Monday, June 27, 2011

monday musings

finally got back into some parkour training this past weekend after having slightly adjusted our training regimen to prepare for the mud run. i forgot just how sore one can be, so you'll have to forgive my scuffling around these next few days, yowzers. though i temporarily lost some of my strength and timing, i made up for it on the running end of things, as i never dreamed i could average a 7-minute per mile pace over 4+ miles. i never considered myself to be a runner, but finishing the mud run strong definitely gave me hope. i think my next challenge needs to be of the half marathon variety...

i was invited to the world premiere of tom hanks' LARRY CROWNE at the mann chinese tonight, but sadly had to pass up the opportunity because i can barely move haha...

lastly, getting ready for our first attempt at half dome, so i've been busy helping heidi piece together the right things to bring - being her first time at such a strenuous day hike. sadly nobody in our group has a water purifier, so it looks like i'll be forced to lug a few extra water bottles, since my camelbak only holds 3 liters. weather will be of chief concern, since temps are threatening to be in the 90s...

Monday, June 20, 2011

ASYMCA mud run - aftermath

and... saturday's race was a success! even though vim and i were the last to start in the individual race category (more on that later), we made up enough time to finish in the neighborhood of an hour and 20 minutes. not bad for our first time out and definitely a benchmark to surpass in the future...



the race was at 9am and though instructions advised us to arrive at 6am, we left LA around 5:45am and arrived at the camp pendleton exit at 7:10am - only to see a stonewall procession of cars doing the same. it took us nearly 35 minutes to get off the freeway, then it was another 8 miles to the parking lot.



from there, we hoofed it to the starting area, figured out we were at the starting gate for teams only, then made a mad dash to the start line for individuals where we were the last to shove off. about a 1/2 mile in, we were greeted by marines blasting water with a fire hose, so our indoctrination was underway...

the first few miles were spent maneuvering around fellow contestants, all the while going uphill. here's where our training up paseo miramar came in handy - we practiced on inclines leading up to the race - only ours were much steeper in practice. at about the halfway mark, the course snaked its way downhill and we got to play in river crossings, mud walls and a reservoir crossing totalling about 5 feet high.


at about the 5.5 mile marker is where slippery hill is located - a long, treacherous hill with lousy footing and marines up top spraying the ground and you silly. i sprinted up this with whatever juice i had left, then made a mad dash into the long 30-foot mud pit, before finally crossing the finish line on fumes. celebratory margaritas were consumed minutes later, followed by a trip to pizza port carlsbad to revel in our craziness...