The Boston Marathon

So, a wile back, after doing carry the fallen I decided I HAD to do the Boston Marathon! I had played with the idea in my head for a few years, but never decided because it was only in 2015 that I started to take the long distance/endurance stuff appealing, and more importantly, doable.

Now I have tried a couple of ultras, I have dnf'd my first 2, but had a world of fun, and am determined to complete one, and then continue to do at least one a year, it is a great environment, great people, and shows you what you can do. So, seeing as how ultra marathons are very different from marathons, they require different running styles, unless you are just that good, I am not, at least not yet. I say this to emphasize the fact that my only fear going into the Boston marathon has been raising the money. I have on more than one occasion done a marathon distance in a day, but by no means at a fast pace, but the distance got done. To prepare for Boston, I am doing the regular training thing (by no means by the books training with schedules and such, but getting in runs each week, and increasing my long runs when the weather agrees. Hoping that with my training for the ultra beast in killington, and as many miles in the racelocal competition and regular training runs I will be ready for Baystate, and then gain speed over the winter for Boston. 

So now my thought goes to bibs. I do not believe that I will qualify on my first marathon, that is not my goal, qualifying times are ridiculously fast, I wish I was fast enough. So that means charity bib (unless any of my awesome readers have an entry kicking around they want to give away, doubtful, but some things you just have to say) and they can be hard to get, and cost a bunch. Luckily if you live in a town that the marathon goes through then you can request one at your town selectman's office. The BAA gives out bibs to other organizations that you can get in other ways, not fully versed in how it all works, still really new to this concept. I know of some charities that I may get try to get a bib from. One thing is that they are just starting to come out, most organizations do a lottery style to dole out bibs. 

So now, I start looking into what charity has bibs, and start applying for them. I really want in, and now to hope I luck out and get a doable number to raise. I was told of one charity that I could apply to, and the minimum they ask for is $7,500. That number is waaaaay out of my comfort zone the thought of not meeting the goal, and the money coming out of my pocket is really scary, luckily I have a few ideas, but not a lot of faith in my ability to raise that much.

So keep me in mind when I get the bib, if you have any extra money, or fund raising ideas will be more than appreciated.

Until next time
Stay active
Stephen

O2X at Loon mountain

Course map

So this race is truly unique, in that I have never seen anything like this before. This is a race to the top of a mountain, and the course is not a trail, it is off trail. You go over some trails, but much of the course has been searched for. There are no man made obstacles like you would find at ocrs, but instead you get giant boulders you have to scale. No tools needed, just the right clothes for the temps, and water if you need it, and you probably will. The race is up the mountain most of the way, a few sideways points, barely any down, mostly up, and several places that you have to crawl up. It is that steep, and so much fun! There were fallen tress, and really rugged slopes you ran (or hiked) up. This race is all about the elevation gain, they show it on the map, they mark it by increments of 500 ft, and on course they had 3 markers for you . They also had a few water stops, I believe three, and had some electrolyte water as well, which was great! This company is seriously the best around at marking, this is their second race I have done (I did Sugar bush last year, and was amazed that it was their first race) there was one spot I took exactly 2 steps and dd not see markings and turned back and knew where to go. Close to the end where you get to go through the boulders was awesome! One of the cool touches on the course this year, they had a person in a Sasquatch suit on course, and he scared a few people, and a few other people in full costume suits, as well as the founders, all of them were giving out high 5's and words of encouragement, it was one of those cool things you do not often see on a race course, and makes it that much more memorable! And once you finished at the top of the mountain, you got a gondola ride down, really cool, and the views at the top were great!

View from the top, epic selfie

Now for some of the other things that make this company great. They are committed to the planet, they put it best on their web page:


As a member of 1% for the Planet, we are committed to promoting sustainable living and environmental awareness in everything we do, both on the mountain and around the world.
You will see these practices put into place in every event. For example, we reduce or recycle municipal solid waste and selected industrial wastes, and we donate at least 1 percent of sales to nonprofit partners among the 1% for the Planet network. Other ways we put our environmental commitment into action include:

• Recycle cardboard, metals, paper and plastic through a single-stream collection method
• Offer compostable or recyclable dinnerware, paper goods and napkins.
• Compost all food scraps and coffee grinds
• Encourage carpool and public transportation for our event
• Work with local suppliers, business partners, and customers to reduce environmental impact of activity
• Donate salvageable foods to a local food bank or community outreach program
• Provide bulk servings of typical single-serve packages (such as coffee, creamers, sugar, etc.)
• Set benchmarks to limit municipal solid waste and recycling
• Collect, organize and create a simple report on municipal solid waste and recycling
• Strive for zero waste

Swag!

