Half Marathon recap

It's been over a week two weeks since I ran the Shiner Beer Run and I am definitely still on a high.  I keep thinking about it and it just doesn't seem real - guys, I RAN A HALF MARATHON.  That was 13.1 miles!!

In case you forgot the huge smile that resided on my face for days and days.

When I got up that morning at 4:30, I hopped in the shower first.  I just can't ever seem to get going to 100% without a shower, and I know that may sound weird to shower before a half marathon, but I knew I needed to be at 100% considering the farthest I had ran in training was just 7 miles.  So I showered, checked the weather what felt like a hundred times, and decided on my race gear.  No fancy pic of my clothing laid out since I mostly just stood around in my robe until I had it figured out.  I ended up wearing my favorite capris, a nike sports bra, my splits59 tank, a pullover from Target and my trusty Adidas trail running shoes. No, this was not a trail race. Yes, I did all my training runs in them so I stuck to what I knew.  I also happened to dig around in my closet at the last minute so I found my headband/earwarmer, some mitten-glove hybrids, and my rain slicker from biking.  I threw on some tall socks and my UGGs, grabbed my gear and hit the road.

The trip took about 2 hours so I was glad that I had a full water bottle plus a spark ready to go.  I ate some toast with PB2 and a hardboiled egg in the car.  When I got to the race site, I ate half of a Stinger Vanilla Waffle and my phone said the weather was just 39 degrees. Yikes!  I picked up my race packet and returned to my car to seat in the heat while I got ready - put on my bib, listened to pump up music, and check social media.  When we had about 15 minutes until race time, I got out and made my way to the Port-a-Potties for what I hoped was one last time.  All those drinks were going through me!

I thought I might see Kristen or Meg before the race, but I didn't and honestly I think that was good.  I was so nervous but was in a really good headspace - this race was for me.  I didn't have B come with me or drag my friends out to cheer me on. I think I wanted this first (and possible only) half marathon to be about me running just for me - just to prove to myself that I could.  It wasn't about finishing because people were waiting for me or any other factors.

The race itself was tough but not as tough as I imagined feared. I didn't take any pictures during it, mostly due to the rain and not wanting to expose my poor fingers to the cold. I don't have those fancy gloves that work with touch screens.  I honestly thought that I might have to crawl or be carried across the finish line, so my goal was just to finish without stopping or having to walk.  I did have to stop about 3.5 miles in for the bathroom - there was just no way around that one.  With each step on the pavement, my bladder felt more and more like it would burst.  Around the 3 mile mark I told myself I'd stop at the next port-a-potty so I did. And even though I waited for about 7-8 minutes in the freezing cold and it made my watch time very different than my chip time I am so glad that I decided to stop.  And I'll say this - the race was very well populated with port-a-potties and fuel stations.  At nearly every mile there was a water station, some of which were handing out GU, and most of those also had a port-a-potty.  The problem? Only one port-a-potty per break. And there were a few thousand runners.  I saw quite a few guys just dodge behind a bush but I did not have that option. Thankfully, I only had to stop once.

The course was really hilly which I haven't trained for.  Houston is pretty flat so I just accepted it.  There was about a 3 mile stretch (post potty break) that was straight into a headwind, up and down hills, and in the rain. Those miles were pretty miserable but I just keep trucking along.  It was before the halfway mark but after the restroom stop, so I was pretty good about passing up people, and I think that mentally made up for the rough conditions.  We hit 6.5 miles (halfway) right at the bottom of a hill so it was quite literally uphill from there.  Then we encountered "Manure Mile" which wasn't really manure but was a mile or so of dirt road with lots of big rocks to avoid.  Then it evened out for a bit while we ran between two graveyards (a little creepy with the weather) before entering what I call "the park from hell".  We ran through a park, which meant back and forth on these little winding footpaths. I should have taken a picture.  Going in, you could see all these runners just crisscrossing across an area that was maybe 100 yards across.  I felt like I wasn't making any progress and would never get out of there.  The worst part? You could see a pretty big hill that you had to go up once you finally finished.  Without a doubt, this was the hardest (and slowest) part of the race.  Once we were out of there, it was just a few miles left through neighborhoods and back to the brewery.

