4 races in one day - Team 4inOne

Why run a single race, when you can run four? Well, it's exhausting for one thing and, as it turns out, also nearly impossible to do.

The idea sprung from a Facebook posting on Matt B. Davis Runs' page, when he ran 3 in a single day. I was browsing our own events page and noticed that August 10th had a lot of races that day, including a night race. Could we do 4 races in a single day? Below follows the trials and tribulations of that quest.

In the beginning...
I wrangled up my 2 friends, Dave (33), Billy (40) and my teenage son Kellan (13) to join me (39) on this ridiculous quest. The catch phrase of the day would be "Interesting choice." This is what you say when someone does something dumb or ridiculous so you don't have to call them an idiot. Like so: "Wearing your boxers under you running shorts, huh? Interesting choice."

Billy, me, Kellan and Dave.

I had a really solid lineup planned. 3 muddy obstacle races and one 5k fun run. Our 1st event would be the REI Muddy Buddy run in Boulder. 2nd, a rough looking new 10K obstacle course called Thunder Challenge, not too far away from Boulder. 3rd would be the Wipeout Dash in Longmont, also fairly close by. Then we'd have ample time to finish at the Neon Splash Dash in Denver.

Dave drummed up some sponsors, while I contacted race organizers for help. We had already signed up for Muddy Buddy several months before, so there was little they could do to help. Thunder Challenge hooked us up with some free entries and a discount code to pass along to our friends. Wipeout dash gave us a nice discount, and both they and Thunder Challenge allowed us to register for open heats, since we had little idea of how long it would take to get from event to event. Neon Splash Dash also hooked us up big time with some free entries. Dave had us locked in with GoalZero and Grimm Brothers Brewhouse for sponsors and we got specialized training from Ultimate Fitness Lab 5280. Heat times were perfect, with Thunder Challenge having heats until 12:30 and Wipeout Dash going all the way to 3:30. It was all going smoothly.

Our great sponsors!

Then I noticed that Thunder Challenge changed their event date on the website. I had been warned that the venue might change, but this was unexpected. I began scrambling. We found a couple early morning races, but our best bet was a small 5k-10k called the Holy COW (for City of Westminster) Trail Stampede. Muddy Buddy was nice enough to let us move to their 9:30 heat, so we could get in the Holy COW at its 8:05 start time. Whew that was close!

Then Wipeout Dash cancelled all together, 2 weeks before our race day. Panic sets in and I begin to stress trying to find a replacement. There's several races that day, but they are either too long (6:00am triathlon), too far away, or they all start at 8:00. Finally I find City Solve Urban Race. It's more of a scavenger hunt, but it is a race, with a purse even, and it'll have to do. It starts at 11:30 and is about 45 minutes from the Muddy Buddy. This is going to be tight, but we resolve to do it.

Go time.
We decide to meet up in a parking lot near where the Neon Splash Dash will be later that night, so we can go our separate ways afterwards. It's 6:00am and most of us got little sleep the previous night due to the excitement. We get our greetings in and jump in the truck to head to the Holy COW Trail Stampede, fiddling with the GoalZero solar equipment on the way.

The Holy COW is a pretty straightforward race. It's a down and back 5k, with a 10k option as well. We opted for the 5k to give us the maximum amount of time to get to event number 2. The race went well with Billy out front, followed closely by Kellan and Dave and I bringing up the rear. We all finished under 30 minutes, giving us a full hour to get to the starting line of the Muddy Buddy. We hopped in the car and off we went, eating a banana and forcing is some electrolytes along the way.

Passing by Dave just after the turn around at COW.

Dave had picked up our race packets the day before and parking went smoothly, so we had a couple extra minutes to stop by the GoalZero tent and chat with our sponsor. We filed in towards the front of the starting line, just at a point where they decided to break up the heat and stagger our start 45 seconds behind the first portion. This race was tough for me. I began to get a stitch in my side on the back half of the course and slowed our pace down a bit. I was able to breathe it out without stopping and we finished the 4.65 mile course in 55 minutes with Dave and Billy right behind us.

