you've got mud on your face......

so shiny and clean., originally uploaded by *** coleyB ***.

this weekend, robbo & i did the caveman crawl mud run. i <3 mud runs. i really do.

there were probably 6 mud runs i tried to sign up for this spring. between scheduling conflicts, events being sold out, cost and other family obligations, this one, caveman crawl is the only we have done this spring.

it's a good thing too. this is not one to be missed. 5k. 40 obstacles. robbo did the caveman extreme in the fall (with his brother.). but, this was my first caveman run.

it did not disappoint. it was totally fantastic!! and it was muddy. really muddy..... mud. lots of obstacles. hills. climbing. water. hot. hot. hot.








next mud run, i will bribe my brother to come along just to take pics....... or maybe we'll splurge and buy a waterproof camera case. any suggestions?

i'm sure i can't remember all 40 obstacles. here's what i can remember........

• climbing steep, dry "vains". anybody see 127 hrs? ok. not really anything like that. but, it still crossed my mind.
• a long, high "wooden plank walk". it was a bit precarious. max # of peeps?? i'm sure it was exceeded.
• "spider web crawl". classic.
• "triple threat" over & under in the mud. a mud puddle. swim under a pipe. then climb over tree roots. climbed through and over giant tractor tires. tractor tire to the top of some kinds of cement remnants.
• "lily pad" styrofoam island hoping.
• "mud river" this was a pretty long trek through shallow mud. some of it was knee / thigh deep. that always came as a surprise. it felt like quick sand. if you didn't keep moving it just sucked you in. whew.
• "rope wall" climb. another classic.
• "ladder crawl". nice steep crawl up a ladder up the side of a hill.
• "lake run". this had to be 1/4 mile walk / swim in the lake. swim? yeah.... parts of it were over 5 ft deep.
• "40 foot slide". famous. kinda like slip-n-slide as a kid. it was ah.some. i almost ran over the chick in front of me. yikes. what was i suppose to do? slow down? i mean, we were fine. just invaded her personal space. that's all.

well, like i said. i know that's not all 40 obstacles. maybe there weren't really 40. can you think of any more?

i loved having lots of obstacles...... the more obstacles, the less running. right?

before mud runs, i use to have a hard time swimming in texas lakes. the lakes i've been too do no look like lake tahoe. they are mostly muddy. reddish/brownish clay/dirt. you can't see 12 inches under water. ewe. as i swam under the pipe in the "triple threat" under/over obstacle, i thought ..... ha! swimming in lake? no.big.deal. ...... i have a whole new perspective. :)

shoe report: i wore my cute new balance minimus shoes. i've loved wearing them for all my other adventures. i am here to report ..... they sucked. they were terrible. seriously terrible. the mesh on the top is a pretty loose weave. north texas is mud is mostly rocks/pebbles. i don't think it could have been worse even if i ran barefoot. i will stick with vibram five fingers for mud runs from now on!!! lesson learned. .......




side note.......... last weekend, we went to the lake with some friends. i wake boarded for the first time. hard, but super fun. robbo stepped on a something (screw??) on the boat. he bled like a stuck pig. i mean. wow. it wasn't very deep, so no stitches. right on the heel .... not the back of the ankle, but the heel. ouch. we tapped it up hoping he'd be fine for the mud run ...... all this to say ...... between my running-on-rocks-shoes & robbo's lacerated heel, we were not in top condition.



we still had such fun. i guess these kinds of things make you me feel tough. not than any single obstacle was so hard or so scary, but it's not the kind of thing i test myself with everyday. maybe it's just getting dirty? that makes me tough. :)



happy monday.
coley

newest member of the vibram family

it has been a good few weeks!!!

vibram boy and i have been working out. last week we ran, did some cross training and / or did hot, vinyasa (power) yoga every day last week! :) oh, it feels good! and we have recommited to eating primal .... no cheats. :)

we are doing the peacemaker obstacle course mud run next saturday. it is 6 miles !?!?! uh.oh. i realize our training last week is probably too little too late. but it's a mud run. it'll be fun! right? :)

there are about 8 more mud run's i'd like to do this spring..... april and may are full of 'em! i haven't talked v.b. into doing a mud run every weekend in may, yet. there are some good one's.......... dfw mud run. austin's hell run. hill country jailbreak. fort worth juggernaut. and there's still more!!! if it keeps us moving, i'm gonna keep signing us up for mud runs! :)