Pretty legit running shot. And that's my pacer friend behind me!

Throughout the race, I had paced myself with another runner.  She'd speed up past me and I'd stay behind her, then I'd speed up ahead of her for awhile.  As we were coming up to the final 0.1 miles, with the finish line in sight, she was ahead of me but started to walk. I grabbed her arm, a total stranger, and told her we'd finish it together.  

Totally dorking out while crossing the finish line

This should win some kind of finish line contest.

We powered through the finish line, where I apparently felt the need to jump up and punch the air in excitement, and then I promptly moved to the sides where I started my Kim Kardashian ugly cry. Full on, baby.  The adrenaline and emotions were overwhelming.  I could not believe I had earned that metal around my neck.  This was really the only point where I wished I had some people waiting for me, because everyone else did, but it was such a small thing that I quickly got past.  I hobbled over to a line (because my momentary pause to ugly cry made all my muscles freeze up) and waited for the free food with other people. Once I had my bratwurst, I made my way to the beer line where I came upon Kristin and Meg!  That was even better than I imagined!

Lindsey, me, Kristen and Meg enjoying the best beers of our lives!

Attempting to not freeze to death while enjoying the libations

Look who found me after the race! I wish I could remember her name but I will never forget her!

Bloggers do breweries... think I've stumbled upon a great idea! Who's in??

We drank some beers, warmed up near the grills, almost got kicked out of the brewery tour, and overall celebrated some new friends and accomplishing some kick ass goals.  Then I started the long drive home and promptly took my first ice bath.  I can't say how much it helped because I don't have any half marathons without it to compare to, but I can say that I was able to move the next day and that my friends is a win.  But I think B too a little too much joy in pouring that ice over me!

#icebathface

 
Thanks for all your love and support during my training and on race day! From my bloggy friends, to my IRL friends, my family and B - I never would have attepted this, stuck with it, or completed it without you.  I can't wait til the next one!

xoxo,

Cait, the half-marathoner :)

PS - I almost forgot all the stats! I stopped my watch during the bathroom break so my time was 2:45:49 and my average pace was 12:49/mile.  I think chip time put me somewhere near 2:53:30 or something. My fastest mile was mile 2 at 10:34 and my slowest mile was mile 1 at 14:38 aka "the park from hell".

Tough Mudder recap (part 2)

Check our part 1 of the recap here!

Tough Mudder outfit essentials: dri fit tank, sports bra, bike gloves, Adidas trail runners, Garmin Forerunner, socks, spandex capris, energy snacks

TM Outfit
There really isn't anything I would change about what I wore for the Tough Mudder, and I consider that a HUGE WIN.  My Garmin held up fantastically.  It was often so covered in mud that I couldn't read the screen so I repeatedly spit on it (I had no clean hands or clothing to wipe it with!) to make sure the seconds were still ticking away on it. I wore the heart rate monitor and it was super comfortable.  I always wear my HR monitor under my bra and in this case tucked some energy snacks in my bra, so the HR monitor acted like a little shelf (#smallboobsforthewin).  I was pretty proud of myself and my team certainly appreciated it when I pulled out treats from my bra!

This C9 bra was a last minute purchase from Target and I'm now obsessed with it.  It is super comfortable and the front comes up really high which I actually liked a lot.  I will warm you though - the band isn't that firm so it may not provide enough support for some of my chestier friends.  But for you similarly small chested ladies out there, I highly recommend it!

As a team, we wore matching Nike dri fit tanks that we had printed with a rocket logo on the front and nicknames on the back.  I went with a medium and I'm glad I didn't go any smaller. I can't find the tank online but we got it from Academy last week.  The capris I wore are from Sugoi and I've had them for a hundred years. They've got a drawstring in the waist and are vented behind the knees. I was originally conflicted about wearing them because they are seriously some of my favorite workout gear and I didn't want them ruined, but I eventually went with them because I wanted to make sure I was comfortable. Plus, if they had gotten ruined (which they didn't!) then I already had a few good years of use out of them.

