Which is a good reminder....
Be kind to your fellow gym rats. No beans on Burpee day!

Last night I finally got around to registering for my first 5k of the year, coming up two weeks from Saturday! Going to be interesting to see how I do after this winter. I got outside a lot, but more recently have been stuck on the treadmill a bit more. Not guessing that I'll snag a PR as I got so accustomed to last year, really I'm just hoping that it's not too cold or snowing/raining come start time! Been off on speed work the last couple months, but got an okay one in on the treadmill this morning that was a bit of a stretch.

.5 warm-up
.25 run at 6 mph
.25 sprint at 7 mph
.25 5.7 run at a 2% incline

Then repeated the run/sprint/incline, increasing the speed or incline progressively until I finished with my last being .25 at 6.6, .25 at 7.6, .25 at 4%. That last quarter was rough!

Did a dozen pull-ups before, and a dozen chin-ups after. Time to get out of the winter lull and start working harder!

Great job Matt! Speed work is really tough, but it helps so much!

I've been trying to do the treadmill hills too. I think my first race is pretty flat, but one in April according to the race map has a 3% hill for a quarter mile in the first mile of the race.

Better to have it early than late I suppose, but it never much matters when the hill comes, it always sucks!

Mines 747-783 ft. elevation, so an extremely flat course I'd say. Mostly in residential areas, and part of a bike trail. I'm guessing since it's a small business hosting it, this minimizes street closures and costs for them. I think I was around the 475th person to register, so they'll easily meet 500, but that's combining the numbers for the 5k and the 1 mile, as well as the walkers and runners. I'll get a participation medal at least, that much I'm sure of!

That is one of the reasons I like running outside. I still get the wind and the hills. Fortunately, in Oklahoma, I can manage to run outside about 95% of the time....usually.

I should look for a 5k now April is only a month away.

St. Paddy's Day 5K
Saturday, March 16, 2013
www.stpaddysday5k.com

NCO Youth and Family Services Spring Ahead 5K & 10K
Sunday, April 14, 2013
360 Youth and Family Services
https://360springahead.com/ (Sponsored by your neighbors!)

Eikon 5K
Saturday, April 27, 2013
www.eikon5k.org

Hop to it!

Well thank you for doing all the work for me! I've volunteered to help at the NCO run before, it's a nice course. You probably ran it when you stayed at our neighbor hotel.

I think that sounds like a nice one to start with.

ETA: Registered! Called the hubs to see if he wanted to run with me. He didn't answer, so I just signed him up too.

I'm sure you didn't forge his liability waiver, that'd be wrong!

That'll be a good one, and won't distract from your training for May 18th either.

The site let you sign up multiple runners in one transaction, so that's their own fault!

You should sign up a bunch of other people too then! Epic 5k weekend??

EPIC.

Is this the running thread?

I just meant to use the copier and accidentally walked into a conversation about doing a 12 mile mud run in September. Some people here seem to think it would be fun. The website says it takes about 3 or 4 hours to complete. One of my co-workers said, "You can do anything for 3 or 4 hours. It's not like it's forever." Another said it's "like giving birth. You just keep going until the suffering is over."

Haha...anything for 3 or 4 hours...mmhmm.

Wisconsin, St. Louis, Tahoe, or Kansas City by chance?? If so, I know the race series you're talking about.

I've got one coming up in May near Chicago. They're a whole different kind of challenge, and 3 hours is pretty...ambitious if you're not in pretty good shape. I think we finished last year in about 4 hours, but it's not formally timed so it's hard to say. It took me about a week and a half to recover to the point that I could stand upright and use stairs without discomfort!

St. Louis. More or less. It's actually pretty far out in the country. I'm surprised at the people who are seriously considering it. They might shame me into it. I have six months to prepare.

Plenty of time!

Honestly, they attract a wide range of fitness levels. A lot of people just do it for fun. There are some people I saw coming across the finish line that I couldn't believe survived it, and more than a few that ended up at medic tents along the way. You can always walk when needed, almost everybody has to walk some of it, and you can skip an obstacle if you need to for some reason, so that's good to fall back on if you need to.

Watch some of the videos they post on YouTube to get a better feel for the atmosphere. If you can go with a group, that's far preferred to a pair. I wouldn't go alone, but you can if you choose to. Everyone works together pretty well, even with complete strangers, so it wouldn't make it impossible, just less fun.

You have to be prepared to get dirty, get scraped up, and maybe eat some mud too. Plenty of potential for sprains or more serious injuries, but if you take your time and know your limits, there shouldn't be too much risk. It does require some serious stamina though, and your legs and arms/shoulders will take a serious beating. I'd highly recommend you peruse their site and look at some of their workout routines that are tailored to helping you prepare the most relevant muscle groups, as well as giving you an idea of how prepared you are.

Last year I did the one in the Twin Cities, MN, but the actual location was Somerset, WI. This year's in "Chicago" is almost an hour southwest of the city itself, so yeah, the locations are definitely relative at best.

almost

That's a relative term. It's over 70 miles from the city to Seneca.

(For reference, It's 50 miles away from me, and I'm in the far west suburbs!)

For another reference, that's a heck of a lot less to drive than I'll be going, so you have no excuse!

yeah, that right there makes me want to join in...

Haha. Well, walking across a mud caked balance beam 20 feet above water, climbing over, jumping over, crawling under...plenty of potential for falling or being stepped on. Not to mention the shocks from exposed wires or open flames... I saw a few broken noses and other things. That's why you sign a very hefty liability and death waiver!

In all the years (decades ?) that I've been racing I've only seen two people actually die. Statistcally speaking, its much safer than driving or flying!

bad enough odds to keep me away from it

I sure hope to God there is no documented incident of someone dying from working a TV remote

HAHAHAHA! I said this same thing about my first marathon. During the race I wondered WHY on earth I would ever do this, I would NEVER ever do it again. Within an hour of finishing the race, I was already talking about "next time". All the pain and agony was gone.

The brain blocks traumatic/stupid events from out minds. I also think that athletes as whole are inveterate liars, but mostly to ourselves.....
"Next time, I'll be better prepared"
"Next time, the weather will be better"
"Next time I won't be kidnapped and experimemnted on by space aliens...."

What?