That is pretty cool, and is apparent at the venue. Some of the other really cool things about this race, the encourage you to camp out on the mountain, really close to the base camp (festival) and hang out the night before with the owners and have a fireside chat, and enjoy the atmosphere before the race! They know how to get the right kind of sponsors as well. They are sponsored by lululemon, so the finishers shirts were great! when I read that they were using lululemon shirts I thought awesome, and I wondered if it would be plastered with logos for other sponsors, but no, just a small O2X logo on the sleeve, nice touch! (now it looks like I paid for a super awesome shirt that I got for signing up1)



But that's not all! they also just got sponsored by Guinness, so on friday, before the race, from 4pm to 10pm, after you registered, you pick up a metal cup (that you got to keep) and all you can drink begins. You could get Guinness (reg or blonde) They also had 2 wines to choose from, hot choc (and Baileys if you wanted) apple cider, or hard cider (they added rum to it). So you could enjoy your day, and they also had the post beer the day after the race. Also a cool sponsor to have you may ask? Dunkin Donuts!!! so you could buy egg sandwiches, or all day on race day they had free bagels and cream cheese, I think 3 or 4 different kinds of bagels. They also had other food on friday and saturday, you could choose pizza, burgers, lobster roll, and so on.

Base camp also had solar charging stations, recovery area with a sponsor that was letting you test out muscle stimulating technology to speed up recovery. Also some games to play in the base camp, like corn hole, and over sized inflated bowling and Frisbees. there were several fires the night before (as well as the race morning) and blankets and fire towers to warm up the area, and that was nice as it was in the 40's when the sun set!

The medals were titanium sporks with a bottle opener on the end! you also got a draw string bag O2X branded, candy bar, a juti bar, and a Kill cliff bar.

So like I said, they care about the planet, they give back to the communities they race in, have the best trail marking I have seen, and the best swag around! also, the price may seem high, as it tends to be around 100, but keep in mind a few things. They do not charge you for: parking, bag check or processing fees, and seriously, THE BEST SWAG AROUND!!! so this race is well worth it, and to keep the environment the same, which is awesome, they are capping registrants so it  can still be a small race, and wonderful atmosphere, and I love the idea, so sign up early, Loon mountain was wonderful, as will there next races.

Honestly, my only complaint is that they only have one race in the north east, and that says something!

Next year they will be back at Loon, and so will I, if you want to check them out and have not heard about them their page is here

So until next time
Stay active
Stephen

Killington Ultra Beast 2015

So it is that time of year again, time for the Killington beast. Last year it was the spartan world championships, and I did the beast, and it was brutal. This year, I was talked into doing the ultra beast (2 laps around the beast course) and this year had already basically been working up to it with all my races and training, and it isn't hard to get me to sign up for a race, really, it is kind of a problem. Anyway, so as with everything Killington, word championships or not, the rumor mill was flying. From all the different facebook groups, to all the word of mouth rumors going around about course, obstacles, time hacks and what not, some of which I am sure Norm himself spread (Norm is the race director for Killington if you did not know) it was easy to get nervous. Let me tell you hearing all the crap I did, wile tapering, deloading, and general prep for the race and going crazy not being able to do what I want, rumors of the race were the last thing I needed to mess with my head. Luckily, it didn't last, and my mind went from energy and excitement, to oh crap what did I get myself into, but in the few days before, I realized that it was doable for me, and happy and excited again I was!

Pre race photo Credit Sara

Pre race photo credit Sara

So I signed up elite, because, frankly, I wanted to ensure as much time on course as I could, In the super long distance stuff my goal is completion of the race. The morning was great seeing my friends that were racing, and my friends that were there wishing well and giving out hugs it was a great way to start the day! And in the morning announcement, as is custom in the elite waves, the rd says a few words, and Norm said that he did not want people to finish, which made me chuckle, and say that I was going to pad the positive comps when I finish this race. So the first thing we do after the start line is start the ascent up the mountain, and hit log hurdles, then inverted wall, and then about 1.5 miles up. This race was a founders race (still not 100% on what that means though). But basically the race was filled with many heavy carries (pancake, demo sandbag, 2 log carries, bucket brigade, a log farmers carry, atlas carry) and sooooo many walls. there were 2 rope climbs, a hurc hoist, the rig set up they had was 3 ropes to rings. Tarzan was not under the bridge this year, it was between 2 walls with hay in case you fell. The only water was were the traverse rope was last year and it was a wade through chest deep water depending on how far in the water you went. There were also 2 cargo net climbs, and hay bale jumps, and of course spear throw(s), 3 barb wire crawls, memory test just for the ultra people, and only on the first lap, and the always present fire jump.

