Boston Marathon: Voices Against Violence

So, things are starting to get real for me now. I just got an email telling me I got my first pick for a charity to raise funds for. Voices Against Violence is an organization that helps those who are suffering from domestic violence, and sexual abuse. I have heard stories from far too many friends that have suffered from this through my life. Now is my chance to help out, and make a difference! I am so excited to be able to help those in need. It makes running the Boston Marathon that much more special to me! I have had many friends offer up help, and I will be reaching out to everybody for ideas and help of any kind. The goal is 2,500, but I would like to see what I can do, and plan to surpass that amount. Alright enough about me. This is about the charity I chose to help as best I can.

About Voices

Voices' mission is to end sexual and domestic violence. Voices staff members work to empower victims and survivors to help themselves and their children. Program Advocates work in partnership with individuals and families to ensure their safety, create stable home environments, gain independence, and to develop personal and economic self-sufficiency. Voices is also a social change organization, working toward the elimination of violence on a societal level through community education, primary prevention and increased public awareness and action. Voices also works in close collaboration with public safety and criminal justice professionals throughout the region.
Voices is a proud core member of Jane Doe, Inc., the Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence

Services

Voices provides free and confidential services to victims and survivors of sexual and domestic violence in the MetroWest area. Services are provided in English, Spanish, and Portuguese and are available to everyone regardless of race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation.
Services include a 24-hour hotline, crisis intervention, confidential short term emergency shelter, counseling and support groups, information and referrals, and medical, legal and criminal justice advocacy. Voices also offers Supervised Vistation services on a sliding fee schedule through KidSpace. For more information about KidSpace, please call 508-962-2643.
In addition to direct services for victims and survivors, Voices conducts outreach and education to community groups and professionals, as well as primary prevention activities to address the root causes of violence and prevent the development of perpetration

 (these two paragraphs were pulled from their web site)

Some more info about this organization can be found on their web site here.

So keep me, and more importantly this organization in mind, It would mean the world to me, whatever help you can give!

Here is my fundraising link:

Until next time
Stay active
Stephen

Cupids Undie Run 2016: The bearded edition!

Thank you Heather, you started this whole thing

I am back again, doing Cupids Undie run, this time a few things have changed for me. It is still the same cause, to #endnf, Benefiting the Children's Tumor Foundation. For more info about the charity the money goes to, and it's research check out their web site, I have a link here with some info about NF.

So last time around, I was super shy about everything involved. I was shy about asking for money (figuring ways to get people to donate is not easy, but I got 150, I had to promise burpees, it only sorta worked). I was also shy about telling people what I was doing, I knew I would be with friends, so I was not overly insecure, but telling people at work, and asking for money, it felt too much. I only really got over it around the run. I had noticed that even though I did not know anybody with NF, that I had loved ones that knew people with it! My friend asked to share something about it on facebook, because their friend had it and just did it. So I officially did not feel bad, I knew it was for a good cause, and that I did some good (and had a whole lot of fun wile doing it).

Whitebeard attempt #1

This time around though, I had a better plan! This time around I have a giant beard, I mean massive, the biggest I have ever had in my life, it has been growing for  7.5 months!!! (I grew it to have the forest gump look for an ultra, and it worked!) I had been wanting to get rid of it for a wile now, like 2 months. But I figured, why not try and raise some funds before shaving it, so I put it on facebook, and said if I got 75 then I would cut off the beard. You see I had been getting grief about how long it was for months, and figured it would be incentive to get rid of it, WRONG! I had a few friends instantly ask "How much to save it?" so then I started a bidding war, because why not! I put 10 days on it, and did not expect much, I was hoping for 100 bucks all together. Well this is where things get interesting, One friend, took the picture I posted, and made a flattering status update, and donated money to my page, and asked for her friends to spare some money to save the beard as well. I was touched! it was awesome, and unexpected!! then shortly after, maybe an hour or two, one of my brothers shared it, and again, flattered me with compliments and asked to donate.Then my other brother, then a few friends shared my picture and link post as well. and the best part? IT WORKED, better than I would have ever thought, 200 bucks in about 24 hours! That is 50 bucks more than last year in a day. Man this beard was paying off. Only problem was that now, clean shaven was up by 5 bucks, a few days after the post, I was up to about 240, and I kinda wanted to keep it, you see my friend said she wanted a blackbeard for me, and I kinda liked the picture, and idea, because I will not grow one this long again, why not have fun with it before I shave it.

Before Glitter

So now, I am trying to figure out how to make it work. I make a few posts, try to get people to donate, but not be annoying. One friend said I should be festive for the holidays, and dye it white, again, anything for the cause, so I said if you donate, and the beard wins, you got it. So now I am at Black beard, White beard, and whatever else comes up to keep the beard and have my fun!

Glitter

Good Location

This is all their fault

Then it got interesting, so there is this thing that some people do, and put glitter in their beard, not my level of weird, I had no desire to ever do it. Until one day at a bar, for a fundraiser, a woman asked if she could glitter my beard, after saying no several times mind you. I said something to keep her quiet, sure if you can raise money for my charity, thinking it would not happen, we agreed to 300, and her, and a friend went to work. Oh man I instantly regretted it. I underestimated how much these people, many of them friends, wanted to torture me, and see a glitter beard, in Red, White, and Blue, even better (it was a team RWB event after all). So fun was had, I walked out, happily dreading the day, this happened on a Monday, and I took money for the charity, donated it, and agreed to glitter it on that Sunday, wile at another fundraiser for the same team, they really do good work, I am happy to be a part of the team, even if they make me glitter my beard! One of the women is picking up the glitter, and anything else that is needed, which is also awesome, all I had to do was show up. So now we add on the glitter beard, oh man, this has been one wild and crazy 10 day charity bidding war over a beard, and I am so happy to have raised over 500, even if it was because many of them want to torture me, at least I am doing good, and making people laugh, so all is well that ends well!

