Thursday, June 22, 2017

Race Recap: Illinois Spartan Sprint

Earlier this month, I ran my 3rd Spartan Race. I really think the “Sprint” distance is my favorite. The race was in Richmond, IL and was 4 miles with 22 obstacles. I ran the race with Maggie who hadn’t previously run a Spartan race. In preparation, we did a burpee challenge during the month of May where we did 30 burpees and a 30 second plank each day for 30 days. I missed 3 days because of the flu, but I made the other 27! Day, night, in the middle of a run, I got those burpees down. They sucked. Sometimes I think I miss doing them every day, but then I remember that I don’t.

Maggie and I met up beforehand and carpooled together. We got to the parking lot about an hour before the race, which was honestly cutting it a little close. We had to take a shuttle to the event site, get our headbands and timing chips. We stuck around a bit to see some of the folks completing obstacles to observe the techniques. The twister might be the worst obstacle I’ve seen. I bet American Ninja Warrior competitors would have trouble completing it! We then took another pic before checking our bags and heading to the start corrals. The race goes in waves every 15 minutes so you don’t get obstacle traffic jams. The waves are not too crowded so everyone is pretty evenly spaced out.

The first mile was pretty uneventful. We had a few obstacles but nothing too crazy. Something started bothering Maggie and she needed to take it slow for the rest of the race. We started to walk and she said she started to feel better. With each obstacle, we would just get through it. It was starting to get pretty warm (our start time was 10:00am) and the course was a bit dryer than I’m used to. I think the warmth dried up some of the muddier obstacles.

One of the things I absolutely love about Spartan is the team spirit. Lots of people offer to help boost you over walls, sit at the top and lend a helping hand, literally lean on one another across a slanted wall with chains. They also offer technique advice to help you complete the obstacle in a more efficient way. Teams work together to get over the obstacles and it is quite an amazing site to see. I’m not going to describe each obstacle in detail, but you can definitely check out great videos on Spartan’s website and Instagram account. Every weekend their IG story is full of people completing the obstacles, so you get a really great preview. They also have helpful tips videos to show you how to defeat the obstacles, using proper technique.

There are a few obstacles that are definitely worth noting as they require some additional training, patience, and grit.


  1. Barbed Wire Crawl – OH MY GOD, this obstacle took forever. Just when you thought it was over, you had to keep going. The ground was hard, dusty, and unforgiving. I didn’t roll because I knew I would get super dizzy. I army crawled and felt like Shakira in the “She Wolf” music video
  2. Twister – I saw this obstacle many times before and I hoped and wished it would only be on the Super course. Well, that was not the case. I got about halfway through when I just couldn’t make the transition. It seemed much shorter when we were observing, as opposed to actually completing. This obstacle was really tough and I think would give some Ninja Warriors a run for their money!
  3. The Rope Climb – This obstacle has eluded me for 3 Spartan’s now. I actually practiced on this event, but on race day my arms were too tired, my shoes were too slippery, and the rope was too muddy. I know I can do this obstacle so it was super frustrating to be unsuccessful. For next time, I need to work on climbing after a race when I’m already tired.  Also, I probably could have practiced a bit more. Next time, 4th time’s the charm… I swear, I know I can do it!
  4. The Rig (Rings) – They didn’t have monkey bars this time, they had rings instead. I was a little nervous starting out, but once I got going, I knew this was something I could complete. After the rope climb defeat, I was super pumped to accomplish this one and celebrated accordingly afterwards. 


Concentrating on those rings

There were also a ton of walls and some obstacles that were simply “carry this heavy thing (bucket full of rocks or sandbag) down and around the designated path”. I think I enjoyed all of the walls a bit more than Maggie did. Lol!

Sandbag carry

All-in-all, I would say this was a successful Spartan race. My only criticism is that it was a little daunting and disappointing that about 7 of the 22 obstacles were back-to-back at the end of the race. We were all exhausted and spent. Other than that, the race was well organized and thoughtfully put together (there was not a water obstacle just before a grip strength obstacle, etc.).

