applying RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation). If I don't feel comfortable on it, I will be skipping the Hurricane Heat Friday night. My sights are set on a Trifecta, so I cannot jeopardize Saturday morning's race.

Sunday morning I woke up and decided to get a work out in. This is when I discovered that gym shoes were out. So I altered The Murph (a workout I found on Seal Fit).

Original Murph:
1 mile run
100 Pull ups
200 Push ups
300 Squats
1 Mile Run

Nicki's Murph:

5 minute jump rope with faux rope
Done 5 times with short rest between sets:
  10 Pull ups - No assistance bands since no gym shoes, so sub 4x10sec negatives (hang on at top)
  20 Push ups - Became girly push ups



   30 squats
5 minute faux rope

Came with my pull up bar

Weekend Warrior

I kicked ass this weekend. No other way to say it. Over 20 miles logged. My longest run ever on Saturday, followed by 2,600 stairs on Sunday. It was an amazing training weekend. The weather was perfect, the dirt was soft from the recent rain, and my body carried me through.

Friday evening I had to get in a work out since I over slept that morning. I got home and put on my road shoes and Nike+ SportWatch GPS. I ran the 1.13 miles over to the park, which was also my fastest mile to date (8:43). At the park I proceeded to do:

20 Inverted Pull ups
30 Burpees
30 Tri Dips
50 Squats
20 Push ups
1 Minute plank
Soccer field walking lunges (79)

10 bear crawls, 5 push ups (quickly becomes girl push ups) (full field)
Frog Jumps (full field)
Long Jumps (full field)
High Knees (full field)
Butt Kicks (full field)

Soccer field walking lunges
1 Minute Plank
20 Push ups
50 Squats
20 Tri Dips
30 Burpees
20 Inverted Pull ups

Then I continued on my run. It was a tough run. I need to get new road shoes, and my knees reminded me of this the whole way. So, definitely a bit of walking.

Total Distance: 5.98 miles
Time: 1:30:22

Saturday, I ran at Mt. Airy. I had been looking forward to this run all week. Nothing beats a few hours in the forest where its just your shoes hitting the dirt. I absolutely love trail running. I wish I had known this was a real sport years ago. Its so much more fun than road running and much easier on the body. I went twice as far on Saturday than Friday, but with zero knee pain afterwards. This is the difference between pounding pavement and running trails.

With my Nike+ SportWatch and CamelBak, I headed into the woods. Forgot my iTouch and headphones. Hike back to the car. Okay, let's try this again. Ran my usual trail. Once to the Stone Steps, I went up the first time with nothing. At the top, low and behold, my log and rock were still there. So, I picked up Log for a lap. Then, Rocky Balboa, Log again, and Rocky Balboa. A total of 5 times up and down those sketchy stairs. I had also bought some Gu's and Bloks to practice eating on my long runs. I planned to eat one every hour so I don't wear out before eating. The Gu's always freaked me out. But I've heard great things about them, and I had a free sample so I tried it. Let me tell you, it was so good. Do you remember those Squeeze Pops you used to eat as a kid? That's what they taste like but packed with potassium, sodium, protein, and all the other stuff you need to fuel your body. My other gu thingy wasn't Gu brand. I can't remember what brand it was, but I do remember it tasted like the inside of a Lindor Truffle. So good. I think the reward of eating Gu's may be a new motivator in my training. I wasn't a fan of the Blok chews. They were way too sugary. I did my first lap which was about 6 miles and I had about an hour left of training (plan was to roam for three hours). The Tough Mudder is 12 miles, so I decided to do another lap and let my body feel 12 miles. Never have I ever gone this far. My PR is 8.43 miles earlier this summer. This was a huge jump in mileage, but I had my mind set and I went. It was tough. I experienced chafing for the first time. That sucked. I fell 3 or 4 times. Got attacked by a little dog. Scared the Bejeezus out of a woman. There were several times when I wanted to quit, but I had to tell that part of me to STFU. I would walk from time to time, but I did it. And as I was finishing that last stretch of grass to the car, my pace quickened and I got goose bumps. I pushed myself farther than I've ever been, and it felt amazing afterwards.

Total Distance: 12:06 miles
Total Time: 3:23:32

Today, the plan was to climb Nippert Stadium. But my first stop was Bob Ronker's Running Spot for new road shoes and calf sleeves. I had the guy refit me, and I ended up in a different shoe. My past 2 road shoes have been Brooks Adrenaline. He had me try on those and also the New Balance 860V2. I actually preferred the NB. To me they felt lighter, so I went with those. My calf sleeves are fun. He said I had to get funky ones since I do crazy races. Hot Pink Tie Dyed it is!

Perfect day for climbing 2600 stairs

From there I headed over to Nippert Stadium. By that time, my bladder was full. I crossed my fingers as I tried the doors to the College of Business. Open! Women's bathroom? Open! 2 for 2. Once at the stadium, I got to work. The first lap was pretty easy. I got it done in under 30 minutes. After getting through the horse shoe with little problem, I had decided to add another lap. I really wanted to push myself today since tomorrow is a rest day. My second lap, not so fun. It was rough. More rests at the top of the stairs. On the drive home, my leg would shake when I hit the brake. As I'm typing this, I have my new Zenash Compression calf sleeves on to help with recovery. Last time we did this, I was sore until Thursday. I'm hoping for a faster recovery this time.

Total Distance: 2.4 miles
Total Time: 1:09:22