I bought my Adidas shoes a few years ago but only recently started running in them. They've got some good tread on the bottom so I chose to wear those and it turns out they are trail running shoes - I had no idea! They held up great. I had a ton of mud in my shoes and at one point took them off to dump them, but it was a problem most people had.  I noticed that some people wrapped duct tape around their shoes/ankles so maybe that helped keep things out of their shoes.

Finally, my fingerless bike gloves were a huge bonus to have on the course. They provided grip and traction in situations were I normally would have had none while also protecting my hands. I have a few superficial blisters but I am sure they would be much worse if I had gone without gloves.  I did take them off for the Funky Monkey but it didn't help - I still fell!

Tough Mudder
The race started off with an obstacle before the start line! You have to scale a wall that's about 8 feet tall. We tackled the center segment, which was even a bit taller and without footholds, so I felt pretty good after that! Once everyone is over the wall, this awesome emcee holds a pep talk for all the Tough Mudders and the race is off.  

For safety reasons they closed down some of the obstacles which is why my Garmin map (r) looks different from the course map (l). It also cut about 4 miles off of the course.

The mileage below correlates with my Garmin map.
Mile 1
We started with a 3/4 mile run on the drag race track which was HOT. My Garmin claims it was 82 degrees and felt like 89 degrees, but with the heat reflecting off the pavement it was more like 95 degrees.  Thankfully, we were in the grass and mud for most of the race after that.

Mile 2
Our first official obstacle was the Kiss of Mud, followed shortly by Bale Bonds. Kiss of Mud consists of belly crawling through mud underneath barbed wire.  I was terrified that my booty would catch on the barbed wire and snag my pants, leaving me to finish the course with a big hole showing off my bum. Somehow I managed to keep my badonkadonk low enough to avoid this happening.  And the mud felt great because at this point, we were dying of heat.

All the pictures of Bale Bonds that I had seen were nothing compared to what we faced.  These huge hay bales were coated in thick, wet mud that made them nearly impossible to scale.  This is when I knew teamwork would be a huge part of the course!

Mile 3
The third mile brought us to the Arctic Enema and I had never been happier to see a dumpster full of ice water.  Had I given myself a moment to think, I might not have done it. But I was so hot that I dove right in.  The set up is this: huge dumpster full of ice water with a wooden partition across the middle that dips about 6 inches below the surface of the water. The only way to get to the other side to get out is to swim under the partition.  Now, it isn't thick - only about 2". But the key is you have to completely submerge yourself in the water to get past it. Oh, and that ice water? Completely brown from all the mudders that have already trekked through it. So not only are you so cold that you think your body will shut down, but you can't see anything.

Once I was out, I was ready to go back in.  It felt that good in the Texas heat. We even joked that there should be an Arctic Enema obstacle every 3 miles on the course!  Bonus: we were free of mud (for a few minutes).

Mile 4
The next mile presented us with 3 obstacles: Mud Trap, the first Glory Blades, and Mud Mile. The Mud Trap was just what it sounded like - a huge muddy area to wade through.  We saw quite a few people lose their shoes so the key was to go slow.  Glory Blades required some serious teamwork as there was no way we were scaling these 8-foot walls that were angled toward us.  One of my teammates, Rakel, was a cheerleader in a former life and introduced us to some sweet moves to help boost each other over.  The Mud Mile was like the Mud Trap on steroids. Though not quite a mile long, it was a serious mud trek and there were holes hidden in it.  One second I was navigating the mud fine, up to my shins, and the next thing I knew I was chest-deep in mud and my teammates had to help me out.

Mile 5
Shortly after coming out of the Mud Mile, we encountered Glory Blades #2.  Same drill as the first, except much muddier which made the whole thing much harder to get over. Then we came to the Electric Eel, quite possibly the event I dreaded the most.  In the Electric Eel, you must army crawl through mud and water underneath a low cage outfitted with hanging live wires that will shock you.  I saw so many people go through this and get shocks terrible enough to stock them in their tracks.  Our friends who had done the TM twice before skipped this obstacle - it wasn't worth it to them.  Aaron, my brother-in-law, and B all dove right in and got through the obstacle but I was frozen. I kept watching other people and multiple times I squatted down to get in position.  In the end, I couldn't do it. I waited too long and then was in my head too much. I skipped this obstacle but I won't next year.