I do not usually like to much attention, so this has been weird, but awesome.

Glitter is meant to be shared right?

  Because it is the season

Because why not!

Whitebeard

If you want to donate to help #endnf the link is here

If you want to join me in febuary, and have fun here is a link to sign up:
https://my.cupids.org/register.asp?ref=40110

If you want motivation, there is still plenty of time to fund raise for this charity run, and here are some of the perks to raising funds 


Here is a link to the video of the magic of glitterbeard wile it happened

Also Huge thanks to Henry for most of the pictures, and David for the video! There were many others taking pictures, naturally, I mean how often do things like this happen, but the facetime during, was priceless, thank you all for the laughs, and donations through this. Even if most of you just wanted to humiliate me, I will still happily take it, it is the least I can do for a good cause!



 

So join me in the fun! And as always

Until Next time

Stay active

Stephen

Boston Marathon, part 3, the return, the good post

So I have wanted to do the Boston Marathon for a wile now, I even wrote 2 posts about it, and how I found my info along the way, so that anybody else who may be looking had a better idea of where to look. Those are here and here. But then I realized just how much money it is, and just how much I spent on stuff this year, so I stopped looking. But, you see, I had already filled out an app at town hall, just figured I probably would not get in, since they only get 22 bibs both last year and this year. Also it was different, you did not fill out an app, and pick a charity you wanted, so a different way to go about getting a reg. Aaaaannnndddddd then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, on a Tuesday night, BOOM! My watch buzzes, and flashes through an email, saying congratulations on joining team Framingham!!! I felt myself shaking, and get nauseous all at the same time, I wanted to scream, but I wanted to wait and go over all the details before I celebrated, make sure it was not a wait list, and that they had charities I could get behind. That and I was not around many people that would understand the significance of getting into The Boston Marathon!!!

So flash forward a few days (2 days later) I fill out the app, email it in, find out there are some great causes that I would be very enthusiastic about helping out, and fill out my preferences. With Framingham, you have 6 charities to pick from, they make sure each charity has at least 2 runners raising funds. And they said that almost everybody got their first pick, so, of course I needed to make sure that I get one I really enthusiastically stand behind, so I send it in asap! Now I wait to hear back, and go to town hall in January, to meet people learn stuff, and figure out what charity I get, and what site  should use to get funds raised, and so on. I can barley control my excitement, This is such an awesome thing to happen, It is considerably less for me to pay out of pocket, and much less I am required to raise, which is great, because to hit the 5 grand, I would have not wanted to start this late! I will be open and honest, they require us to raise a minimum of 1,500 bucks, but state that they expect 2,500. It is still a decent chunk of change, luckily I know some awesome people that have been fundraising longer and better than I have, and know a few other people that have other ideas. I also have a few of my own, ones I may have used for cupids, and would still work for that, but This one will be getting my hard work from now on because I need to raise it, or I have to pay it. As much as I do not want to take away from anybody, the money will still be going to great causes, and I am amazed I was able to hit 500 for cupids, and they still have the potential for a few weeks of money to be raised with beard games.

Luckily I can be a good sport about these things, check here for the story I posted about the beard hilariousness that I did for cupids.

But basically, if you have any bit to give, anything at all, It will make a difference, and I will appropriate anything you can do, I know this is a time if year when money is tight, hell, I have that same problem. And I will likely annoy you on facebook with my posts, sorry it is just gonna happen, but I will keep it at a respectable level.

Now I just have to wait for the meeting and figure out wich cause I will represent, and get everything set up, and buy my reg, and start fundraising, and I will post all along the way of my journey!

Anyway thanks for reading, and wish me luck as I train hard this summer to try and get a sub 4 hour Boston marathon, and that I actually run the whole thing with no walking breaks!

So until next time
Stay Active
Stephen

Garmin Fenix 3 Product Review

So I got this watch about a week ago, and it is pretty cool, and super expensive. It has a place on my wrist all the time now, and if you want more info than I could probably ever put in a review, check out DC Rainmaker, he has so much info that I would not know how to get, or how to even know about, but he cheats, he tests for garmin. So anyway, lets start with my thoughts on this watch. There is so much on here, so keep in mind I am just scratching the surface. Now you make see the watch and think why do I need a 500 dollar watch, well you don't, but it is cool. I wanted it because it has a long battery life, plan and simple, I love ultras, I just did the TARC fels winter ultra, and it offers better gps accuracy than my last watch, the fr10. So some f the things you may not know, that I wanted to know, but could not find online:

