Helloooooo!

Yeah, not so good at this blogging thing. What have I been up to since my last post since ::yikes!:: January, well my foot got better, although having slight issues again since wearing "cute" shoes and competing in the Citi Field Spartan Race two weeks ago.

5+ Year Tenure Season Ticket Holder Reception

 The new owners of the Devils are celebrating the season ticket holders and held a reception for the 5+ year group (the largest) after going through 30 year and down. They announced we'll be receiving jerseys (one per seat - woo hoo!) for each five year milestone we hit. They'll have a patch that says Season Ticket Holder Since and the year and then similar to the 5 Seasons "shield' you see below in the pics there will be a patch of that as well.

After wearing my Toms Ballet Flats for the reception my foot was not liking me much. But they are cute, aren't they?

 I'm on the right side about midway back.

Citi Field Spartan Race

I volunteered from 9-2 for Street Team handing out fliers and stickers at the exit then ran at 3PM. Ron joined me for what was his third lap after running the Elite heat and volunteering with the Biggest Loser heat. I did better than I had last year even with annoying my foot on the Hobie Hop and the large jump rope. Quite honestly I was ready to quit three obstacles in, but ultimately finished the race.

The only other thing I've been up to is meeting Adam Henrique, twice at two different Season Ticketholder events - they had a Private VIP Practice and the Awards Ceremony, both had autograph sessions.

I'll make a second post for what I've gotten myself into next!

The End of a Season

I've thought about writing this post a number of times now since Saturday but I'm still not sure I'll get it out properly. 

I had run a number of 5ks prior to this year but this was really my first year "racing". It started with the Fenway Park Spartan Race at the end of last year. Never in my wildest imagination did I ever think I'd have accomplished what I have in the last 12 months. I didn't set out to complete two trifectas let alone one. I never planned to even do a Beast. 

Since Fenway, I've run two more stadium races - Citi Field and Citizens Bank Park. Hell Citi Field was done after running the inaugural Yuengling 5k, the hilliest 5k ever. We went to Miami and ran the Florida Super in February. I had figured if I were to run any Super that would be it, it would be fairly flat. There was NO WAY I was going to do the NJ Super if I did EVER think about doing a trifecta. 

I volunteered at the Tuexdo Sprint. It was the first race I had gone to since starting to run Spartan Races and boy did I regret not running. I ran the PA Sprint and did the sweeper wave - such a rewarding experience. A week later I did Superhero Scramble took a bit but I survived and fully appreciated all that Spartan did. August brought Warrior Dash on a miserable day and introducing my brother to Spartan Race in Virginia.

Then came September which started with more volunteering and running the NJ Super. After back to back weekends in July I knew I couldn't do the Vermont Beast so when they announced the Sprint I signed up. Probably the hardest Sprint to date. The month ended getting my sister in law on the bandwagon running Citizens Bank Park. 

October was just road races. Well a 5k and a five miler! I watched friends run in the NYC marathon which has inspired me to want to do a half. 

November and December gave me the completion of my trifectas. South Carolina was chilly but not to bad. We figured Texas HAD to be warmer. The morning of the TX Beast it was 43 degrees with 20 mph winds complete cloud covering. After picking up our packets I cried because I really didn't think I could do it. After 5:40 with encouragement from my team I crossed the finish line. 

There are a number of people I need to thank.  First and foremost, my husband for believing in me and introducing me to all of this. The friends, who are more like family, those that understand the crazy, that I have met along the way. I can't believe I don't get to see some of you for a number of months.  I'll miss you all.  AROO!

Reflections on the Beast

I felt batter, bruised, and broken but I did it! I complete my first Spartan Race Beast and earned my Trifecta. 

At 36, never did I think I'd be pulling myself on a rope across a lake. I successfully did the Tryolean Traverse and not because I noticed I was being filmed. Even with pants on I have rope burn or something with bruising behind my legs. The right leg is bad. I will be wearing yoga pants to work tomorrow. 

I only failed at three obstacles: the traverse wall, spear throw, and rope climb. Not too shabby.

The worst part of the entire thing wasn't getting separated from some of my teammates, it was being wet and cold. Of course it was in the 70s all week in Winnsboro, SC but race day the temps dipped to the 30s. It was supposed to be around 55 when our heat went off, not sure if it was. They didn't waste anytime getting us wet sortly after the start it was right into a variation on rolling mud. 

I can't even recall everything we went through. By mile 12 things that happened at mile 2 seemed like ages ago. I thought I cannot believe in another month I'll be doing this all over again in Texas. Please let it be warmer. 

I will post more pictures after I upload the ones my sister-in-law (hi Kristen) took with my camera and I collect others that were taken. 

Till then....AROO!

On the road...