and.................. we are going to primal con in less than a month. how's that for inspiration!?! a weekend with mark sisson and the crew from mark's daily apple.... i know there is no pressure to be mr. & mrs. grok. i know it will be fun. i also know we are going to eat right and move more right up until primal con! :)

in light of all this excitement i celebrated by adding a new member to our vibram family. a first cousin really. i bought the new balance minimus trail............. they have a vibram sole. there is only a 4 mm heel to toe drop (traditional running shoe is closer to 12 mm drop). they have a wide toe base...... you can spread your toes as if you were barefoot. i mean really spread 'em. i tried it.  i love my five fingers (kso)........... but, they are so.hard.to.get.on. my pinkie toe is little and curls in. specifically, on my right foot there is no toe spread between my 4th & 5th toe. they aren't webbed, but that little pinkie toe doesn't move. thus, getting into my five fingers is a struggle. they are perfectly comfortable. the new balance offers the same barefoot running idea, but i won't break my pinkie toe getting my shoes on. it's a win.win. :)

love 'em.

i have also been blogging with my sister here: http://www.consciousshoppingishard.blogspot.com/

keep moving!! happy monday.
vibram girl

goodbye 2010.............

2010 was a good year. let's re-cap.........


vibram boy and i started living a primal lifestyle. of course, like all major changes, it has been a process. it is still a process. but, it was in 2010 that we began to cut out grains. we joined mark's daily apple and began reading daily posts and forums and books, etc. etc. etc. it has truly been life changing!!!



i've lost 25lbs! thanks to the above mentioned primal living! :) now, just imagine, if i fine tune my primal eating this year, and start to move more and play more and lift more......... 2011 here i come!!



we went to italy. awesome. neither of us had been to europe before. it was truly wonderful. we turned 35 in verona (we share a birthday...... best thing ever!!!).



we also celebrated our 10th anniversary. that seems impossible. 10 years. vibram boy is still the love of my life. my best friend. he makes me laugh and he cooks every meal. i still feel like a newlywed.



i water ski'd for the first time ever. it was fun, but truth be told, this summer, i want to learn to stand up paddle board!! i know i'm going to love s.u.p. i just know it.



we did hot, power yoga (vinyasa) all summer....................a big change for vibram boy!!!



i did a yoga teacher's assistant workshop................... it is fun to assist, and is my first baby step towards becoming a certified yoga instructor.



we did our first mud run obstacle course (jailbreak dash)....... and then we did another one (warrior dash) and vibram boy did another one (caveman extreme)! we have the spring runs on our calender.





i did the 3 day susan g komen walk. 60 miles. a moment to always remember. knowing that i did something to stand against breast cancer. to support women who have died and for those who have survived! and more importantly, for those in the year's to come to find a cure. that is why i walked.

 

we went camping for the first time in over 10 years!!! we had so much fun. i'm ready to live in a tent permanently...... well, at least camp more often than every 15 years.......



i started taking ukulele lessons. yes, for real. oh how i love my little pineapple soprano uke. i haven't taken music lessons since i was 8 years old taking obligatory piano lessons. this is different. it uses a part of my brain that is quite rusty........ how great is that!!?? vibram boy plays guitar and is taking guitar lessons. we jam together. i can play four songs. i can't sing and play at the same time (well, i can't really sing at all...). picture it....... a lovely spring afternoon, laying in a hammock, drinking homemade lemonade, strumming my uke........or a hot, summer night on the patio........aaahhhh........ i can't wait!!! i must go practice. right.now.......

 

i started my blog. and i know there is a lot left to be desired, but i've started. and i want to start another one. i'll keep them both. this one dedicated to primal living. my other one, "an assortment of sorts" for everything else........ my crafts, antiqueing, thrifting, travels, home decor and whatever else might tickle my fancy..... you'll just have to see. :)

so, dear blog friends, we wrap up 2010 and dive right into 2011. let's see where we go!!!


happy monday.
vibram girl

still catching up...............

merry merry Christmas!!! i hope you all took the time to enjoy the holiday with your loved one's ............

now a little more catching up.................... after the 3 day walk, i ended up with tendonitis of my flexor tendons of my right ankle. i guess 60 miles will do that to you. the good news is that it was not a stress fracture! i did go see an orthopedist and he did put me in a walking boot. meh.