Muddy Buddy arrival. Shirts still nice and white.

Now we're in a tight spot. We have our next race starting in 60 minutes and we need to get to the car, clean up, and drive 35 miles to City Solve. It's a slow process and we hit some traffic going into downtown Denver, eating a chicken sandwich along the way. We're going to be late, but I had talked to the guy at packet pick-up about such an eventuality, and he told me that they would have the first clue up until about noon.

We're going about 20MPH here.

We get to the venue at 11:40 and I hobble (can't hardly run at this point) to the table and get the first clue so we can begin. It's slow going, we're tired and using our mental powers to solve the clues is tedious. We expected this to be a cakewalk, but it turned out to be a grueling 4 hour, cramp inducing, frustrating, hungry, dehydrating 9+ mile trek all over Downtown and Capitol Hill in the hottest part of a sunny August day. If we had come in dead last, I wouldn't have been surprised.

City Solve checkpoint. We don't smell too good by this point.

It's now 3:30 and we're starving and thirsty. We eat at City Solve's host bar and head to Billy's house to stretch out. By the time we get there it's almost 5:00pm and we only have a little over an hour to rest before we need to head out again. At this point my toes are raw and I opt to tape a couple of them up. We stretch out, regroup and think about how awful it's going to be to run yet another race.

Checking out the GoalZero goods during the break.

As we drive to the Neon Splash Dash, we watch a thunderstorm roll in. I surmise that it will probably hit us right when the race starts and wonder if it's a "rain or shine" event, thinking we may get screwed at the last minute in our 4 race attempt. I'm a bit off though, and it hits right as we line up to register. They herd us into the stadium and we wait it out for about half an hour. This actually works out OK for us, as we beat the mob back to the registration and breeze through what was a huge line of people.

This event was huge.

We all talked about how we would probably be reduced to 12 minute miles at this point. But adrenaline kicks in and we knock out our 4th race of the day under 30 minutes. Much like the first race, Billy is first over the line, followed by Kellan, with Dave and I finishing together last. We snap a few pictures and chat with a few fellow racers. Two gals who, oddly enough, were also at City Solve and recognized us by our filthy 4inOne jerseys. We drink our victory beer, supplied by our sponsor, Grimm Brothers, revel in our glory and call it a night.

Well deserved.

Victory!

Post.
All told, we covered almost 20 miles. Our day began when we hit the road at 5:30am and Kellan and I got home just before 10:00pm. No one was injured beyond some cramps, bruises and strains and we actually managed to be competitive. Billy finished 22nd overall while I took 2nd in my class at the Holy COW. Kellan and I took 3rd in our heat with Billy and Dave in 5th place at Muddy Buddy. City Solve was a nightmare of epic proportions where we pulled in at 53rd with only 4 teams between us and the DNFs. Neon Splash Dash wasn't timed, but Dave's stopwatch clocked him as shaving 3 seconds off his first 5k time of the day. We may have even set some sort of record for number of races run in one day. Not bad, not bad at all.

The spoils.

Running 4 races in one day, huh? Interesting choice.

Gear Review - GoalZero Yeti 150 and Nomad 27

August 7, 2013
Initial impressions, by Dave Hartman. 

Beep.

That is my first encounter with the Goal Zero Yeti 150.  The box on my porch is beeping and I immediately assume that it is a power supply that is out of power.  My suspicions are confirmed when I open the box up and see the large “charge me” card.  But Big Obstacles and Team 4inOne have other plans so I won’t be charging up the Yeti just yet.  We’re going to use the other item that Goal Zero graciously sent us for evaluation, the Nomad 27 Solar Panel, to charge up the Yeti on 4inOne race day to see how it works.