VICTORY

I was debating whether or not to run with my new TomTom watch. I know they were a sponsor of the Spartan Ultimate Team Challenge TV show last season and many of the Spartan pros wore the watch during the race. I saw someone with a TomTom right before we started and he said it has held up through 20 Spartan races. I made the decision to run with it and it was awesome! It never faltered and it was awesome to get stats and still feel connected during the race. It was also super helpful to have a mile marker estimate on where we were in the course. Spartan does put up mile markers at each mile, but sometimes with the different obstacles it is easy to lose your sense of direction and how much distance you’ve covered.

If you haven’t done an obstacle course race before, I HIGHLY recommend Spartan! The organization cares about their athletes and they have integrity in the course. It will be difficult and challenging, but there is a 100% chance you’ll feel like a badass when you’re done. It can seem intimidating, but it really isn’t that bad once you’ve done it—Maggie can tell you! If I can do it, you definitely can do it. AROO!

This is what it looks like when you complete a challenging obstacle

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

TomTom Adventurer Watch Review

HELLO STRANGERS! I know I haven't been blogging as often, but I've been a lot more active on my Instagram (IG) account. If you want to know more about what's going on in the life of a full-time working mother runner, check out @kellywils0n on Instagram!


I’ve been in desperate need of a new watch for some time. My 7 year old Garmin has been on the fritz (probably from sitting in a drawer for 2 separate 1-year periods) and had stopped working. As I was starting to research new watches, an opportunity to review the TomTom Adventurer watch fell into my lap! I hadn’t used the TomTom brand before, but I know they are one of the sponsors of Spartan. I thought what a perfect way to train for my upcoming Spartan race than with a watch that Spartan elites wear!
From my IG story.
I have the interface set to: average pace, distance, and clock.
Very easy to read despite the bright sun!

Like any new technology, it has taken me some time to figure out all of the available features. It has a nice large interface so you can actually see what’s going on. There is a steps tracker, wrist HR monitor, and you can change the sport to keep track of workouts. There are options for run, treadmill, trail (you can download trail maps for when the GPS is lacking), hike, cycle, indoor cycling, swim, ski, snowboard, gym, freestyle and just a plain stopwatch.
From my IG story. Perfect day for a RUNCH!
Just checking on my stats before I head back to the office

I know one thing important about watches is keeping track of distance, accurately. I have used the watch out on the trails, in the city, and around my neighborhood. I used the Nike+ Run Club app at the same time, and the distances marked were identical. I’m sure things would get a bit wonky during a big city race, but I think that’s true with any GPS watch. There is an autolap function if you want to do that yourself instead.
Interface for the app.
I cropped off the map since this run was around my neighborhood. 

One of the features I love is that you’re able to create custom workouts right from the watch! It has intervals, laps, and time goal options. I’ve been looking for a nice interval option where I didn’t have to download or create something on my computer in order to have a quick workout, so it’s great that the option is actually just on the watch!

The watch also syncs with a TomTom sports app on my phone. The app has a pretty high rating on iTunes and I’ve come to see why. You’re able to see the route you ran on a map, where your mile splits are, and your fastest mile is highlighted. Also, it keeps track of fastest 5k, 10k, etc. so you can keep a history of your workouts.

There is also a “treadmill” feature I’ve been interested in trying. (I was going to use it today but the rain clouds had cleared and I took my run outside. I’ll report back on IG when I actually use this feature!) The treadmill feature keeps track of your arm movement and height, anticipating the distance (similar to a Fitbit). However, after every treadmill run, you can update the distance to match the stats on the treadmill. Also, you can calibrate it to help increase accuracy.

Before this review, I hadn’t tried TomTom watches. I’m really glad I got the opportunity to give them a try and I’m really happy with the result! I’m not yet ready to give up my FitBit, but I love all the running and other workout features of the watch. I can’t wait to try them all! (Except maybe the skiing and snowboarding ones. I am not coordinated enough for such activities.)
Patsy and I, running around the yard. You can really see the watch in action!

I was sent a TomTom Adventurer watch for free in exchange for promotion and a blog review of the item. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Hank is 8 Months Old


Hank is currently: 8 months old! I honestly cannot believe how quickly time has been flying by. He's growing up so fast and just into everything all the time!

Weight: Unsure. Next checkup is at 9 months.