1. It has programmable timers for each activity (like running, trail running, biking, swimming, etc). You have several options: preset, water, food, (you can set them for any interval based min)Also HR, Run/Walk, Pace, Time, Distance, Cadence, Calories, and Elevation (also under custom, turn around, go home (lol) and a completely custom name you make yourself!)
2.  It has a track back feature, it comes in handy when you are in unfamiliar territory, or a trail you can get lost in easily.
3. you can make a course, and race it, it gets stored on the watch somehow, I guess magic!
4. you can make hotkeys, I chose bluetooth and location storing (you can also use stop watch and timer)
5. you can lock the screen, so when you hit button it will not effect your data 
6. Instant gps lock, even in new places, it barley takes a second the few times I have used it! 
7. there is a setting that lets you use the watch wile charging, not just gps, but also change settings, whatever you want to access wile it is plugged in
8. you can have the watch auto shut off notifications off all kind, or just phone calls.
9. you can set up a live track and post it to facebook, twitter, email, or your connect friends, all  of them (not many people use it regularly, but hey it has facebook)

 This watch is also heavy, not as bad as the sapphire one, (it has a nicer quartz, (watch talk for face plate) it is scratch resistant, and nicer metal bracelet, and rubber strap as well). But this watch could be a problem on super long runs or races just switch wrists, keep in mind if it was not heavy it probably would not do all the cool things it does!

Weather!

As far as the other non running things too! It connect by bluetooth, and tells you when you have notifications like text, call, email, facebook, etc. You can easily change that on your phone and the notifications area and shut off the push, or change the settings as you wish. It is pretty good, I have had my watch buzz before my phone on several occasions, and  Step counter is a nice touch. You can see the temp, altimeter, and barometer for the last 48hrs as well. You get cool controls for you music, it has to be in the background, and you can see your calendar for the day as well, but that has on occasion not worked unless the app was in the backround. It is also supports temperature on the watch face, by converting to some app on your phone I would guess, as it only worked for a day or two. When I updated my IOS to the current one (9.1, about to be 9.2 as I type this) the weather no longer showed, no idea what happened, both the watch and phone have been power cycled, and connections reset. So I am at a loss. The blue tooth connectivity is great, a surprisingly long reach for a watch, and an Iphone 5s. The watch face can be tweaked in the digital face to show battery, day of week, and month, and  bluetooth connection status, also the time of the next sunrise/sunset! All of which can be tweaked based on prefernce, you can have a classic analog look if you prefer, but that seems to offer less options for what you see other than the dial. There is a find phone option on this watch as well, it will make the phone make noise, and it will show an arrow as to where it is, giving you direction when you louse your phone!

Time!

The heart rate monitor is super easy to connect, I do not plan to get any of the other fancy high tech data collectors ( you can get monitors for temp, and a foot  pod that measures cadence and other data based on your run very easily, and one for more accurate data on a bike) It will auto upload by bluetooth to your app on your phone, it is super easy. It took me a few tries to connect the heart rate monitor (that is why I connected it the night before my run), but after a few applies of water from a sponge it connected quickly, and now as soon as the strap is connected, and wet, it connects instantly, no need for me to dig through sub menus to find it! I have heard that the wrist based ones are still not as good as the chest, and they have to be pretty tight to be fully accurate. But I do not know, I mention this because if you want a cheaper alternative, there are some and they have many of the same features, but I wanted the super long battery life, the option to make it even longer in the settings, and the ability to charge on the go so a multi day race can still be recorded! (and yes those are planned in my future, I will learn everything about this watch, probably before the end of the summer in 2016)

I am so not meeting my step goal

So Is this watch the greatest at everything? Hell no, but it is awesome for what I want it to be, long battery life, notifications from my watch, accurate details on more things than I ever thought would be cool on a watch. It comes at off sets, several options are unavailable unless the garmin connect app is running in the back ground, and I still can not get the weather to connect. But I am a fan, you can do most of this stuff on some of the medium level watches from garmin (or sunnto, or tomtom, I just picked garmin a wile ago, and love them, well most of the time)

So there you have it, My first impression on this super fancy ultra watch! I am sure I may have forgotten something, but bear with me I have only had it for like 3 runs, in about a week. Soon I will see how some of the apps work fr it, and how well it works as a srtength training tool, there are a few cool apps that set timers, and show you your heart rate wile you work out. Also cool apps that show your your heart rate and what zone you are in ect. If you have any further questions, or think I missed something, let me know!

Until Next time
Stay active
Stephen

Update! Literally a moment after I hit post for this blog, the watch started to show the weather again, so yay!

TARC Fels Trail Ultra review

So in many of my posts I go over the course and review the event, not this time, this time, this is special! So this was my third attempt at an ultra marathon, and my second attempt at this course. (last years TARC, this years Infinitus) So plain and simple, I failed those, I learned a bunch each step of the way, still way more to learn, but the only way to do it is to keep signing up and pushing yourself as responsible as you can.