I unpacked the new green energy tech items for a couple of quick photos and they are most impressive.  More details will follow in a full evaluation article but for now I’ll say that the Yeti 150 magic box is very simple to setup thanks to the color coded ports and is relatively lightweight.  The Nomad 27 has consists of eight individual solar panels that unfold to create a portable solar array.  Both are a bit heavy for backpacking but look great for camping at improved camp sites, parties in the park or for emergency use.

I’m looking forward to charging up the Yeti 150 with the Nomad 27 to see how well it all works and to get rid of that beeping.  Look for live updates during the 4inOne race day here at BigObstacles.com, on our Facebook page and of course our Twitter feed.  



August 10, 2013.
Race day test.

On our extended 4inOne race day, we took the fully discharged Yeti 150 with us and stuck the Nomad 27 panels in the sun, whenever possible, to see how much charge we could get on it. Also along for the ride were a couple smartphones and my completely dead MacBook Pro. I was pulling it out of the box and slapping it together on the fly while we drove. Fortunately, it's well thought out and pretty intuitive to setup and I had it figured out in no time.

Nomad 27 panels folded in half.

Yeti 150, small enough to fit on the floor of a pickup.

The best thing was, as soon as we plugged in the Nomad 27 panels, the cube stopped beeping. It sat for about an hour here and there, while we ran, then for a good 4.5 hour stretch from a little after 11:30 to about 4:00. Mind you none of this was in direct sunlight, but behind the dirty windshield of a pickup truck. We propped it up on the dash, and the Nomad 27 comes with some lightweight, hollow, aluminum rods to flatten the panels out and keep them rigid.

Trying to soak up some rays.

We couldn't manage to get the meter above 20%, but the literature does specify 13-26 hour charge time,  but we just wanted to see how high we could get it while racing around town. So with the 20% charge, I plugged in the MacBook (which wouldn't even turn on at this point) and managed to get it to charge up the Apple to 18% before the green light on the Yeti's AC port went out. Enough for me to get the laptop powered on and check the social media.


Immediately after that I switched to the USB port and plugged in my phone. It started to charge the phone right away, which surprised me, because I figured the Mac had drained it completely. Although it seemed to charge a little slower (but that could just be because I was consciously monitoring it) it had enough juice left to charge up my phone that was only had about 25% on the battery when I hooked it up.

Getting me my Twitter fix.

The Yeti 150 is a solid and robust unit that looks like it can take a beating. The Nomad 27 panels were a little tricky to fold back up, but I think with some stretching via more usage they will be just fine. Overall an impressive setup in a nice compact, sturdy package. Tipping the scale at about 12 pounds, the Yeti 150 is about 70% lighter than the average car battery, and the Nomad 27 panels only add a couple more pounds to that.

Yeti 150 with Nomad 27. Note the rods keeping panels flattened.

Looking forward to getting this thing out on some extended trips. It would be a little tough to lug while backpacking, but I'm think extended ATV, kayak, Jeep trips or even car camping would be just the ticket.



August 22nd, 2013.
AC charge quick test.

Dave plugs the Yeti 150 into the AC outlet at his house and charges her up (yes our Yeti is female). She fully charges a new Lenovo laptop and a Galaxy smart phone, both of which were "dead, dead" and still registers 20% on the meter.



August 7th-8th, 2013.
Camping.

I stuck the Yeti (with a 20% charge on it) on the back seat of the Subaru and ran the Nomad 27 panels out onto the south facing back window while we went for a day hike up to The Castle. Unfortunately, our campsite was surrounded by tall pines and the panels are in the shade by the time we returned.

Trying to anticipate the moving sun while we're gone.

The rest of the afternoon, I chased the late summer sun around the camp in an effort to get the Yeti to a full charge. I managed to get it to a solid 40%, with 60% starting to blink on the meter.

Shot of the front while sucking in some sun power.

This setup worked fairly well in our tree surrounded camp.

