I am Rugged, Hear me ROAR!

I feel more sore than rugged today but yesterday I felt all kinds of rugged! I am officially a RUGGED MANIAC!

After a restful night's sleep and a sweet waffle and fruit breakfast in Wales at Tom and Krissy's place we headed out to Southwick, MA; which is further West than anyone in Mass should have to travel. Pulling into the Motocross track, it looked more like we'd be participating in a rodeo than a Marine Corps race. After checking in and situating the gear we took a few pre-run photos for posterity.

Some of the 10am race crew:

Lauren and I before getting muddy:

My "I'm about to be rugged as all hell" pose:

Around 9:45am we headed over to the starting line and did some stretching and mostly some laughing about the poor people coming in from the wave ahead of us all muddy and injured looking. The DJ did a countdown and at 10am we were off.

The first mile was a slow jog through wooded terrain, I was immediately winded which made me realize that forest running is VASTLY different than the concrete paradise I usually train and run on. The amount of muscle you use to stabilize your body as you trek over wet, muddy, sandy, tree branchy ground is astounding. There was a 5ft dirt mound to leap over just after the start and coming down off that I felt my left calf tighten up weirdly and shortly thereafter (BEFORE we hit a single obstacle mind you) I felt my calf muscle pop and/or pull and S-H-I-T was the only word that came to mind.

Now mind you have I have been running a race monthly, sometime more frequently since January of this year. And while I don't train as much as I should I certainly was running in the weeks leading up to this race. I have been injury free outside of blisters this entire time and in mile 1 of the Rugged Maniac before any obstacles I pull a muscle. Bound and determined to finish I decided it was better to be slowed down than to push it so hard I couldn't complete the race. And from there on it became more of run and less of a race.

We went over obstacles like a log pile, tall and taller barricade walls that involved all 4 of us to get each other over, water slides into mud pits and or water traps, rope climbs, cargo net climbs, etc and we all completed every single one. It's unfortunate that I wasn't in the mindframe to take a shot of the course after we finished but we did snap these photos after the race. Let me explain since we don't look at that muddy, the very final obstacle was a cargo net climb, onto a platform from which you took a water slide down into a huge pool from which you had to vault over long buoys that slid with your body and emerge a little less muddy but SOAKING WET and FREEZING haha ... so we look more damp and less dirty but believe me we WERE GROSS ...

Here's a group shot post race, I lost my headband somewhere in the mud pits and my number was dangling by a thread after the first set of barricade walls:

Donate Your Shoes Pile to Support Autism:

The pink and black ones were mine, they deserved a photo moment after what they carried me through:

When our wave was complete the timing system was down so beyond the guess of 1hr 10mins we're not entirely sure yet what our finish time was. Results are supposed to be posted online within the week so there will be a follow up blog post with the official time. In all honesty, my goal was just to complete this without incident so whatever time is it I will be totally happy with!

Gregg, Tom and Krissy, Nicole and John and Colleen and Mike were off next, we watched them cruise through and took some group shots after pre and post crappy outdoor shower that did not a whole lot beyond shifting the dirt around to different areas:

Lauren, Tommy and I waiting for a shower:

The 11am Crew ... and Moose:

Gret and Greg

Lauren, Mike & Colleen



So after an awesome, muddy, ridiculous day I headed to Oxford so my parents could take care of me haha. I am a little banged up, a lot sore and beyond tired but I am castless and not sporting a black eye so my bride is pleased that I can walk down the aisle for her next weekend and so am I :) It was one of the coolest things I have done and I look forward to finding out my finish time so I can crush is next year! If you have a chance to participate in one of these do it, so much fun and makes you feel so kickass!

Check back next weekend to see my race time and some pics from the wedding which have nothing to do with the blog or the races but I think they'll be fun to share.

Thanks for reading and be ready to do some intense reading in October where I'll be throwing Strike Out ALS Worcester followed by a (probably crazy) attempt at a 6.2 miler, a 3.1 miler and a 6.66 miler in a span of 8 days. Let's hope the calf muscle is healed up for that because training commences Monday the 3rd of October HARDCORE!

Rugged, Rainy and (hopefully) Injury Free

Tomorrow is the Rugged Maniac Race in Southwick, MA at the Motocross Track! Where is Southwick, MA you ask? Well since I originally thought it was where the Southwick Zoo is I assume many think that's the case but let me enlighten us both ... Southwick Zoo is actually located in Mendon, MA and Southwick, MA is actually located out in West Bum Massachusetts right about here ...

Naturally when I discovered it was basically in California way back when I signed up I called my good friends Tom and Krissy who live somewhere out there and told them had to join me since it was in their "neighborhood". So all total there will be about 12 or so people that I know attempting this insanity.

The race registration opens at 8am with the first wave starting at 8:45am. This first wave is a competitive wave and therefore I most certainly did not sign up for that one haha. We start at 10am with some of the crew following at 11:30am and others a bit later at 2pm in the afternoon.