So this course is brutal, no other way to describe it! it is about 7.5 miles per loop, including the path to the parking lot. The course is fairly well marked, but you can still get lost, so if you do this course, or even decide to check it out on your own, keep your eyes open! Now from where we started you could either go left or right, I started left, and it worked for me, a more gradual start to the race, and lap, helps wake the legs up. If you go to the left then it is a straight hike up, unless you are just that good, I am not! If it was one lap, probably, but not for all 32 miles of it (or 40 if you are really crazy). The hills are pretty much the same regardless of how you start, it is a CONSTANT
rolling hills on this trail, high roots all over the place, and the rocks, all of the rocks, everywhere! really makes it a challenge to keep going. During the first lap I had landed on my left arch a bunch, and was wearing my Innov8 rock lights, bot a smart move, no rock plate, not much cushioning, wring terrain for them. Luckily I brought along my bran new Altra Lone peak 2.0, that was a life saver right there! Those shoes made it so I finished, and had no other problems at all, It was a gamble because it was only the second time I had run in them, and they are heavier than I am used to, I have been doing a whole bunch of running in minimalist style shoes, not good for ultras and my feet. I had 1, 4 mile run, on the streets around my house in these shoes, they felt fine, but not enough to tell how they would do for me over a long distance. That being said, that gamble paid off big time! I now know why people in the ultra world swear by them, they are my new favorite shoes for distance running! ( I will make a post with more in depth thoughts later). I learned my lesson last year, smaller bladder, my goruck bullet is overkill for an ultra, I have a marathon vest from camelbak, it is great, so light, and has what I need (I have meant to write up a review on this, yet another one I will do later, I am really behind on this stuff right now, sorry!) So now, after a quick shoe change, some snacks from the aid station, and a trip to the portopotty, I was out again! No time to waste, I have an ultra to finish after all, plus waiting too long and you body may tell you it wants to stop, or you may have a million other things go through your head, best to avoid it and just keep going! So the first lap was about 1:40 for me, which is faster than my first lap last year! And I got to high 5 my buddy at the halfway point, fun all around!

Just before the aid station on lap 1

Now on to lap 2, I decided to switch things up and go left at the start, and see how it is to have a slow descending finish, yeah, not a smart idea at all, I got lost like 6 times on that loop! luckily not too far off trail, and also luckily I had a new watch (Garmin Fenix 3, review is also on the list, but I have only had 2 runs with it, and still much to learn, I will post all about it later than I would like to, but soonish), and I used the track back feature to find my way back to the trail. In trying to get back several times, I ran around and wasted energy, ran next to some cool people, and chatted about how many times we had gotten lost, and I had a pleasant conversation with them, which is super important in an ultra, way more than in the shorter races. Things go through your mind, and it messes with you, always look for reasons to laugh and smile, ALWAYS!!! and share it with others, you never know, those kind words may push somebody through where they are, and help them finish, and helping avoid a dnf, that is truly priceless, it is a gift that should be shared with the world as much as possible! Also in this lap, I hit more walls than were at the Killington beast this year (if you did not run it, just know it was a crap load!) but I finished lap 2, and could walk, not run for long, but I could still do it. (I missed my friend, I think we went the same way that time) Also at the main aid station (start/finish) grab salty food, and bathroom break, (nobody wants to do a number 2 on the trail) water fill up and I was out



Then Lap 3, Man, I thought I hit walls in lap 2, it was like 2, but in this lap, it was like 6, but I started out on the right, back to normal, no real issues with navigation anymore, a few miss steps, but it was an ultra, and I was like18 to 20 miles, so it is to be expected. The first lap s the only lap I did not stop at the aid station on course, I felt fine, and did not need the snack that early, I carbo loaded more than I did for Baystate, and I did not need to eat for that, so one lap without aid would be fine. By this time, All I can think about is being done, that was it, nothing else. I was not in a dark place, but I was second guessing life choices, like why on earth do I want to do an ultra, why spend all day here, with nobody else around and just my thoughts for almost a whole day, that is crazy, right? So it was kinda blah feeling, body was fine, just tired, no pains, just hey, you have been running/hiking/walking for a wile now, can we stop? I so was not feeling it anymore. The good news? I knew I could finish, but I just did not have the drive to anymore. So that was it, I was gonna drop and go to sleep, screw it all, forget my plans for the next 2 years (I want to do more 50ks, a 50 miler, and 100k, all building up to a 100 miler in about 2 years, for the record, I still want to do them!). But yeah, I just no longer had the motivation or drive for it all. Which is understandable, everybody has some days where you question things, and when you are alone, that thought can be louder, not drowned out by other things, like fun, good company, a good laugh, why you started it all in the first place. Luckily for me, my buddy, who was going for the 40 miler, I saw him a little before the end, about 2 miles. we stopped, and sat down instantly and chatted, I am pretty sure he could tell something was up. I said I think I am gonna drop, I was bummed, but had kinda made up my mind. I spent the lap thinking of friends doing another race in another state, the gimmick beard I grew out .all year for it, how excited I was, but I just was not feeling it. I thought of several of my ultra running friends, who were not there. I thought about my facebook post all full of energy and excitement for this race (and I mean the weather was perfect for December in Massachusetts, it started just above freezing, then into the 40s, and then 50s, perfect for endurance events, and all in the shade, barley any warm sun through all those dead trees, plenty of light, but no warm factor). Also all the texts, and conversations, everybody knew I had it in me, hell I was a little nervous because my mileage dropped the last month, less than 30, for a month, I am usually above 50, closer to 60 on average for the year I would guess. But luckily I have been doing hard stuff all year, and have built up my legs, even if they were not in opportune performance, I had post marathon recovery, then I was sick for like 2 weeks, then I had 2 races, Fenway spartan and FIT, and I could not get the high mileage I wanted to, then it was taper time! So needless to say, even though I did the Killington UB, 24 hours of shale hell and 30 at infinitus, I was shaky, but hopeful. So naturally I did not want to let people down, I had faith from many people, but I just could not shake the feeling on my own, or from the random good job you get from the runners and volunteers. That is not to put them down, everybody was great, EVERYBODY, so nice, and happy, and smiling. Another thing that had me out of it, I have found that through my journey of fitness, or athleticism, or whatever you want to call all the fun I have, that I inspire others (hell I just feel like some kid going out and having fun being me), and encourage as many people as I can, it is only the right things after all. All I have ever received in this running world has been encouragement, positivity, and plenty of great friends every step of the way! I did not want to just stop because I did not feel like it, I was trying to prove something to myself, but still, it was not enough. That is until my friend Rick came along. I honestly barley remember what he said, but when he sat down, mid race, smiled and knew where I was coming from, and explained his doubts, and how he already had his facebook post ready in his head bout dropping, but that I had the time, plenty in fact, more than enough time! ( when I finished my 3rd lap, I had an hour before the cutoff to start your final lap) So he said the right things and it pushed me, I was beaming I was so happy again! I finished the last 2 miles in okay time, spirits were at an all time high as of that day. I went to my cell, posted that I had just finished my 3rd lap, that I was an idiot for going back out, filled up my water, grabbed snacks, put more snacks in my camelbak, and off I went, I swear lap 4 was faster than 2 and 3. However the stats say they were just close, but I do not know about how much time I spent at the aid stations.