Next up was the Berlin Wall, a straight up 12-foot wall.  More than twice my height, I thought there was no way I could do this.  But my team helped me and I managed to get a good enough grip to full myself up and swing my leg over.  I'm assuming the various walls we scaled are where these awesome bruises came from.

(L-R): left upper arm, right forearm, right inner thigh, left knee

All of this was followed up by Hole-y Water which is exactly as it sounds: muddy water that has a lot of hidden holes. The ground was already difficult to walk on due to the mud, but slipping into holes that were nearly 5 feet deep made it almost impossible. Once we realized the extent of the holes, we elected to doggy paddle to the end of the obstacle.

Mile 6
Once mile 6 began, we realized that we were hitting the part of the course where some of the obstacles had been shut down for safety issues.  If you look at the map comparison up top, this is where we lost most of the mileage.  As intimidating as some of the obstacles were, it was reassuring that the organizers were willing to close down obstacles that were deemed unsafe for whatever reason.

So our first obstacle for this mile was Twinkle Toes and only the girls were successful at this one.  You had to balance while walking on a 2-by-4 across an icy water hole. This was made more difficult by, you guessed it, mud covering the planks.  All the guys fell into the water but our friend Aaron had it the worst - he ended up landing on his crotch on his way down!  Ha-Ha Ditch came shortly after and it was another mud hole to cross.  Then we got to the second Berlin Walls obstacle.  By this point, we felt like experts at the walls and even stuck around to help some other Tough Mudders!

Mile 7
By the time we hit mile 7, we thought we were in the clear for a while. We didn't see any daunting obstacles ahead of us and eagerly jumped into the second Mud Mile.  This also cooled us off and I was using the mud as sunscreen on my pasty white skin by this point!  We were even joking when we arrived at Devil's Beard, which was basically a cargo net on the ground that we needed to walk under. What we didn't anticipate was how heavy the cargo net was so we ended up getting all tangled in it and almost collapsing in laughter.  I think our sanity was almost gone at this point!

Soon we got to the Cage Crawl, which was another obstacle that I might have chickened out on if I had allowed myself time to think about it.  I'm pretty claustrophobic and this definitely tested the limits.  The obstacle is set up as a muddy pool that you wade into and then have to swim across on your back. The catch is that there is chain link fence laid out about 6 inches above the water across the whole pool.  Which means that you're face-up, with your nose right up against the chain, while your head from the ears back is in the water.  As if that wasn't enough, there are black tarps covering most of the chain so you're in total darkness.  The trick was to move quickly, focus on my breathing, and just reassure myself that I would get to the other end quickly.  Trust me, I was glad to get out of that water!

Mile 8
Mile 8 was just not my mile.  The first obstacle was a huge fail.  Just the Tip consists of a huge wooden wall suspended over water that you have to cross by gripping a very tiny board with your fingers and inching your way across.  I have no upper body strength so I fell in the water pretty much right away.  In fact, only one person in our group succeed on this obstacle.  Next up was Balls to the Wall.  For this obstacle, you had to scale a 15' wall that had some small footholds and a rope to help you up and to help you down on the opposite side.  I know I could have done this one, but there was 30 minute wait and at this point we could see the finish line ahead. There was no way we were going to stand still for 30 minutes when even a minute long water break was leaving us feeling the soreness set in.  No thanks, Houston TM.  Next year, have more than 3 ropes set up!

Finally, the Funky Monkey.  Nightmares of the monkey bars from elementary school came flooding back to me. At the recommendation of the volunteer at this obstacle, I took of my gloves (and shoved them in my handy bra/goodies holder) and eagerly grabbed onto the first bar.  Then I confidently reach for the second bar, where I promptly fell in the water.  Upper body strength fail, so I swam to the other side and waited for my teammates, most of whom were successful.  It should also be noted that these monkey bars were at the incline - the first half goes up to a peak and then the second half descends. I've also heard reports of the bars rotating when you grab on and being greased up.  This wasn't the case for us, but it's possible the grease had just been rubbed off by the time we got there.