The course is a standard 3.1 mile or 5K length but the slant on this one that the United States Marine Corps decided they wanted to share the agony they experience in training with us civilians so they paired with the Rugged Maniac staff to design this ...

Don't know what you're looking at, well allow me to explain. You are looking at 15 obstacles set essentially 0.2 miles apart along a motocross dirtbiking track which involves sand, mud, unreasonable amounts of hills and wooded terrain. The official course won't be announced until the day of but we have to look forward to a combination of the following obstacles laid out for us in some arrangement or another:

cargo net climb (looks easier than it is)

island bound over water trap (careful you might step on a falsey)

mud crawl under wire

thin plank balance over water/mud trap (more falsey action)

big tunnel run/duck

tire jungle (watch your face short people, aka me)

barricade wall climbs (hope some one's there to hoist me over)

little tunnel crawl

forest run (watch those ankles)

30 degree incline hill run

fire leap

So basically probably one of the most arduous things I have done in my lifetime to date. I am both totally amped up for it as well as scared out of my mind. I merely hope to be able to finish without running around any obstacles.

Figuring out what to wear has been my biggest challenge of the week. I need to be comfortable but also want something sturdy to stand up to all the water/mud/rain/dirt etc that the outfit will be exposed to.

After the race we can sit back, sip some brews and laugh at the people that have to go do what we just did ... I  think I'm looking forward to that part!

Wish me luck, I have to don a bridesmaid dress just 7 days later and have been warned by Miss Ashley Baker that if I show up in a cast or with a black eye or any other such deformity my name will be MUD! Check back on Sunday so pre and post race photos as well as to hear how I did, which, let's be honest, is probably going to be a hilarious story, hopefully accompanied by some great photos!

Don't forget that Strike Out ALS Worcester is coming up on Sunday, October 16th at 5pm at Bocado Tapas & Wine Bar in the woo. Hope to see you there.

And if you can't make it but would still like to donate, please visit the link to the right to make a secure donation directly to the fund.

Thanks for reading!

Strike Out ALS Boston - HUGE Success

Saturday evening marked the beginning of Hurricane Irene and the end of Strike Out ALS Boston!

Thanks to the wonderful friends that came out on that crappy rainy day I was able to raise $949 for the cause, bumping my total up to $3,149 which puts me that much closer to my end goal of $5,000 for the year.

Papagayo was our gracious host for the evening, after an endless supply of chips, salsa and made to order guac guests settled into the cocktail rails for raffle time. Lots of people won with Cal and Zak and Ash and Den being clear lucky ducks. Mr. Abreu walked away with the muich coveted prize of beer for a year!

Below are some pre photos of the decor, it was a baseball theme to go along with Lou Gherig, Strike Out and  one of my Grandpa's favorite pastimes. He loved his Red Sox!

Sunday morning I woke to find my car covered with a ....

Lucky with only some body damage the weekend was sheer success! Because in addition to the awesome fundraiser I also jumped up to 6th place in my fantasy soccer league, take that boys!

Thank you to everyone that came out and supported the cause and helped raise a really awesome $949 dollars!

Wall Warrior calendars are still for sale from now until year end, $15 each if you didn't buy one the other night and/or won't be in attendance at the October Fundraiser.

I would also like to thank all my summer donators at this time, thanks to each of you I am over the 1/2 way mark and primed to reach or exceed my goal by year end.

A HUGE thank you to:

Uncle Jim & Aunt Rosalie

Aunt Barbara & Pat

Chip & Carol Hudson

Zak Fjeldheim

Donald & Nancy Small

Grandma Hudson

And Kobe (via Dad & Mum)

Check back mid September to see details of the scariest race I have to date and see where I'm at for a fundraising total going into my last 4 months of the year.

Enjoy the waning days of summer.

Boom ... Fiyah-Powah

Saturday the 20th was a HOT and MUGGY day. After a delicious carb-loading lunch at Antico Forno in the North End we hopped in the car and headed out to Westford, MA at the Puma headquarters. We checked-in under the tent and headed directly to the sample sale they were having across the parking lot. T's and shorts for $5, Pants for $10 and Sneakers for $25!!! Needless to say Lauren and I both walked away with a few items.

After our mini shopping spree we headed over to the car to get sneaked up and to commence some stretching. After work Lauren arrived we made a trip to the potties and then grabbed out spot in line.

Here are a few pre-run shots:

This was Puma's 1st Annual race, therefore my suggestions for them are many!

1. It's great that hint water sponsored your run, however plain ole water water is all that people want after running 5 miles in upper 80/lower 90 degree heat.

2. Are you serious with ONE water stop on the whole course? Dude, its August, you should have had a water stop at every single mile!

3. Pay a stipend to the two amazing women who stood in their front lawn and hosed us off as we ran by, your lack of water stops made those women my two favorite people that Saturday evening.