Photo credit Aaron Farb, still happy on lap 1

A few gripes that need to be shared about the race. First of Saturday was pretty darn hot, about 80 and Spartan ran out of water, it was a s*** show, and people disagree about that, but the point here is this, Joe De Sena apologized on facebook, and flew up after hearing about it, and saw to it that those problems were solved for Sunday. Saturday they did not let people refill their water packs, but said you could at the next stop and never let them fill it, I heard about very long times waiting in line, enough time for two people to trade places at a heavy carry, and still not be close to getting water. As you can imagine it got kinda ugly, and racers and staff and volunteers were both acting poorly because of this, not everybody, but enough that many people had several stories of their own. Also some other complaints about this race were that several of the obstacles were falling apart on sat, and not properly fixed for sun. The wall at the halfway mark was being held together by volunteers on sat, as it was not secure for people to go over, and on sun, everybody I saw went to the only part that was properly secured on the left. even with the board that was put there it was not stable. The bucket brigade was falling apart, the back wall that holds the rocks in had a big break and a bunch of rocks were spilling out of it, and we were told to dump on the side that was not broken ( also they ran out of buckets on Sunday and rocks as well I was told). As somebody that ran ub I was annoyed that the loop was made longer on my second lap just for us running the ub, it seemed weird and annoying nut whatever. The bucket brigade, and the demo bag sandbag carry loops were shortened on Saturday due to not enough to go around. I was watching runners on Saturday at 10am, and there was a line of about 40 or 50 people waiting for a sandbag, way to early to back up like that.The rope climbs were oddly short for a spartan race, but they was nothing wrong with them. One of the sections of the z wall had a decent sized hole in the board just below the foot blocks. the over under through section of about a dozen walls that was on pavement after the tarzan swing had a board that was not secured to the end, and the through walls were not even so some of them were too tiny to get through unless you were a child size. Basically I saw a lot of stuff I would never expect to see at a spartan race, a lot of the finishing touches, polishing up of obstacles, and quality were not there. I expect more from them, and especially for killington, as it is supposed to be their baby, it is where the first beast started years back.

Also something I need to add, with Joe's video apologizing for the problems, he gave out his email and asked for feedback! so I sent an email, and his response was nice. I sent him pretty much the entire paragraph above and this was his answer.

For whatever reason this build crew thought when I said- back to basics and raw- that meant sloppy!

I agree on your assessment and we are working around the clock to get it right.

I appreciate your comments.

TY.

Joseph Desena
to me

All the negative being said, the terrain was awesome as it usually is, it was still hard, and fun. I must say, when I realized that the sprint course was the same for the first 4 or 5 miles, I was concerned about bottle necks and time hacks. However when I started my first lap all those fears disappeared immediately, the volunteers knew what the green arm bands meant, and as soon as they saw them they made room at the obstacles for us. I saw one guy stand in front of the inverted wall and wave several of us over to avoid a line, and the log hurdle as well, the volunteer politely asked a runner to wait one second and she happily let me go, it was truly wonderful. But it did not stop there on course, during one of the downs every time I came close to a group of people, and they looked behind, they yelled "ultras coming through" and let me pass, to say I was surprised was an understatement! and the ones that didn't part, when I got near let me pass when I asked to, everybody was nice, it was a great day.

Also, I have heard a bunch that this race was easy, and all that. Now I know what last year was, I did it, it sucked, and I came back for 2 laps. But the whining about it being so easy really needs to stop! there were still many people that DNF'D the race, it is still Kilington and the terrain is still horrible. But also equally important is that you are diminishing those that are happy that they finished, the ego really needs to come out of a lot of the minds of some of the runners. I can understand disappointment, but you need to handle your verbiage better, because people worked hard to make the race, and people worked hard training for the race, so get off your high horse people. Also, the amount of trash I saw on course was ridiculous, I do not know why so many people can not carry a wrapper, hell it is light than when you opened it up!