Clothing: He's in 6-9 and 6-12 month clothes. To be honest, I've been pretty lazy and trying to still get some use out of his 3-6 month pants and onesies that are way too short. I have to go through his box of clothes and get the next size prepped.

Nicknames: Hank already is a nickname, but we also call him little guy and big boy. I also catch myself calling him handsome on a regular basis, because, obviously.

Health/Diet: He still nurses several times a day and takes breastmilk bottles while I'm at work. He LOVES eating real foods. He gets really excited and seems to enjoy the task of using those fine motor skills to pick up little morsels. His favorite foods include eggs, avocado, puffs. He seems to dislike many of the packets I've been sending him lately, which is kind of disappointing.

Sleep: He is on a pretty regular sleep schedule. He goes down at 8pm and then wakes up at 11:30pm and then again at around 2 or 3am. I really wish he would sleep more at night, but at least his sleep schedule is pretty predictable.

Milestones: He is crawling all over the place and moving SO FAST. He is also trying to pull himself up onto literally anything he can. He's a short ways away from standing in his crib. We really need to get on the whole child proofing thing a bit more.

Likes: His binkie, playing with Pepper's water dish, sticking his hands and feet in his mouth, crawling, Patsy's Peppa Pig toys, nursing with mom.

Dislikes: Loud noises, being hungry, being cold


Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Hank is 3 Months Old

Hank is currently: 3 months old! My maternity leave is almost over and I'm enjoying the last few weeks of us together at home.


Weight: unknown but I would bet he's around 14 pounds. We don't have a 3 month doctor's appointment but will be back next month.

Clothing: As hard as it is for me to admit, he's pretty much grown out of all his 0-3 month stuff. He's officially in 3-6 month clothes.

Nicknames: Hank already is a nickname, but we also call him little guy, big boy, and Patsy loves to call him "Hanky"

Health/Diet: He nurses like a champ and things have been going well. It's like riding a bike. He is pretty efficient and gaining weight well so I just let him tell me when he's hungry.

Sleep: He has grown out of the newborn attachment so he's been sleeping in the flat part of the Pack N Play. We just tried to sleep without the swaddle last night and he adjusted just fine!

Milestones: He smiles all the time and is such a happy little boy. He has also rolled over a few times but we need to work on this a little bit more.

Likes: Being held, his binkie, getting changed, sticking his hands in his mouth.

Dislikes: Being hungry, being cold, tummy time and he's not that thrilled about bath time either. Despite these dislikes, he's a pretty happy and chill kid.

little drooly man




Friday, May 6, 2016

Spartan Fun Run

On Thursday I hosted a Spartan Fun Run with some friends, old and new, of the FNRC.
Had to rep my Spartan headband

I know I've talked about Spartan before, but it is an obstacle course race with an added challenge. If there are obstacles that you're unable to complete, you must do 30 burpees. The plan was to run 3 miles with 10 burpees at each mile. (I didn't want to 30 burpees at each mile and scare everyone away!)
The FNRC

The group split up at the turn around as some folks were doing more miles but either way, it was fun to do the burpees together. I had found a Spotify playlist of the top 100 workout songs from Fitness Magazine that I had on full blast to keep us going during the run. 3 miles is the longest run I've completed since having Hank and I felt wonderful!

Burpee proof: mud on my face

After the 2nd round of burpees, I got some mud on my face; nothing better for Spartan training! I'll be participating in the Spartan Illinois Sprint event on Sunday, June 12. For Spartan training, I haven't been following a specific guide, but I have a few goals based on my previous Spartan experience.

1) I want to be able to run 5 miles comfortably
2) Practice burpees. I REALLY slacked off on this last time and it was painfully obvious during the Spartan
3) Work out that upper body. I've been trying to do some things around the house but I'm not really on a lifting program at the minute. I probably should start that...

Right now Spartan is having a deal for Mother's Day. Free kids entry with each adult entry. Also, 25% off gear with the use of the code SPARTANMOM.

If you're interested in finding out more, the Spartan creator is coming out with a second book, "Spartan Fit" as a follow up to "Spartan Up". The book is available on the Spartan website or Amazon.