Those criticisms aside the race was a great time, the course was hilly but doable, challenging but enjoyable and the after party was a lot of fun, especially the conga line guy.

Lauren came in at a really impressive 54 minutes and something, I came in at a less impressive 58:49 (not even close to my May 5 Miler of 51:57) and work Lauren came in just after me. After we plopped ourselves on the ground for a few solid minutes of wheezing and sweat production we managed to get off our butts and snap a few post race shots to relay the level of exhaust we were feeling:

Then Lauren got a second wind:

After changing out of sneaks and into wonderful, amazing, beautiful flipflops we headed over to the beer tent. The announcement was made that the winner ran it in just over 24 minutes which I didn't even think was humanly possible! To celebrate his success we sauntered up to the beer tent and grabbed some brews to congratulate ourselves on making it in that heat!

With the 5 Miler behind me, crazy training time starts for the September Rugged Maniac. This race has not scared me in the least up until very recently. As of today I have exactly 30 days to whip my butt into shape to be able to scale a cargo net, climb barricades, army crawl through the mud under barbed wire and through tunnels and in the meantime be completing a 5K course. Should be interesting, I am forgoing putting a goal time on this one, just being able to finish is going to be my goal and finishing safely without injury at that!

Some housekeeping notes:

1. This Saturday is the Strike Out ALS Fundraiser in Boston at Papagayo on Summer Street from 1-5pm. Come out and enter to win some great raffle prizes. I'm getting it in just before Hurricane Irene terrorized the East Coast ... Bring it Irene!

2. I have officially signed up for my October race ... which has turned into race(s). I will be running on October 23rd in the Witch City 5K in Salem, MA. What would be my normal run is now become a training run because the following weekend I will be running the Devil's Chase in Salem, MA which is a 6.66 mile run along the Salem waterfront. Both should be a lot of fun!

3. In honor of the final month of my commitment, in honor of my Grandfather's 1 year passing and what would have been his next birthday and honor of my family who had been extremely supportive throughout this process; I have decided to run a race each weekend of the month up until Christmas Eve in December. This will be 3 races in 3 weeks all Christmas related runs in and around the area and if I could find a Christmas eve run I'd be doing that as well.

4. I am hovering at $2,400 in donations to date. After this weekend I hope to bump that up but at least $1,000 if not more. That being said that still puts me $1,600 away from my end goal. Between my fundraiser at home in October and the fundraising push over the next few months I hope to reach my goal of $5,000 by December 31st, please visit the fund page by clicking on the link to the right if you haven't donated already and would like to help me reach that goal on time.

Thanks for reading, be sure to check in after Labor Day for a training update and a preview of the course I'm looking at on September 24th!

Quick like a .... Puma

Tomorrow is the Puma 5 Miler out in Westford. Lauren called me yesterday to say, "I don't know if I can do this, I just ran 3 miles and wanted to die." To which I responded, I haven't run 3 miles since July 28th, I think you're gonna do just fine!"

Moral of the story is, once you get in the crowd, around the people and pop those earbuds in, its very different than hopping off the couch to go run by yourself. The motivation a crowd supplies is priceless for a fairweather runner like myself haha.

We're hitting Antico Forno for lunch to do some carb and protein loading before the race. Then we'll head out to Westford to register and hang out at Puma HQ until race time (5pm). My last 5 miler took me 51:57 so the goal here is to beat that time, which is approximately a 10:32 mile. This course will certainly be more hilly that flat as a pancake South Boston waterfront. I have my work cut out for me! We're hoping the weather holds out for us for at least the 60 minutes or less that we're running.

Checkout my 5 Miler playlist and feel free to snag it for yourself. She's a good one for a Saturday evening in the summer that will hopefully be sunny or at least dry-ish!

We Speak No Americano - Yolanda Be Cool & DCup

Barbara Streisand - Duck Sauce

Lights On - Katy B ft. Ms. Dynamite

The Time (Dirty Bit)  - BEP

Meet Me Halfway - BEP

Just Can't Get Enough - BEP

Knee Deep - Zac Brown & Jimmy Buffet

F'in Perfect - Pink

Felt Good on My Lips - Tim McGraw

I Need A Dollar - Aloe Blacc

Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not - Thompson Square

Up Up Up - Givers

Country Girl - Luke Bryan

A Little Bit Stronger - Sara Evans

Am I the Only One - Dierks Bentley

Love Done Gone - Billy Currington

Just Got Started Lovin' You - James Otto

S&M - Rhianna

Right There - Nicole S.....

Super Bass - Nicki Minaj

You and Tequila - Kenny & Grace

Barefoot Blue Jean Night - Jake Owen

Check back in on Monday for my time, photos of the race and what I'm sure will be a handful of funny stories, because two Hudson's doing physical activity is always a recipe for hilarity