TOUGH MUDDER COMPLETED!

Hooray!! I completed Tough Mudder! 11 miles, 22 obstacles, a bum knee and a fractured foot....whoa! It was such an amazing race! The energy there, the runners, the people working, the volunteers, everything - so great. The 11 miles weren't actually that bad! I was honestly a little nervous - those obstacles were HARD though. I'm so so sore today. We dressed up in costumes & volunteered the second day. It was a blast. One of the best race's I've done :) Definitely check it out if you want to get into these mud runs.

www.toughmudder.com

3 DAYS 'TIL TOUGH MUDDER!!

Alright - if you're into doing these mud runs, I hope you've heard of Tough Mudder. 

"Tough Mudder events are hardcore 10-12 mile obstacle courses designed by British Special Forces to test your all around strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie. With the most innovative courses, half a million inspiring participants, and more than $2 million dollars raised for the Wounded Warrior Project, Tough Mudder is the premier adventure challenge series in the world."

My friends Cassie & Sara are running with me - we all got super hero tank tops ... WITH CAPES! :) So so so excited!

Hero Rush

My brother, our family friend Brian Mckeon, and I ran the Hero Rush last weekend in Charlotte, NC. This particular race was special - it was dedicated to the families of the lost firefighters of 9/11. It wasn't really a mud run, but more of just an obstacle run (designed by actual firefighters.) ...and my god, it was tough. Fun though!

The “343″ wave is dedicated to the firefighters lost on 9/11. Each runner wears a commemorative racer’s bib showing the name of one of these fallen heroes. The wave is an additional $10, which will be matched by Hero Rush and donated entirely to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.

Definitely check out their site and look for 2013 runs (and discounts!)

www.herorush.com

Todays Food Intake

BREAKFAST - 4 egg white omelet (188 calories) w/ mushrooms (15 calories) and cheese (113 calories)
                            1 glass of almond dark chocolate milk (120 calories)
                            1 serving of strawberries (47 calories)
                            1/2 cup of blackberries (31 calories)

The Electric Run

My friend sent me a link to this today - MUST DO!!

www.theelectricrun.com

 Electric Run is a 5k run, a show, participation art, and celebration of life. One million watts of light and sound will transform the 5k course into an electric wonderland. Participants will join in the show by lighting up with glow sticks, LEDs and anything else their imagination can conjure up.

Today's Food Intake

BREAKFAST - 2 Nature's Path Flax+ Waffle (200 calories) 

                              2 tbsp of Skippy's Natural Peanut Butter (190 calories)

                              1 glass of Almond Dark Chocolate Milk (120 calories)

LUNCH - Medium sized Argula Salad (20 calories) with 4oz of Baked Chicken (110 calories) and Mushrooms (21     

                  calories)

                  Pretzel Crisps : 11 crackers (110 calories)

                  Hummus : 3 ounces (213 calories)

SNACK - Vanilla Iced Coffee

DINNER - Chicken Caesar Spinach Wrap w/ 1 Small Potato Cake

4-miler

For some reason yesterday and today I had NO motivation to work out :[ I don't know whats up, maybe I'm just stressed from school & work....

Regardless, I finally was able to make myself go on a run. I ran to work and back which was about 4.2 miles. The run there was great, but my calfs really began to hurt on the run back. I need to stretch better.... I also noticed that I really liked running in the chilly weather (like in NY) than I do the warm...Guess I need to start waking up earlier.

UPCOMING RACES - This Saturday I'm doing the Hero Rush with my brother, Shane. (He has a school meet 3 hours before Hero Rush...he's such a trooper!!)

Then next weekend is TOUGH MUDDER! Ahhhhh! So excited!

Costume pictures for both to come!

:)

Todays Food Intake

BREAKFAST - 1 Nature's Path Flax+ Waffle (200 calories) 

                              2 tbsp of Skippy's Natural Peanut Butter (190 calories)

LUNCH - Boars Head Turkey Sandwich : 2 slices of turkey (60 calories)

                                                                     2 slices of sourdough bread (110 calories)

                                                                     1 tbsp of canola mayo (100 calories)

                                                                     2 slices of vermont cheddar cheese

                  Pretzel Crisps : 11 crackers (110 calories)

                  Hummus : 3 ounces (213 calories)

SNACK - 1 Fiber One Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar (90 calories)
DINNER - 1 Italian Style Chicken Filet (140 calories)
                    1 serving of Fettuccine (210 calories)
                    1/4 cup of Creamy Alfredo Pasta Sauce *GLUTEN FREE* (100 calories)
SNACK - Small Vanilla Iced Coffee (270 calories)

 TOTAL CALORIES : 1933 / 2150

*Just incase anyone was curious, I'm using MY NET DIARY app on my iphone to track all this :) It's awesome.

Rock 'n' Roll 10k - New York

Last weekend I took a trip to NYC to visit my best friend Stefanie. She recently moved there to go to graduate school at Columbia University. She's a runner, and so I signed us up for the Rock 'n' Roll 10k in Prospect Park, Brooklyn.

Race day was INCREDIBLE. Woke up at 5am, had a bagel and banana, an hour subway ride to Brooklyn, and started shedding layers at the start. (It was about 45 degrees outside.)

As soon as the race started, it automatically wasn't so cold anymore. This was the first race I've done that I was completely comfortable at race pace and ABLE to actually run (with out taking a break) the entire course. The first 5k went by like it was nothing, and I picked it up after the halfway point. My playlist I made the night before definitely played a big part. Not to mention how happy I was to be running in New York, and Prospect Park was SO beautiful. I felt so strong the entire run. The last 300m I sprinted to the finish line to try and beat the clock. I finished strong, which is something I had trouble doing the last 10k (and 5k).

Overall, this was the best race I've had since HIGH SCHOOL. It's definitely the happiest I've been in a while; running that race.

The Rock 'n' Roll crew were AMAZING. Extremely organized, and very helpful. They did a great job with the set up and with the vendors.

Check out their race series! I highly recommend it. http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/new-york

NO EXCUSES.

I saw this video on the Spartan Beast facebook...and WOW. Everyone needs to see this.

Chris Davis weighed was 700lbs. He measured the distance he could walk in feet, and had to plan his route from car to office carefully. He says "If I can achieve this, nothing is impossible."

Today finds him in Pittsfield Vermont, home of the Spartan Race "Spartan HQ," where has been training for The Spartan Beast. It's a 13+ mile obstacle course on the face of Killington Mountain. We've been documenting his progress in weekly videos for the last 20 weeks. Watch the incredible shrinking man!

This video produced by Madmotion with videography by Marion Abrams, Blake Farnham and Forrest Call.

http://www.spartancoaches.com/

small break...

So, last week I got in a car accident. No one was hurt, but my car is totaled. I took this week off to recover - mentally, more than physically. I hope to get back into my groove in the next few days :)