Run For Your Lives 5k

I almost completely forgot to tell you guys about the zombie 5k I did this weekend in St. Louis. It was a whole lot of fun and completely exceeded my expectations. So here's the deal, I'll tell you guys about it and then tell you guys about what kind of stuff to bring and how to prepare because as far as I've seen there's no list of helpful stuff to bring.

For an event that focuses on zombies and beer I was pleasantly surprised at how amazingly organized the whole thing was. Everything from the parking to the course itself ran very smoothly. The course wound through a trail in the woods with a plethora of roots and loose gravel to trip you up, so if you're like me and have weak ankles definitely wear ankle braces. It started out winding through the woods and everybody was running at first. I've replayed every zombie encounter in my mind and I can't decide which ones were the hardest because they were all EXTREMELY hard (mainly because I'm not a sprinter and I'm not built for it either). It was really hard when you'd come out of the woods after going up and down on the dirt trail and see a whole field of zombies. But that was also the most fun too because it was only about a 100-150 foot long section which was round shaped so there was a lot of room to try and avoid the zombies getting your flags. Hands down the hardest part was a very long skinny part where there was an insane amount of zombies. The worst part was that it was slightly up hill and once you got through them you turned the corner only to see a good 1/8 mile more filled with zombies after you were already really winded (it's the part where the guy falls in the video I'll post below, but he doesn't put the second part where you turn the corner in the video). The scariest part was the ones that would pop out of the woods and there was no where to go but into the trees (as evidenced by my scraped up right leg)

I was so close to having one flag left. But unfortunately at the end the very last 2 zombies ganged up on me and took my last flag. I heard her go "Yeaahh!!" behind me when I ran away, it was very disheartening. Note to self: that's what I get for 1)putting my last flag directly in front instead of in back and 2) for trying to run in between two zombies when I'm the only one going. It was extremely tiring and I can't remember the last time I did something that anerobically and aerobically challenging (and that's coming form an aspiring triathlete).

Here's some hints and stuff to bring if you're doing it in the future:
1. All you really need to do is practice agility and sprinting. You end up walking a whole lot of it since it's through the woods and you're really tired. Honestly I don't think just jogging 3 miles did much of anything for me. Practice sprinting down the long side a 1/4 or 1/3 mile track and you'll be golden
2. If at all possible don't wear your best pair of running shoes because you can donate them to a charity (I'll put up a picture later where you see all the muddy shoes in a pile).
3. Miscellaneous stuff: a whole change of clothes because you can get hosed off at the end and you don't wanna be walking around wet, a bit of money, sun glasses if it's sunny, a camera with a whole lot of battery life (my unfortunate mistake) because there's a bunch of hilarious people and zombies which make for great pictures, a towel to dry off, a bag to carry clothes/keys/phone in, a towel/chairs to sit on (because when you're done with the race and want food there's not a whole lot of open seating.

The moral of this story is that it was absolutely awesome. And if it comes to St. Louis again I'm gonna try in every way to be a zombie because that would be super fun.

Here's the good part: the pics and video

This isn't my video, it's courtosy of jamatthews86
 

The entrance area

the main area

The starting line/entrance thing

The end. You absolutely couldn't get any grip because it was so muddy

The super awesome and slightly muddy medal you get at the end

Right before the end. That guy is cheating. And unfortunately my camera ran out of batteries at this point so I don't have any actual cool pictures for you guys

Here's the pile of donated shoes. This picture is from the Run For Your Lives facebook page. They have some great pictures on there if you want a better collage of cool pics

Funny Chrissie Wellington

this is why Chrissie is the best pro triathlete out there today. She knows how to have fun.

hilarious sailing announcer

In the spirit of the Olympics, here's a hilarious Irish guy commentating on the sailing race

Show Me State Game triathlon update

The Show Me State Games triathlon was this morning and it went pretty well. There was only a few hundred people if that and it was super low key. I don't think it's technically a "USA triathlon" sanctioned event, but nonetheless it's still a triathlon.

I really thought the heat would be a bigger factor considering the high today is over 100 degrees. But I guess that since it's been over 100 for the past month everybody is pretty much use to it by now. I don't have an official time yet, but I finished in about 1:48 which isn't a spectacular time, but it's not horrible either. I was able to get a pretty decent bike time with riding 15 miles in about 55 minutes.