vibram boy and i had another mud run obstacle course to do!!! i don't have time for this tendonitis. dr. ortho said to wear the boot "about a week." i was an extra good patient and wore the boot for 2 weeks. then, on the saturday that marked 2 weeks from the 3 day walk, i ran in a 5k obstacle course race..........probably not what dr. ortho would have recommended. but, all is well.................. we ran the warrior dash in austin, nov. 20.



we actually had a team of 7...... brother in law / sister in law, cousins, friends, etc. we had "team awesome" t-shirts. vibram boy and his brother had done the caveman crawl in october, but the rest of the team had never done an obstacle run before. we had fun!! everyone agreed that they would do another obstacle run!



to top off the weekend, we all camped together too! nothing like sleeping in tents before and after a 5 k obstacle run........ it really was awesome. i haven't camped in years! this is now my public statement that vibram boy and i will be camping again!!! soon!!! i will even go as far to say that it will be one of my new year's resolutions!!!



vibram boy did a lot of planning and delegating......... we had delicious food....... breakfast on saturday was breakfast burritos............eggs, beans and cheese. we had a late lunch at the warrior dash...... turkey legs. bratwurst. beer. dinner was super de.lish chili....... made by vibram boy himself. breakfast on sunday was eggs and sweet potato hashbrowns! of course, s'mores. mmmmmm.....



and just hung out by the camp fire.

happy tuesday!!

vibram girl

the jailbreak dash!

on sunday we did the jailbreak dash in roanoke, tx...... it was our first adventure obstacle course race.

what is the official term for that anyways?? "mud run" is sort of a brand name race. their is the mud run in dfw nov. 5-6. "adventure race" is more of the endurance racing with mountain biking, hiking, canoes, etc. so, these 5 k obstacle course races are ........... mini adventure races? obstacle course races? mud runs? let me know. i'd like to stay p.c. for now, i will call it a mud run (not the mud run, but a mud run).



anyways................ it was 3.8 mi. (isn't a regular 5 k = 3.1 mi??) we have not done a mud run before. we sort of knew what to expect, but not really. we didn't train for it. so, we just hoped for the best. we ran sunday afternoon. it was hot. :P

we had so.much.fun!!! really, it was such a blast! vibram boy and i stuck together. a lot of the obstacles were wading through mud puddles and ponds. lots of mud. a lot of running between obstacles. we did really good...... well, for us. we are not runners (and, as mentioned, did not train). we only took minimal running breaks..... like 1-2 min walking, maybe 3 times. we did have to slow down through some obstacles...............

let's see.............. best obstacle was a water slide, followed by a 50-100 meter river trek, then, a tire wall climb out of the river banks. that was awesome. ........ one of my best moments was jumping to the top of a huge tractor tire wheel! woot! couldn't believe i made it!!!

i think there were about 14 obstacles. i wish there had been 40!!! at the end was the classic belly crawl under barbed wire.........inevetible muddy mess!!!

you know, these crazy races, people sort of dress in costume. the jailbreak theme was pretty fun....... lots of black and white striped shirts "old prison" style, orange scrubs ..... a more contemporary "prison uniform." i wish i thought of these things ahead of time. i suppose with experience, i will also be able to plan "costumes." even the race volunteers kept up the theme..... there were random sirens and paint guns being fired (not at anyone, just to make noise). pretty funny.

all we did was wear matching tshirts. kinda cute, though, right?





we ran in our vibrams.......both of us wore kso's. did great! i did end up with a big fat blister on my toe. blergh. i've been researching how to prevent that from happening again. i still think regular tennis shoes would have been worse. i don't know how they stayed on their feet. sticky mud!!






we are doing another mud run in austin in november! warrior dash!!! there are a lot of these races around. woot! in fact, there are 3 others i can't make because of conflicting weekends. dang it.

it will be fun to see how well we do with a little more training and a little more experience!!

on a side note......... i haven't posted any weigh-in wednesdays, because i'm still stalled at 158#............... however, my clothes seem to be fitting even better now compared to a few weeks ago!!! add a little training and a little yoga........ nice. noticeable different!! pants i haven't worn in over 5 years!!! i am looking to see if i can find some pics to compare.........

we followed our jailbreak adventure with an afternoon in grapevine at the grapefest!!! lovely.

what beats a day of mud and wine??

happy monday!!
vibram girl.