Photo Credit Josh Chase. Next night, with Kevin who did beast/ub

One of the best feelings was the finish, it was great. I knew I was coming up on the spear throw and did not push too hard in case I missed again (first lap it went in then bounced out, so depressing!) I wanted to save energy for burpees. But I nailed it and SCREAMED "F*** YEAH" sprinted for what I swear was a 5 minuet mile pace for the like 20 yards to over the fire and to the finish passing a few people all due to the extreme happiness that I got the spear and finished the Killington ultra beast! (in 12:12 and before sunset)


Some things to keep in mind for an event like this would be, never stop moving, just keep going forward, even if it just walking, do not stop it makes a world of difference (this applies to the Killington beast as well)! Long uphill and you are slowing down? perfect time for a snack. You should be eating and drinking around the hour mark for things like this, you can do 40 min if you like it is all about preference and your body. Training for the distance and proper hydrating and nutrients help keep energy up ad cramps at bay. Also look for the humor in the day, keep smiling, it seriously helps make the miles go by faster and better. joke with people around you boost morale, introduce yourself to runners that are near your pace and make new friends during the race I did, and it was nice chatting with people, cheering each other on and having fun, after all that is why you paid to do stuff like this right? Worried about having to poop on course? take Imodium AD and no worries, it made a difference for me. In your drop bin spend as little time as you can to ensure you make the time hacks, if you sit too long you may bring on cramps and the desire to not get back up. Have a second bladder there, it is easier than refilling. change of shoes is a good idea as well as socks. when I stopped I changed socks and shoes, also my foot care was gold bond to dry them off and trail toes to help with blister prevention. also refilled the trail snacks and was good to start running again. All said it was about10/15 min switching out. And listen to your friends that have done it endurance events before, absolutely everything in this paragraph came from friends helping me out along the way, and with their advice race day went pretty smooth! I also carried pickle juice in a separate container in case I cramped up, and took some swigs when I felt them coming on, luckily they were minor and it helps me

And the medal GLOWS IN THE DARK!!!

Delta 730 2007

Until next time

Stay active

Stephen

Spartan Race Boston Sprint

 So this race is back at Carter & Stevens farm in barre ma. Going into this race I had mixed feelings due to how they handled the super. The super left things to be desired, review here, and then battle frog came in and did a little better, but still have things to learn. So needless to say I was unsure how the day was going to go, but I can happily say I had all of the fun. Spartan stepped their game up for this race. I love hills in a race, they shake things up, push you and you have a sense of accomplishment when you make it to the top, and this venue does not really have any. But there is a small one and we went up it about 5 times, and three of them with weight, sandbags and bucket brigade. The course was wider in more places, the start line was closer to the festival area, Dustin was back at the start line doing great as he always does! The course did not feel as though it was rushed with the design, was done with careful planning. The obstacles were strategically placed, all enjoyable and challenging.

The obstacles in order were: Hay bales, Over Under Through walls, Inverted wall, Monkey bars, Atlas Carry, Rope Climb (1/2 knotted, half no knots, THANK YOU SPARTAN RACE!!! I love a no knotted rope climb) rolling mud pits with dunk wall, Barbwire Crawl, Log Hop, Plate Drag, Sandbag Carry, Stairway to Sparta, Bucket Brigade, 3 Walls (from taller to shorter probably close to 10 ft, 8ft, and 7ft) Hurc Hoist, Spear Throw, Bridge (with cargo net top instead of slatted boards). The Cliff Multi Rig (traverse pipe to 3 short ropes, to 4? rings and bell), A Frame Cargo Net, Farmers Carry ( 2 logs with chain handles), Slip Wall, Verticle Cargo Net, and finally Cargo Net.

The trail running sections were so well done, still plenty technical, and plenty of downed trees and all sorts of things to get in your way and make it hard to run, which was awesome. No walking tight away because of a single track right after the start. Basically any complaint I could have thought of that I encountered at the super they fixed for the sprint. And the course was about 5.2 miles according to my gps, and oh so much fun packed into those miles.
        

And it was not just me, many of the people that complained about the venue were pleasantly surprised by the race. The race was well received by everybody there. I would still like to see a venue with more hills, but if they keep course design with this caliber then I will be happy to come back and race. 