I feel like it's been ages since I've last posted, probably because it has. I'm currently sitting in an RV headed to Winnsboro, SC to complete the Spartan Beast. I'm not nervous...yet. 

Traveling by RV is the way to go. Although flying would be SO much faster. It's been a fun trip so far. There are ten of us. We've watched three movies: Dodgeball, Mallrats, and my choice Despicable Me. Found a Starbucks #redcupsareback when re-fueling 😍 and we're now onto karaoke. 

A few more hours to go. Think I need a nap before meeting up with more of the Spartan family. 

 

Life Lately

Day 15 of Blogtember: life lately. Days 13 & 14 slacked due to packing and traveling for the World Championships in Killington, VT

Life lately...has been busy and occupied with climbing a few mountains - literally! September has been the busiest month obstacle race wise for us. The 7th was the Tri-State Super in Vernon, NJ, this past weekend the Spartan World Championships, and this weekend coming up the Spartan Race at Citizens Bank Park. 

Photo courtesy of Manda Pierce
After seeing this my sunglasses are WAY too big for my face!

Self Portrait + Tri-State Spartan Super

Today's Blogtember topic is simply a self portrait. This is from shortly after I got my DSLR.

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Tri-State Spartan Super

Last weekend we tackled the Tri-State Spartan Super held at South Base, Mountain Creek in Vernon, NJ. It was my second time running with Team Braveheart. Team Braveheart is an amazing group of people. Right from the website:

Team Braveheart’s mission is to develop and promote healthy awareness, goal setting and team building. Our ultimate goal is to motivate the world by sharing our life experiences. We encourage others to change their mindsets & do something new.

It was approximately 8.25 miles up and down the mountain. Lots of trails and fairly even placed obstacles - OUT, 7' and 8' walls, Spearman (aka Spear Throw), Log Hop, Tire Flip, Barbed Wire Crawl, Inverted Wall, Rope Climb, Traverse Wall, and Fire Jump. I may be missing something but covered most.

I know many people who did this race last year were somewhat disappointed that it was about three miles shorter than last year and both the cliff jump and a rope traverse were eliminated. The cliff jump we found out was tossed due to mud clogging the water park's filters, so that most likely wasn't Spartan's doing but the park saying no.

Anywho, overall I thought it was a good race. I did fairly well placing around the 50% mark for racers on Saturday. I finished in 3:20:07.2. I was happy with my time and finished quicker than Ron anticipated. After racing I was volunteering and my shift was from 2-10pm, he figured I'd finished right around 2pm, nope finished about 12:45pm! 

I only failed three obstacles - Log Hop, Spear Throw, and the Rope Climb. I'm kicking myself because I made it half way up the rope and my body just felt spent; I probably could've made it all the way up. I was super happy that I conquered the Traverse Wall - I hadn't been able to get it since the Fenway Race. I excitedly said "F**k ya!" once I hit the bell. The volunteer who offered to hold my Camelbak was like LOVE IT! 

It was my second time volunteering for Spartan Race and I would highly recommend it. Both times I've done course volunteering - in Tuxedo, NY at the Barbed Wire Crawl and in NJ at the Spear Throw. You meet the staff and the other racers (including some of the elites, like Andi Hardy, which feels like meeting a celebrity), plus you get a free race! It really is a great experience! Spartan Race is more than just a race, it really is a community.

Next up in racing for me is the Sprint at the World Championships in Vermont. For anyone interested there is still time to sign up for the race September 28th at Citizens Bank Park - use my link www.tinyurl.com/kzsrdiscount and get a 15% discount!

Pennsylvania Spartan Sprint

After the somewhat downer of my previous post, I thought I'd share with you the pictures that I FINALLY found of myself from the PA Sprint.  Forewarning sometimes racing isn't pretty!

Yay for long weekends!!!

TGIF!!!! I've been out of work since 12:30 PM but have been running around a bit. Yay for summer hours and half day Fridays; BOO that today was the last of them :(

I'm linking up with Darci over at The Good Life and Natasha at Hello! Happiness for Five on Friday.

ONE. I've been keeping my eye out for a new job. We all know the economy is still sucky so the job market isn't that hot. I applied to an ad on Career Builder on Wednesday morning and was surprised to receive a call to set up a phone interview very shortly thereafter. My phone interview was yesterday and I had an in-person interview today! I would love the position and even if it pays me the same amount the commute is a whopping 2.5-3 miles, compared to my current 19 miles! I haven't had that short of a commute since I worked at Roy Rogers in high school. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

TWO. I noticed a sign for a nail salon opening up, in place of the one I occasionally would go to, a few weeks ago. Well they just opened the other day and I decided to treat myself. It's called Ocean Nail Spa for anyone local to the Keyport area. They are currently running a 20% off special for their Grand Opening and it runs till 10/31/2013. I went with the Jelly Pedicure and it was heaven! Not only did she do the regular massage you get but also a hot stone massage on my calves and feet. She paraffined my heels (my feet are awful from all the obstacle course races and working out). When I sat to dry my toes I got a massage on my shoulders. I could've stayed there all day! I don't find a website for them but they are located in Romeo Plaza at the corner of 35N and Prospect Ave. Go check them out!