Mile 9
Finally, the last mile! Rakel and I were practically sprinting between obstacles at this point while the boys of the group were dragging behind.  Walk the Plank came up first and I loved it.  You climb up an angled 20' foot wall (with footholds) and then take a flying leap into a chilly pool of muddy water.  It didn't look too high from the ground, but when I was up there, I might as well have been that guy that skydived with Redbull from the edge of the atmosphere.  Damn.  But there are guys up there yelling at you to jump, so I plugged my nose and took off.  I can say this - I went deep in the water and didn't touch the bottom.  It took me a while to come up and I could tell it was dark and muddy through my closed eyes.  But again, the water felt so nice! 


The second to last event was a short jog away.  Everest was a half-pipe covered in mud where we had to run up the curved wall and jump, hoping to grab the hands of some Tough Mudders who were already at the top.  It was really amazing to see the teamwork everyone displayed.  I witnessed quite a few Tough Mudders get up the wall and then lay down at the edge to reach their arms down and help up not 1, not 2, but many other mudders.  I couldn't quite get a hold the first time, but I refused to quit so I got back in line. The second time I successfully grabbed hold of two hands and was able to swing my leg up on the ledge to pull myself up.  I remember giving the guy who grabbed me a huge hug once I was on the platform on the top - thank you, random Tough Mudder!!

Finally, the last event - Electroshock Therapy. Given that I skipped the first electric obstacle, I was determined to get through this one.  Electroshock Therapy is a mud pit with hay bales placed throughout and hundreds of live wires hanging down, just waiting to shock the living daylights out of you.  The obstacles for each Tough Mudder often change, but this one is always the last obstacle before the finish line.  I noticed a path that looked like I could avoid some wires, so without even thinking I just ran and dove.  Literally, I dove.  This is the only picture that I could find of myself from the event photographers:

I see you laughing at me, girl in the background.  Joke's on you - I didn't get shocked!

And I landed HARD on my nose.  My first thought wasn't "am I getting shocked?" but "did I break my nose?".  I don't really remember getting through the rest of the obstacle because my nose hurt so badly. I crawled out and just bent over, head in my hands, and softly patted on and around my nose.  I'm still not entirely convinced that it isn't broken or fractured and it still hurts like hell, but it isn't crooked or purple so I'm just hoping it feels better soon.

Overall, it was an amazing experience. I loved it and cannot wait to do the next one.  We've already looked into doing 2 next year - one in the spring (if it fits around the wedding and graduation) and another one in the fall.  I promise that I am actually wearing pants in the picture below.  And that Dos XX was the best damn beer I've ever had.  The only better beer I can image will be the Shiners that I consume after my half marathon!

Still waiting on the high res version to be sent to us. I'll replace it when it comes in!

never has Five Guys tasted so good

I (stupidly) started time while we were waiting, so it was actually closer to 3.5 hours and a pace of 24 min/mile. But 1130 calories! Woohoo!

Two things: (1) See that mud in my hairline? This was after TWO showers! (2) Holy sunburn, Batman!

How I spent my evening, post-Tough Mudder: bubble bath, TV, hydrating and brews.  It was heavenly.

So... who wants to join me for the next obstacle race? Or for the BCM 5K this Saturday? Registration is 50% off with code "LastMinute" but ends tonight!

xoxo,

Cait

Tough Mudder recap (part 1)

The Tough Mudder was amazing.

And now, 4 days later, I'm finally at a place where I can organize my thoughts enough to write about it. Plus, my muscles have loosened up enough that I can type. (Nope, not kidding about that one.)  Confession - when I first finished, all I thought was THAT WAS AWESOME.  Then when I had time to rest, I thought about how sore I was.  Finally, I had a lot of random thoughts over the past few days and the only way it made sense was to break it down in segments.  Feel free to read it all or just jump to whatever interests you!

Day Before TM
I decided to go easy on the workout for a few reasons. It seems like most serious athletes give themselves a break before an event. I had been crazy busy earlier in the week so I needed to do some school work. And I didn't want to risk hurting myself in a ridiculously ironic way - stepping off the curb wrong during a 1-mile jog before the Tough Mudder, or something equally embarassing.  I took a Pure Barre class in the morning and then relaxed with my Med-Surg book all afternoon. That evening, B and I took it easy and did the typical thing before a big race - carb loading! We both had huge bowls of pasta from Lasagna House before climbing into bed relatively early.