The only problems that I can think of where that the volunteers cutting timing chips off your wrist were in front of the line to get your post race pic taken so if you went back to the venue nobody stopped you. And I forgot because I was in a rush to get to the start line. I went out on a second lap in support of my friend, it was her first race and just wanted somebody to help out if she needed it. It was a blast, after doing these races for 2 years (this sprint in august was my first race in 2013) and I think everybody should do that, it really makes the race more fun! 

Photo Credit Vince Rhee

So my results were unavailable due to the chip reading it twice, Luckily a staff member got it squared away for me, and pretty quickly too, so thanks for that

Also the buses are still have problems, they get to the venue just fine, but take the long way back to the parking lot, and often get lost, it has been the case for each race there it seems, and after speaking with other racers and hearing the drivers on the radio it about getting lost and asking for directions wile driving the bus to the parking lot. I have heard others have had no problem, just to be fair, I may be in the minority, but I had to put my 2 cents in.

Almost forgot, This year Spartan has put a string around the spear so the no longer have to collect them. I have mixed feelings about that. It is nice to not have to wait for all the spears to be picked up. One thing to keep in mind with this is that you need to make sure you put the string in front of the fence otherwise you will probably step on it. I have seen this happen countless times. My beef with this move is that the string is often too short! Luckily when I stepped up to the fence a staff member moved the string to give it more room, and I was about the 1/2 way mark for the elite male wave, I wonder how many may have missed due to short ropes.Keep that in mind folks, WATCH THAT ROPE!!!

Until next time

Stay active

Stephen

The looong lost and crazy run

So just in case you do not live in Massachusetts when you read this, it has been hot, and humid. The temps have been in the 80's and humidity anywhere from mid 70% to 90% and my body has not been coping with the heat all that well. This summer has been this way for weeks, and the past three of them I have been trying to get in a half marathon run in. The one morning it was in the 60 I had no sleep and no time to do a long run, and annoyed me for a few days, running problems! Then this past Wednesday it was perfect out, after getting home from work and errands at 9pm, I got changed and prepped for a ling runand went out in pretty perfect summer running conditions. Only problem is I decided to turn my current long run route into a longer one, it was a longer oval of my 10 mile route. As I went farther, I went into the next town, and I swear there were no sidewalks at all in my neighboring town. And that is scary as hell when it is 12ish and you are at mile 11 something and you are going up an awesome hill (I really hope I can find it again, it went on forever!) and a dwindling battery on my phone, legs getting slower and a spartan volunteer shift in the am. So what was I to do, now around midnight, I called my brother, who was luckily for me, working an overnight shift. I was completely lost, with only a small idea of where i was. I found a few signs directing me back to a route I knew would get me back to my house, but my progress was bad, so I really needed an out. My brother, and managers in the background rightfully laughed and called me crazy. (I still love the being called that as a runner, it makes me feel like I am doing the right thing). I finish the phone call, a few min go by, talk to my brother again on the phone, and then immediately after I hang up my phone dies, about 2.5 miles away from where we were meeting, and a mostly good idea how to get there. Good thing the route was simple, basically just down the road. So by the time I get to the location, a local 24 hour gym, I was ecstatic to see somebody standing out front. The universe was really smiling on me on this run! (For example every street crossing I had the right of way, all the drivers let me go in front, and only one light that was not green in my direction.)  only thing was his cell was dead, but he had a cable to charge it, and as soon as we got let into the gym by his friend he charged it, and after a few min he looked up the number for work and called it for me, so nice, and such a life saver. When I ran up, it was obvious, and he commented long run hunh? So the long run with a goal of a half marathon minimum turned into 15 miles, and a bunch of walking for the last 1.5 miles. So I got picked up about 12:45. Only problem? I had a volunteer shift for 7:30am over an hour away. But that seems to be my luck for sleep the week of a spartan race with build days. Oh well, good thing I have been able to handle it. After the super in barre, this was no where near as bad.

So moral of the story is plan things better, and realize that even if you do not get the performance you want you still have it in you. Summer is horrible for my runs, I still need to get used to that idea, but I still have my speed and endurance, just not in humidity. 

So have faith in your own training, adjust when needed, get out of your head and your own way, the more you believe in your abilities the better you will be, doubt is KILLER to almost all things. 

Until next time

Stay active

Stephen

OCR 102

This is a follow up post. Basically I wrote OCR 101, and went wait I have more to add. That article was also based solely on leading up to the race, here I would like to cover race day stuff, things that might not seem obvious, or race day hacks to make things smoother.