50

Stephen

Rodericks

M

29

630

1:43:35

3:59:33

6:31:50

8:52:10

So I placed 50, of 60, 22 dnf, 20 dns, point being, I finished in 8:52, and ran to the finish, all smiles and happy, I mean come on, the race was finally over for crying out loud! and was not a dfl which is surprising, but I will not complain too much. I almost forgot, as much as I love my Fenix, it is heavy, you do not notice it after you wear it for a few days, but in lap 3 I had to change wrists, my forearm was hurting from it, so about4/5 hours of "running" and it can add up, I also probably did not relax my arms wile running. Don't forget to check on form a bunch when you run! You can avoid so many problems by just checking every now and then, running is not mindless, you gotta check on breathe, form, foot strike, relaxing as much as possible, posture, all the good stuff. And the longer the run, and the harder then run, the more important, or you will feel it soon enough! (technical data from my watch: 16:44 pace, and 5774ft election gain for the entire race)

Just before the finish

Finally Lap 4, Seriously, that chat changed the whole race for me, I was excited again, I ran more, walked less, I think, it was kinda a blur, it was under 9 hours of going through horrible terrain, but it got done! then, about 2 miles into my last lap, I get to see my buddy for the last time that day, as he is finishing up his 4th lap, I stop him, hug him, and explain that it was all because of him, I would have dropped if I had not seen him before then end of the lap, before, there was a chance I may have done it on my own, but it was slim! So he did not take credit, until I explained it really was his kind words, he then accepted it. and then we went our separate ways, basically, I have learned yet again, if you tell yourself you can, and push, then you will, with most things in the running world, and that is transferable (keep that in mind), you just have to learn how to push through, and be comfortable being uncomfortable, that goes for more than just your body, it is also for your mind, and it can be arguably more important to keep you going in things like ultra races. The distance can be fun, therapeutic, meditative, and whatever else you need, it really has become my favorite way to blow off steam, and laugh with friends. There are some many benefits to being active and running, so what not see how long you can make it and still have fun? TARC is a great running club, very friendly, and they put on really cheap races, this cost me just over 20 bucks, for the 4 laps around the skyline trail. The last thing I will leave you with about lap 4 is this, just before the end of the loop there are giant stones, it is about1/2 mile before the end (maybe more, I cannot gauge), I had been looking forward to those for miles, when I got there I started to run fast, well fast for what I had left I had nothing else to do that day, I was so happy, giggling, and laughing, I was finally finished, FINALLY!! I did it, and My friend Sarah was waiting at the finish and snapped a few good picture, it was a nice way to finish the race!

Annnd DONE!

Another fun part, is the days after, I swear I could walk because I was not running hard the whole time, but anyway, hanging with friends right after the race for food, and the next two days hanging out with friends, it really was awesome, I really could not do much more than socialize. It really goes to show what you can do when you push for something, I finished an ultra, my third attempt, (as I jokingly say third time is the charm, ya know being the third born and all), and it was hard, so now to focus on more Marathons, and ultras, gotta keep improving, better times, and longer distances, I want a few belt buckles from these races! I just want to be good at all the running really, hey, you gotta have goals right?

Almost forgot, one dude on course actually called me FOREST! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!

Until next time
Stay active
Stephen


(Photo Credit 1st was from TARC, the rest from Sarah, Thanks!)

Savage Games November Edition

So, depending on how long you have been reading my blog posts, you may know about Savage Games at Brooklyn Boulders in Somervile. In case you have not, I went there in the spring this year, reviews are here for March and April. (Feel free to read them and catch up) This has a completely different feel than they had in April, way more thought and effort were put into it! Many of the issues are no longer a problem at all. I will try to address the problems vs the solutions in this post as best I can. I was pretty hash, and was upset with the moves that had been made, but I feel as it was my honest opinion, and I will keep the trend of how I really feel, and summarize the morning as best as I can. Also, I must note, that I went back after receiving a request to come back and give them another shot, they were very nice about it, after reading  my blog, and asked me in October if I would come out for the event, I had to push it off because I had work in October, but here is how November worked out. (they gave me a free entry to try them out again, that being said, it did not effect my thoughts on the morning)

They started it like before with a warm up for a bit, it absolutely got the blood flowing, this after ensuring that all people were on a 5 person team.