The color is Essie - Bouncer, It's me!
I got the blue for the SR Super next weekend.

THREE. My long weekend starts off super early tomorrow! I have to be up at Mountain Creek in Vernon, NJ for 7AM - this will require some sort of caffeine! The reason I have to be up at the butt crack of dawn is I will be helping to unload and set up/build for Spartan Race. I'm a member of their Street Team and someone posted yesterday about them still needing some hands to get things going for the race next weekend. I feel like I'm part of the Spartan family so I knew I had to help. If you're looking for me between the hours of 7AM-6:30PM I'll be somewhere on the mountain. I get to spend another weekend with brother who had previously signed up to help out and earn a free race - YAY!

They do also have a Labor Day special for 2014 races - 50% OFF - so if you're thinking about signing up to do one - DO IT!!! I promise you won't regret it!

FOUR. I seriously need to clean out my DVR. I'm usually good about keeping up on my shows but I've got a few things on there now - Mistresses. Under the Dome, and the movies Brave and The Vow. Ron is off at boot camp so I need to speed up my typing to get on that.

FIVE. I'm super excited for my cousin, Tanya's wedding this weekend! Sadly I haven't seen her since our grandma passed away - way too long ago! We were messaging some on Facebook earlier today and her soon-to-be-hubby said that we all - my brother and his wife, Ron and I, and her and Mike need to make it a plan to get together at least once a year. I'm all for it! I used to spend a week each summer as a child at their house in upstate NY when she was just a wee little thing. My how time has surely flown by! Congratulations Tanya and Mike! I'll be sure to post some pictures when I return.

Enjoy your weekend!

Spartan Sprint - Blue Mountain, Palmerton, PA

This past Saturday I completed the Spartan Sprint at Blue Mountain in Palmerton, PA. It was my first race on a mountain.

The first half of the course was going straight up the mountain. It was no joke! Lucky for me being a slower racer I wasn't one of the number of people who went off course. The first obstacle (not counting the terrain) was Over, Under, Through (climb over a wall, go under a wall, and then go through an opening in a wall). After that it was more "hiking" through a wooded trail. Next up the sand bag carry. Women carried a approximately 20lbs sand bag up a double black diamond slope, around a bend and down another. Then a bit more of a hike and climbing up part of a slope with the aid of a rope. At the top of the mountain were the next few obstacles (if I'm remembering correctly) was the tire flip, monkey bars, spear throw, and Herculean hoist (my fav!) - I ended up with 60 burpees out of those four obstacles.

The second half of the course was down hill! More of a hike, vertical cargo net and then onto the slide and swimming under tubes in the lake (I'm sure I'm missing a few obstacles). After that it was log hop (burpees), barbed wire crawl (where I got most of my bruises), the inverted wall. I was determined to get over it and on the third try was successful with some help (thank you to the guy that help me). After that it was the 7 foot wall and the traverse wall. I so badly wanted to conquer the traverse wall this time but from all the mud couldn't even get up on the damn thing (more burpees). Once past this we could see the finish line, but first it was the rope climb (burpees), another small barbed wire crawl, "slippery" wall, fire jump and the gladiators. I finally got to jump the fire - so hoping that the pictures come out good from that!

My initial goal was to finish in two hours - the husband said with the course it was a bit unrealistic and figured more like 2.5 hours. I happily finished in 02:21:12.7!

One of Spartan Race's tag lines is "You'll know at the finish", it is so true. You feel such a sense of accomplishment.

Something that was even more rewarding was participating in the Sweeper Wave with some of Spartan Race Street Team (Ron, Kelli, Mike B. and Gary). You go through and clean up the course and help the last racers finish. Doing this we met Annie and Andy Wells. Andy is a former military man, and Spartan Race veteran; it was Annie's first race. There were times were she wanted to just do the burpees but Andy wouldn't let her. She went from someone, as he [Andy] put it, who feared a 3ft step ladder to going over the vertical cargo net. We helped her to get over the inverted and 7ft walls and Kelli and I took some of her burpees at the rope climb. In the end, after the crossed the finish line side by side, there were tears in her eyes and a congratulatory kiss. Thinking back to that moment even makes me tear up! Congratulations Annie I hope to see you at a future race!

View from near the top toward the festival area