Flip flops: keep these in your bag, you will want something that is not a race shoe to change into post race. And this lets your feet breathe, also depending on distance and your feet, swelling may make a normal fitting shoe uncomfortable. 

Trash bags: or even the plastic bags you get at the grocery store. Just something big enough to hold your gross clothes, and shoes. You can go the fancy giant zip lock bag, but I use the grocery bags because they are free, and still do the trick. I usually have plenty in my bag in case I forget to add them between races.

Towel: pretty much every ocr I have been to has garden hoses to can rinse off with. Nothing fancy, and definitely cold, but it is better than nothing. You do not need to go the extra mile and bring soap and shampoo, you won;t get everything off, and lines are always long. Plus it is just one more thing to carry in a bag that I have more useful tools in. Also everybody expects that you will be gross, and nobody cares. And you will want a real shower when you get home/hotel or where ever. 

Snacks/drinks for recovery: almost every venue will have food and whatnot they are selling, and some venues may not allow outside food or drink, but they do not search you. And they may not have what you would be used to, it is usually just sponsor giveaways, which is not bad. But things like gatoraide have so much sugar and what not, so I go for pedialyte, it does not have nearly as much of the junk you find in sports drink. But it has the electrolytes you need to replenish. Some people prefer coconut water, as it has good stuff in it, it is all preference, and what works for your body. Some sort of recovery snack would also be good, again, most races have sponsored bars and what not, and bananas, but if you are weary of ingredients bring your own, just something to tide you over until you are at a restaurant, or home again. 

Sunscreen: so most races will have you under tree line for a bunch of the trail running, depending on venue, so you might forgo it. But it does not take long for a sunburn to take effect. 30 minuets can pass by quick when talking with friends, or checking out times, snacks, and whatever else is around. I always have a package if sunscreen in my bag. 

Bug spray: depending on time of year, and venue, it may not be needed, but I would rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. And hell if you are in mutated bug country it may not even help. But bring it, because at least then you will have done all you can. Otherwise you could be eaten alive. Also if you wind up inplaces like carter and stevens farm (hosting both spartan races, and battle frog) they have ticks, so keep an eye out. They certainly are not the only place, but just a heads up, many races you will go through tall grass at some point, and most courses also have poison ivy, it just happens people, so long socks, or calf sleeves what ever you got, otherwise learn how to deal with or treat poison ivy and bug bites.

In the days leading up to the race, you should be hydrating as much as possible, starting at least on wednesday, you should drink all the water, and pee all the time! make sure though that you are also keeping up you electrolytes up the day or two before the race as well, as too much water can dilute them in your system and you may cramp earlier than expected.

As far as food goes, this is a 2 part question.

First, the night before, add some more carbs, but do not do anything new, you will want more fuel for the next day, but you need to know your system. For me I could eat pasta all day everyday, I love the stuff. But if you find that too much carbs can bog you down, that is just as bad as too little energy, so as with everything, test it out! 

Second the morning of, every morning for several years I do a bowl of oatmeal with a banana and some cinnamon, a protein shake, tea, and water. This works for me, my body loves it, and it fuels me for almost anything. You will again want the carbs in the am, but make sure you have the time you need to digest your food before running. again, only way to know is to test it out. I can eat and run about15 min later, if it is the right food, but then I have other foods that can take longer to digest, it varies from person to person, based on body and training.

The second part is race day nutrients. So I can do guu, or the like, or the mashed food pouches, like baby food, but starting to gain popularity in the big companies, Cliff has them, and I love them (you can even get one pouch that is pizza flavored, and yes it tastes like a margarita pizza). You need to figure out what your body likes when running, I use different ones depending on how long I am running. for ultras I prefer the pouches, but shorter runs I can use the guu, it all depends on the day. They also make the block type energy gel things, that are basically just sugar, and when you need a quick fix it will help. Keep an eye out for the electrolyte ones, they come in handy as you will be sweating a bunch in a hot sun, or even if there is no sun, you louse more than water when you sweat!