Day of TM
B refused to eat beforehand but I knew I'd need some fuel to survive the Tough Mudder. I tried to hit all the major food groups - fruit, carbs, protein, Spark, chia seeds. And I think it served me pretty well. Thanks for all the pre-race fuel tips a few weeks back!

We also had a bag packed and ready to go so that when our friend Aaron arrived, we could leave.  Our start time was 12:20 but experienced Tough Mudders recommended we get there around an hour early.  Apparently, Tough Mudder races are notorious for having parking that is pretty far from the race site. Thankfully, our parking situation was fine but the extra time was nice to allow us to get our race packets, check our bags, use the bathroom, and write on our race numbers. We also had shirts made for our team and my brother-in-law was bringing those so we all had time to change once he arrived.

I HIGHLY recommend packing a bag for after the race because you will be a muddy, sweaty, delirious mess afterwards!  Here's what was in our bag:

Tough Mudder survival kit: change of clothes, flips flops, sunscreen, face wipes, baby wipes

Our friend brought along a Sam's-club sized package of baby wipes and we went through the entire thing! There are showers after the event (just to rinse off mud while still clothed) but they rush you out of there and trust me, there will still be so much mud inside your clothes and shoes afterward. I had mud in places I never imagined. If you plan on putting on a change of clothes for the ride home you will want to have some wipes with you! 

gorgeous day for a Tough Mudder!

Aaron and B, before the race

fueling up with a vanilla waffle from Honey Stinger - SO GOOD

saw these Tough Mudders while we were waiting to start and thought they were near the end of the course... I would soon find out that I was very wrong

just needed my shirt and I was ready to go! note: I did not wear the sunglasses on the course - they definitely would have broken.

just one of many costumed Tough Mudders

two of my awesome teammates, pre-race

the Rockets, ready to get our Tough Mudder on!

Okay, this post is getting pretty long and I haven't even gotten into the race yet! I need to get back to the books for a bit but come back tomorrow for recap part 2 where I'll go into details about the race and show you the dirty after pictures (oh, yeah!).

xoxo,

Cait

Monday quickie

I overslept and have an IV calculation test in a few hours, so I'm off to power through review with some Starbucks.  Then I'm working at Pure Barre later tonight (where I cannot wait to stretch out these sore muscles!) but I promise to post on the Tough Mudder later!

In short..

It was amazing.

I'm doing it again next year.

Maybe twice.

Here's a sneak peak of our shoes, post-race.  Yes, it was that muddy!

xoxo,
Cait

can it just stay Friday forever?

This has been a hellish week, and while I'm glad it is finally Friday, I almost wish the weekend wouldn't arrive. Huh? What? Allow me to explain.

First, I'll back up.  Last weekend I went to Austin to handle some wedding plans.  My future in-laws visited Austin from Friday through Saturday to check out some venues for the rehearsal dinner.  I headed to town Thursday night and stayed until Sunday morning to get a little extra time with my family.  I really miss my family and it is so nice to spend time with them.

there is nothing better than spending time with this gorgeous lady

But. There's always a but.  I was WORN OUT.  When I drove back to Houston on Sunday, I had to spend the rest of the day studying for my psych finals.  That's right, finals. As in TWO EXAMS.  We had our course final bright and early Monday morning (you may have seen my IG post about getting up at 4am), followed by our ATI exam that afternoon.  (ATI is a test company and for most courses we have in nursing school we take a content test made by ATI that should predict how we will do on the board exam when we graduate.) 

Pretest ritual: quite spot, headphones in, iced coffee, and practice questions.  Also, these jeggings made for super comfy but professional test attire.  I wore mine with a long shirt to hide the "legging-ness".

In a normal week, I only head to Galveston once for tests/class/seminar.  My nursing program is a hybrid accelerated BSN program.  The accelerated part means that it only takes a year as compared to 2 years in the traditional program.  The hybrid part means that it is mostly self-directed - all of our theory courses are online, combined with our clinical visits, our lab skills, and exams.  Lab skills and exams take place on campus. We have exams each week but we only have lab at the beginning of a course. Once we've learned the skill, we then put it into practice at our clinical visits which eliminates the need to attend lab on campus.  Does that make sense?