My first open water/mass start went fairly well also. Nobody was too happy with the mass start, but what can you do. I was lucky to be in a fairly non cluttered area between the fast people and the slow people. There were maybe only a dozen of us in my general area with minimal bumping. The pond we swam in was filled with alge/seaweed (whatever you wanna call it) and you absolutely couldn't see a thing, but again what can you do. It could be worse.

The swim was a clockwise loop around the big orange buoys 

There was nothing too eventful about the bike, it was mostly uphill the first half and then we did a 180 degree turn and went right back. I've gotta say that I'm glad it was that way instead of being downhill the first half and then uphill on the second half.

The run was two laps around the lake that we swam in for a 3 mile run. Well, technically it was a run around the lake and then, like the bike, spin 180 degrees and go back.

It all went well with minimal complaints. But I have to say that my only complaint was that at the run around the .75 mile mark/ 2.25 mark (for the way back) there was a water station which is always appreciated. My only complaint was that on my way back there was nobody there and no cups left. A guy in front of me had to tip the bucket a fair amount to get the water out. I can deal with getting our own water especially at such a low key event, but the fact that there weren't any cups left was kinda bothersome. But it's not the end of the world.

Here's what you've probably been waiting for: pictures and videos (disclaimer: I know that my transitions aren't very good)

My helmet set up, it worked pretty well

My ground set up minus my shoes. Normally I wouldn't have energy chews but it was really hot and I figured anything could help. I also chose to have water and Gatorade to keep my electrolytes in check

The swim start video is easily the coolest one of the bunch

I don't know if I'm gritting my teeth or smiling. Going from the swim to bike

Going off to the bike course

This one is pretty bad quality, but it's the bike to run transition

The finish-and yes it was gravel 95% of the way which probably added an extra level of difficulty 

Start of the road: Disney Half Marathon

The hotel room has been booked, tickets bought (mostly), and the plans are being made for the Disney World Half Marathon. It's 5 months and 6 days away. At the moment I'm training for my sprint triathlon, but once that's done in a week, my training for the half marathon will officially begin. I'm adding 4 weeks onto the usual 20 week training program because I'm not a very good runner and I figure making it more gradual will be better better not only because of that, but because I have an extremely busy schedule.

So the ball has officially started rolling.

Jerry Seinfeld: The Olympics

in honor of the upcoming London Olympics, here's Jerry Seinfeld's hilarious commentary on getting second place in the Olympics.

Show me state games triathlon

I signed up for another sprint triathlon today. This one is a part of the "Show Me State Games" which take place in Columbia, Missouri. I just found out about it and the entry was only $25; who can beat that (here's the link if you feel like joining). Given my performance in the last sprint tri, I know how much is too hard when it comes to pushing myself on the bike. But this time around I have a distinct advantage because I'm back in St. Louis for the summer and the neighborhood I live in is all hills. It makes a 16 mile ride if you go on all the streets there and back. Unlike when I train in Columbia where it's hard to find good biking that's not on a scarily major road.

This one is slightly longer than my old pal the TriZou which is 400 meter swim-14 mile bike-3 mile run. This sprint is a 1/2 mile swim-15 mile bike-3 mile run. So not a significant difference but enough of one where I'm really exited about it. I'm actually most looking forward to the traditionally most uneventful part of the race; the swim. Because the TriZou takes place in a pool and everybody starts a few seconds apart. This one is a mass start in a lake which is more traditional of a triathlon. I'm really excited about that since it'll be my first mass start and there's something really fun about swimming in open water as opposed to the pool. (Watch me end up hating it). The only part of the swim I'm not looking forward to is people bumping and getting in the way of each other. Well, that's about it in terms of current racing, nothing too exciting. I'll remember to take pictures and maybe a video or two.

In other tri related news, I've decided to become slightly more serious about the sport. My first step is getting tri-specific gear. One of which is getting a tri jersey/shirt because although my "wicking fabric" shirts are great, I need a tri shirt. And I'm planning on getting aero bars and pulling my road bike seat forward to make it a tri-road bike hybrid. As great as a tri bike would be I don't have $2000 to drop on a new bike. I've decided that next year is really gonna be the year that I pick up triathlon training. I hope to do a few 1/4 distance tri's. And it's my goal to do the 1/2 ironman in Branson two years from now. And from there maybe another year and off to the Louisville full Ironman. So that's my "5 year plan" as they call it...slightly different from other people my age, but hey might as well do it while you can.