So now a few neat hacks that will come in handy if you so choose:

Those orange home depot buckets, like the ones you carry on race day, are about 5 bucks. They are a good investment for post race clothes if you have a few friends and get real muddy. you put some laundry soap in, and fill the bucket half way, then post race you put your clothes in and the get to soak and with the turns you make driving your car you wash them a little. For me personally if it is one change of clothes it is not that big of a deal, and I have made my race clothes wait until monday. However, they could stain or retain the smell, I think I have a shirt on the way out due to smell starting to form, and discolored on the inside. I personally like the idea if it is at least 2 changes of clothes, weather it is friends or if it is a multi day event, or multi lap and you feel the need to change clothes, it has to be a long event for me to want to use that. This orange bucket trick came in handy with the 24 hours of shale hell such a fun event, and I changed my clothes almost every lap.

Another post race tip that will come in handy is for when you rip your hands. Those wonderfully built up calluses can rip off on oh so many things, but fret not my friend for vit e oil will do wonders for your hands. It is an old gymnastic trick I learned years back and needed reminding of last year. so at night before you go to sleep, put the purest vit e oil on your hands and then out on gloves, I use cotton, like 3 dollars at target or anywhere, or plastic gloves will work. Hell in a pinch you can use a sandwich bag, just cover your hands to keep the oil there and not everywhere else, It can easily shave days off of healing if you do it daily. You can do it during the day as well if the rip is bad or you have another race the next weekend, and I speak from experience saying it will make your hands usable by then, not fully healed, but to the point you can climb a rope, traverse a wall without fear of your hands opening mid race.

I hope this helps, and keep in mind that the barre, ma races are flat, fast, and filled with pot holes, ticks, pricker bushes, and cow poop, it is a working farm after all!

Another thing to keep in mind, recently there have been incidents popping up about people getting sick or hurt at races. Some of this can be avoided, for instance, when you go into a mud pit, or water pit, or dunk wall, close your eyes and mouth. Same goes for when you do a barb wire crawl, just use common sense, try to not let mud get in your eyes or mouth. I have been doing these for 2 years and not gotten sick (knocks on wood) but seriously it will minimize your risk of getting sick. Also if something pops up talk to somebody. Lets say you get a rope burn on your skin, use disinfectant, mud has bacteria and germs, as does the rope itself, if you do not clean it, bad things will happen when you let it go without taking care of it. Calf sleeves are great to help with rope burns, or high socks, or tights, Just cover your legs where you will be climbing a rope, problem solves. 

Also, DO NOT FORGET TO STRETCH!! I often forget this, but it makes a world of difference bothe before and after the race.

As always I hope this helps!

until next time

Stay active

Stephen

One pot curry tuna recipe

So a wile back when I first started this blog I said I would put in recipes and general ideas for healthy living through cooking because I am not that great at writing recipes. I posted my stuffed pepper recipe, a wile ago. It received some notation on twitter, now for my next one. This recipe is something I created a few years ago when I wanted a lazy meal, One pot, about 30 min, and easy cooking.

I start this off with boiling the rice first ( I used a cup of rice with 2 cups of water) after about10 min when the rice is mostly cooked I add yellow curry sauce (you can use a different sauce if you prefer soy sauce, or anything else that goes with whatever main protein source.) I chose to use tuna, (but to make this vegan you could use chick peas, or other legumes.) You could also use other fish, chicken, or turkey, just chop it up and throw it in, as long as it is already cooked (remember this is a quick meal) For this I use 2 cans of tuna, 5 oz sizes. And each meal is not complete without a vegetable, so for this one I usually use spinach, as I always have it in my freezer. So, after the sauce has been in the pot for about a min, I add the spinach.towards the end, by then most of the water s gone and it is only another min or two. Now bear in mind that the pictures that I posted here are backwards, but it still works. The difference I have noticed is that you need less of the sauce when put it in with the rice, if you put it in later the extra sauce to coat everything is negligible, but if the sauce is near the end, or you want to make the sauce last, or just do not have enough left in the jar.


So some other things to note, I used white rice due to time, that way I can make this is a pinch wile making breakfast before work and have lunch. This has happened more times than I can remember. If you want to take it up a notch you can use brown rice. Also, if you like you can add black beans (this forms a complete protein, another way of saying all the proteins that your body does not produce on it's own) even if you want to add meat to it, it helps make it more filling, and more nutrients. The way I make this, and with my appetite it makes for 2 servings, one meal for two or lunch for 2 days.




So I hope this helps point you in the right direction and keeping up a healthy life style, and realize that healthy meals can be quick, easy and inexpensive.

Until next time
Stay active
Stephen