So back to this week.  Like I said, we normally only need to be on campus once a week. I live in Houston which means that without traffic it takes about an hour and 15 minutes to get to school.  Because our Adult 2 course started last week, we had lab this week to learn to insert IVs, draw blood, change central line dressings, and suction tracheostomy tubes.  It was GREAT. Except for needing to be on campus 4 days in a row.  I am totally exhausted from all the back-and-forth, the long days in lab, and then trying to study while I'm at home.  I'm relived that today I only have to work at Pure Barre for a few hours in the morning.

So why I am wishing the weekend wouldn't arrive?  Two words.

TOUGH. MUDDER.

This Saturday is the Tough Mudder race.  We checked out the course earlier this week and I am legit scared.  First, it is 13 miles. WHAT? I was expecting 10 miles and that was enough to make my heart race.  But 13 miles? I wasn't planning on that until November 23rd and without crazy obstacles.

You can view a better version here. And check out descriptions of the obstacles.

I just hope I can finish. And if my arms still work on Sunday, I'll do a recap.  

Anyone else ever done the Tough Mudder? Or any other type of obstacle race? I'd love to hear about your experience and any tips or tricks you've got!  Wish me luck!

xoxo,

Cait

making a commitment and sticking to it

THANK YOU for all the responses and emails yesterday regarding hydration & fuel! I'll be trying some of these out during this week and would love to hear any other ideas you've got!


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To say I am nervous about this half marathon would be an understatement. In an effort to stay committed (and calm my nerves), I have signed up for a few races along the way.  According to Hal Higdon's Novice 1 training plan I should do a 5K on week 6 (Oct. 12) and a 10k on week 9 (Nov. 2).

BCM Wellness 5K

Saturday, Oct. 12th

5K course through the med center in Houston. My goal is 30 minutes or less.  Right now I'm consistently averaging about 12:30/mile but I can run a mile at or around 9:30.  As in, one mile and then I'm done. The hard part is not giving up after that one mile and to keep the pace up for 3 miles.  I'm trying some negative splits this week so check in next Monday to see how that works out. Hopefully it gets better because it was an epic fail on Sunday's run.

PARC Monster Dash 10K

 Saturday, Nov. 2nd

This course is part of the Pearland Area Runner's Club and it was basically the only 10K within reasonable distance from me that weekend.  Because this is my first half marathon, I'm trying to stay as close to the training program as possible and when it says "10K race", then you best believe I'll be running a 10K race!  Not too sure what a realistic goal is yet.  Theoretically, if I can accomplish my 30 minute 5K then I should aim for a 60 minute 10K.  Twice the distance, twice the time. Right?  But that assumes I can maintain a 10-minute mile pace for twice as far. So for now, the goal is 70 minutes. I just rain 4 miles in 52 minutes so this seems plausible.

And because that isn't enough....

We signed up for the Tough Mudder!
My (future) brother- and sister-in-law did the Tough Mudder last year and I was very jealous of them. Unfortunately, it fell during football season and Bryan has a strict rule about missing any football games so we didn't participate. Yes, I could have gone on my own but everyone else was a couple and I was nervous and just didn't want to do it without him.  No judgment.  This year, the Tough Mudder is Oct. 5th and that just happens to be the Aggie bye week! Score!

 The Tough Mudder is billed as a 10-12 mile obstacle race, so it will fit in nicely with half marathon training.  And they (sometimes) offer free tattoos after the race. Who knows, maybe I'll get tatted up for the first time too!

Just kidding, mom! Maybe....

I don't have a goal for the Tough Mudder except to complete all the obstacles and finish. We're going as a group and it's more about the experience then trying to get a certain time. Plus, what would that time tell me? An obstacle run isn't at all comparable to how I would do on a regular run at the same distance.

Do you have any races planned to help you meet your goals? Anyone in the Houston area want to sign up and join me for these runs? I'd love to hear about your plans!

xoxo,
Cait