 THE OBSTACLES:

cargo net, one at a time go over it

This does not even show how high the rope goes

Jump over boxes

Parkour! No ground allowed

There were no more problems with obstacles! seriously, any for problems I wrote about having before are GONE! no more louse rope traverse, no more threading needles, no more haiku station, selfie station way gone too (that was actually kinda fun, all the goofy things you could use). No more bench crawl, basically, they really knocked it out of the park with these things, and probably did a little wile ago. the team I joined had been there a few times, and enjoyed it, never once complained about something being off, or disappointed, just fun, and it really was! There was only 1 ninja warrior style obstacle, and it was a blast, harder than when I was there in April. There was no more negative attitude from a "volunteer" at the the obstacles (see before about the attitude from the ninja warrior section in April). As always before the Parkour guys are awesome! I hit my knee on a box we had to jump to, did not notice until I was told I was bleeding, I blew it off, and thought I was not anymore, and about a minute later, I was given paper towels, bandaides and a antibacterial wipe for my cut, seriously they were awesome about it. The Parkour obstacles were great again, climbing over and through a metal contraption. Rope climb is back, and I really love rope climbs, especially when they put up the high rope climb, they had a 45 ft high rope I believe they said it was, and 2 others that were maybe 10/12 ft high, I did not ask about those, but they were kinda normal hieght for like an ocr.

Parkour! ground allowed, there was a wall to jump at the end as well

Tires!!!

Several stations to climb the walls, various levels of difficulty, and, a challenge area where it was capture the flag! There was a "spear throw" you had to knock yoga blocks off of orange road cones. There was one they called the Arnold pose, think just above parallel squat, on the balls of your feet, heels off the ground, really works on those quads! then a peg board that is crazy hard. A jump section where you jumped from dense rubber mats wile holding for about 3 seconds on each (or the last) box. Tire carry, as a group you carried a giant truck tire along the path made by smaller regular car tires. (before it was a tire flip, they added, bran new tires to it, careful of the nubs when you carry, they may leave a mark) Tire pull up, think Hurc hoist, single pulley way above your head.

Ninja warrior, don't fall, I love this thing!

Tire pull & Bar hop

Stand on the slack line throw a tennis ball

race to the flag

Fancy juice and snack

seriously, try this

Also this time around they had plenty of time to go to every station, and have a cool down. They also had a chat about upcoming events, and put out a pole for when they should do the next event, which is smart, this is fun, and can only do so many people at once, I am glad they are thinking it through, just check dates as now it is no longer a set Saturday of the month. they discussed classes and specials, and how some of the people there were personal trainers and were willing to take on new clients. afterwards there were free snacks were provided, they were good. freshly made juice (fancy ones too like kale and other stuff) and pudding made with chia seeds, almond milk, and fresh fruit! they had somebody set up a massage table, and a beer vendor giving out samples of a local, Boston brewed beer, they were good, lager based company. I am happy to see local shops serving goodies, and beer, and a few other things I noticed, it got kinda crowded quick, and I had to be to work, so I did not stay long. But it was a fun environment, all changes made to vastly improve the whole experience! If you go just make sure you sign up online as it is still 35 in advance and 45 day of, still pricey for basically a 2 1/2 hour workout. But they have a competition side, you can earn a free month membership, and there are snacks and stuff, so it is not too bad. If you are interested, their web site is here.

So until next time
Stay active
Stephen

F.I.T. Chllenge Do Epic fifth challenge

So for the fifth race from this company, another race at diamond hill park in RI. So as each race passes that they put on, the harder it gets, and in such a good way. All the hype leading up to this race is that it would be the hardest 5k ocr course you will do! This is highly possible, it certainly is the hardest 5k ocr I have done to date, so yes, it is true, at least until the next one that is.

So they have the typical walls through the course, of various kinds inverted, 3ft, and up, over/under, through. ect. But the exciting wall is the bran new to OCR Floating wall! so cool, and unique. I loved it, but it has work to be done to make it more secure. It was an incredibly windy day, and one of the supports came louse and was fixed before the day was over but still needs to be noted, I do not believe anybody got hurt, but it still needs to be tweaked. They also had atlas stone throws, bars to raise over head, wreck bag carries, rope climb, double ups, peg board, see saws.

They also had a hurc hoist, but as the day went on, maybe 1030 or 11 am, the buckets broke and had to be taken down, It seems that people had been letting the buckets slam, so just one thing to work on I guess.

One of the special additions to the race, something I had been looking forward to playing on for a wile now. The Destroyer! Yes the obstacle that was at OCRWC, and really cool, and really hard! For the elite wave they were not allowed the foot blocks, but after they went through the open waves were able to get the help.



Another notable thing is the rig that they created, you had 2 options. The left side, started off with rock grips, maybe 5 ft across, then monkey bars for another 5 ft, then Tarzan ropes, then 2 more bars, and then up and over a cargo net. The right side had just monkey bars to straight bars, on a chain to the cargo net. All that just before the end!!! after this, short sprint to a angled slatted wall, then the finish line.

The rig set up

The course was tweaked for this race, so the one hill, the highest point of the park, we went up maybe 4 times, I forget, it all blended together, but the course was almost exactly a 5k, my watch got 1/10th of a mile difference, and it is not 100% accurate, and elevation gain was said to be about 1000 ft per lap.

The fun about this race, is that you are encouraged to run as many times as you want to! untimed laps are free, but if you want timed laps, it is only 10 bucks per bib, (which is better than the big name race btw). Also, if you did 3, 4, or 5 laps then you got an award for it. and they were cool! I wanted to get 5 again, (I did in April) but 4 left me feeling just as bad as the 5 did from before, really rough course.

Those double ups can be hard,  good thing you can get help

Over shoulder stone throws

Awards for 3,4,and 5 laps

Also, for this race, there was mandatory obstacle completion for elite waves! I love that stuff, except with the destroyer, and the rig, I am so happy I ran this race open! So if you failed you had to do a penalty and then try again. For example, just before the rig, there was the stone throw (over your shoulder) and if you failed the rig you had to go back and throw the stone. The destroyer, it was immediately after the wreck bag carry, and if you failed you did the wreck bag again! (it was a steep hill). I only paid so much attention to the rules for elite as I knew I would not be running the wave, but you get the idea!

Also he has a great sense of humor!

So all in all, this is a blast, and easily harder than a spartan sprint, especially in the northeast region, and if you push for multi laps, then it is harder than supers, and some beasts, trust me on that! I felt worse after 4 this fall than I did after 5 in the spring, and worse than I felt after the NJ Beast, and certainly the spartan sprint/super in mass. Also remember, can't do an obstacle  no problem, want to get help, no problem, this course is hard as hell, but also oh so much fun! So why are you not doing this race, or #Racelocal yet????

So until next time
Stay active
Stephen

Fenway Spartan Sprint 2015

Look how awesome it is in the LOCKER ROOM!!!

Dugout Slefie!!

So last weekend was the fenway spartan sprint (11/7 and 11/8) This year we got races on both saturday and sunday. Spartan came back to Fenway stadium, for one of the most fun races around. Keep in mind that the stadium races are different than the regular trail ones in that they are shorter, more expensive, but still a boat load of fun! Last year one of the annoying things was the ab wheel that you had to roll strapped to your feet, the scrapped it after the first or second open wave. This year instead of something to strap your feet into it was a little 6" x 6" square with wheels on it, but the same idea, put your feet on it and walk to the tape. They also had the typical obstacles of various walls, slam balls, weighted jump ropes (with bands around ankles), sand bags, hand release push ups in the dugout, box jumps, water jug carry, cargo net a frame on the warning track and money bars, hurc hoist, rope climb, and spear throw and the bridge they have at most races, and ending with the heavy bags again. Also plenty of access to areas you never get to see. So much fun all around, just keep an eye out for groupon and early bird pricing for it, but if you are looking to have fun, and snap a few selfies in the dugout, or locker room, it is a blast. The z wall was also slightly changed this time around. The new twist is that the mid section is now visable, and the blocks were pretty hard on some of those walls, even I, at 6"1' had a hard time reaching some of the block grips! but hey I like a challenge, bring it on. I almost forgot the bungee cord crawl up and down the concourse through the stadium.



One of the things I love that they did this time around was 20 reps for every thing, except burpee penalty, and the 5 burpee after atlas carry. It made it easier to remember when you are in a race things can be easily forgotten, and distracting, and sometimes you may not hear a volunteer or whatever.

Also the timing chips were replaced with bands, these bands were horrible, everybodies time was off, from elites to open waves. I initially had over 10 min faster, it was fixed quickly, but if you pinch the new timing bands, which is easy when you do the ab walk, then you will not have an accurate time! so be careful, and hope they fix the issue with the times!

One thing to keep in mind, when you run through the chairs, BE CAREFUL OF THE CUP HOLDERS! Every time somebody gets hit in the quad, I got it, it is always a big risk when running through the seats, especially when it is stadium as old as fenway, with not much leg room

so much fun

Wave times are usually behind to prevent backups on course, and it helps, it is a small course, (I clocked in at 2.15 miles) The waves are shortened to about 15 people every 60 seconds, and it is always great to be sent out by Dustin at the start line.

One thing t keep in mind, PARKING, on saturday it can be hard, get there early, you can feed meters on streets in the area, but at a 2 hour cap, it is not much time to plan a start and then back, you can do it but it is not worth it. Good news is that there are lots that circle the stadium that are only 10 bucks, be sure to check online beforehand, and a few sites or apps let you reserve it for just a few bucks. Which is great because some of the lots a little farther away were still about 30 bucks to park, pretty steep, but this is Boston after all! That being said,  if they come back for sunday you can park for free on the street, I parked right on landsdown street very easily, and for free, just an fyi. Also, this is fenway, It is right off the green line and the commuter rail, if you are not running elite, it could be worth it just for the ease and lack of searching for a spot later in the morning.

Buddy carries make things more fun!

Until next time
Stay active
Stephen

The Boston Marathon part 2

So after my last post, I had a few people contact me about possible charities. That was awesome, and discouraging, after looking into a few bibs, it seems pretty pricey, so I will keep on looking for another way into the race for this coming april. I filled out an app, at the town I live in

you can check here for a listing of charities, BAA lists some of the charities on their web site, for a list of others you can check here.

http://www.charityteams.org/#!faqs-boston-marathon-runner-process/c49h


Some things to keep in mind if you are thinking about applying for a charity bib. First, you will need to pay 350 for the application fee. Second, it is common for some of the teams to charge that varies from team to team. Third, there is a processing fee that is 50 bucks, some let you apply that fee for your goal. Fourth, There is a timeline of how much needs to be raised by what dates, and the charities reserve the right to charge your card to get the amount required. Fifth, money matching contributions that companies offer may not be applicable, check each charity, but it seems that they do not apply. Sixth, there is a cut off date for you to back out, but you still may be on the hook for raising money, check the fine print. After the first of the year it  seems that you are hooked for all that money, so be careful.

Also it  seems like the majority of the bibs are application process. The lottery style seems to be the minority, like through the towns and maybe other special type bibs out there.

Panic in the Dark 2015

 
So this race is more of a fun run, and it takes place in Lowell after dark, with some well paced zombies. (This is one of the last race local events of the year) The makeup on the zombies is awesome! The race was not a full 5k, but that did not seem to matter to me, It was still fun even if it fell a little short. This year the venue was moved about a week before hand, we got an email with advance warning so we knew where to park. They bus you from the building to the start, and then from the finish to the festival. They provide your head lamps so you can run in the dark, you can use your own, but you do not need to, and they are bright enough to not have any issues seeing the trail. They have safe words n case you get scared and the zombies will leave you alone, this year it was biceps (a little joke about the FIT challenge owner). I have to say that the story before the race was not as good as last year, last year it was a bit of a story before you get on the bus, then when you get off the bus you had more story, and a person was shot with a paintball/air-soft gun, and then the race was off. Just before you left the "solider" leading you away shot a zombie, so still fun, just different. The festival are had free chicken soup, or chili, free bag check, a band playing, and a bar. One of the cool things about this race is that for the biggest team perks other than the sectioned off area, was the back of the shirt was our (New England Spahtens) logo on the back, instead of the sponsors, really a nice touch! The medals are pretty cool too, the eyes show light from behind the medal, nice touch!

Until next time
Stay active
Stephen

The Baystate Marathon 2015

So last year about this time, I posted to facebook (I have a several friends who run marathons, and therefore know more than I do about the different ones) asking for advice on a first marathon. I was told by several friends, all experienced runners, that Baystate would be perfect. It was a very memorable experience, and I was very happy to have done it! It is pretty flat, especially coming from a trail running/ocr beginning. Now it did not have high hills, but they had a few inclines, my gps is not the most fancy, but it was just under 300 ft gain/loss. So this course was one down and back, one loop around a river and then back to the start. They had a 1/2 marathon option as well, but for the most part they were on separate routes. The left side of the course was the one that had small hills, and then the other side of the river was as flat as can be, great intro to the distance. Also the mileage was marked on the street, water/gatoraide stations all over the place, perfectly placed for the distances, and one of the stations gave out Guus! I saw a wile ago somewhere on facebook, a post that said running is as much a spectator sport as well. I had never given it much thought before the marathon. Now having run a marathon, I could not agree more! All the happy faces were amazing. From the awesome volunteers, (seriously, in costume and having fun, and cheering you on was great!) to the people gathered at good vantage spots, like the bridge where you turn to loop back. I saw pure awesomeness in the form of signs from spectators. One of my favorites was something like at least your not Walkin, with a picture of Christopher Walkins face. There were plenty of other great signs, and great energy around. At one point where you turned back from the farthest point in the race, you run past residential houses, there were people all dressed up, one in a bee suit (and a themed sign) and another in a lobster suit as well (again with a cool sign I think) they had water as well. I have said many times with endurance events, you really need to focus on the smiles, it really helps make everything better! They had signs all other the place with words of encouragement, my favorite though, had to be at mile 20, it was a painted brick wall on the ground and bricks flying and it said push through the wall. Now for those you you that do not now, the wall is when you body just stops running, and everything becomes hard. I chuckled and grinned, as I had not hit the wall...... yet. Then mile 21 came, and man I had to walk! I made great time going up to the half (1:58) and then slowed down each mile after, but man when 21 hit, it was bad. I walked and instantly felt my legs get 3 to 4 times heavier, and dam near impossible to run or keep decent pace. I was able to keep moving, and kept trying to run periodically, which I did not do all that well. I had the energy to randomly run but never more than 1/10 of a mile at a time. So that meant whenever I past volunteers, or spectators I ran, and then walked,I felt defeated, I had a lofty goal of 4 hrs, and a cap of 4 1/2, I got 4:48, I am happy I finished, and happy I learned a lot from this race. I learned that I can carbo load right, and that I do not need nutrition for marathons ( I will still carry some just in case, better to be prepared). I had 3 Guus in the first half, and they never sat right, and then some blocks, again, never sat right. All the training, all the racing it all paid off this year. Now to keep up the hard work and run a charity bib for Boston, and hopefully shave off time from Baystate. Now to figure out how to push that wall back about 5 miles, and work on my distance speed! Another thing about this race the tracking options from ireslutlslive were cool, they offered email or text updates, the texts were behind, but the email were accurate, the text may be off for me because my cell died and got weird reuslts from it, and did not get finish until a wile after I plugged my phone in. The splits were crazy detailed: The timing locations will be located at marathon miles 3, 10K(6.2), 8.5, 13.1, 16.3, 30K(18.6) & 23; and at half marathon miles 3.7 & 9.9.  [The odd looking splits are due to the course loops]. I was bummed that they dropped the unlimited pasta dinner post race but they still had bananas, water, thermal blankets, pbj (on white or wheat) soup (vegan or not) and chips.

Also a few other points, picking up your bib before the race is key, Lowell  shuts down around the route, so getting your bib is harder, and makes it easier, plus get there early because it will take a lot of time to park and use the bathroom, and bag check if you want it. Also Pro tip (not that I am a pro by any stretch of the imagination) take the next day off from everything you will not want to leave your bed, legs did not want to work wile I was at work.

Course map

So now to take what I have learned, improve, and apply it all to my next marathon, hopefully Boston, I know I will be hunting for a charity bib, I have looked at a few places, just waiting to hear back, fingers crossed.

So until next time
Stay active
Stephen