When we got home, late Sunday morning, I tossed the panels up on our deck roof, which gets a lot of sun. Before the afternoon rains came, (about 3 hours later), I had the Yeti up to a solid 80% charge.

I wish I could line this whole roof with panels.

It's hard to say exactly how much sun we got to the panels on Saturday, but at least an hour or 2 worth. Combined with a good 3 on Sunday, we went from 20% to 80% in around 4-5 hours. Not bad, considering the difficulties we had chasing the August sun around.

August 12th, 2013.

Home in the rain.

If you saw the news around August 12th, you may be aware of the intense rains we had here in CO. It was damn near impossible to go outside, so I decided to play with the Yeti 150 while doing my social networking thang on my MacBook.

I don't remember what that middle tab was, but I'm sure it was awesome.

I start by running down the MacBook Pro surfing the net, blogging, tweeting etc. I get it down to 16% then plug it into the Yeti, which is still at 80% from the previous weekend. Around 20 minutes later, I plug in my HTC EVO smartphone, as well, for good measure. The phone is at 40% charge.

The Mac and EVO sucking away at the Yeti 150.

I work away, both on my phone and my laptop. I decide to really tax it, and start streaming CrimpVids videos and playing games, and surfing around tabs. I get the MacBook charged up to 59%, while working on it, before the Yeti 150 cuts out the AC output. The USB stays strong and I get a full charge on my phone, with power to spare. 

The experiment lasts about 2 hours. I was able to fully charge the phone and get the laptop up almost 60%, while getting some work done, streaming video and pretending my basement wasn't flooding. All on free power.



July 5th, 2014
Overcast day test.

It's not often we get truly overcast days here in Colorado. It's even more rare that I have the presence of mind to realize an event like this is about to occur and prepare a test for the Yeti. Our 4th of July neighborhood grill party was rained out and through the haze of several home brews, I was able to devise such a plan.

The Yeti was pretty well drained, but I sucked up ever last bit I could without invoking the dreaded dead battery beep, because that thing will haunt you.

Just before sundown on July 4th.

I place the panels on top of the deck in an area that would get pretty continuous sunlight, if it wasn't cloudy outside. To maximize exposure, I set it up after dark on the 4th and let it sit out until dark on the 5th.

The sun only peeked out a few times the day of the test. I noticed bright sunlight only twice and only for a short while at that. I'd be surprised if there was more than an hour of sunlight the whole day. It was cloudy, but not rainy, with only a sprinkle here and there, so a perfect day for this test.

At 4:40pm the battery registered a solid 40% and the 60% block was blinking. By nightfall the 60% was solid.

4:30pm on July 6th during a brief period of sunlight.

Trip Report - Windy Peak

We took a trip out to one of our favorite backpacking, camping and hiking spots, the Lost Creek Wilderness. It's fairly close to town and is a huge area to explore. This time we had our sights set on a campsite we had scouted previously, known (to us) as Camp Waldo. The name arises from the fact that when we first saw the site last summer, there was a red and white striped hat on a post near the fire pit.

Our second goal was to make a summit attempt on Windy Peak coming from the rarely used South approach. To give ourselves ample time for the summit bid, we left town after work on Friday night and drove to our launching point, the Wigwam Trailhead.

On the dirt road approach, shortly past Wellington Lake, we came upon a wash out in the road. Being in my relatively low to the ground Subaru sedan with its summer tires, we scouted the depths and after much deliberation decided to go for it. We made it across without too much trouble and pressed on. A couple miles later, we found another wash out. This one proved longer and deeper with some big ruts. After checking the GPS, we decided to park the car and add a couple miles to our hike via the road, rather than risk getting stuck.

So long Scoob!

Extra mileage. Stupid race car.

The extra distance wasn't too bad, being road miles and we hit the Wigwam Trailhead just before dusk. After adjusting our packs a bit, we hit the trail in search of Waldo. Not long after we began hiking, the sun set and we clicked on our head lamps. Fortunately the trail is well groomed and we only lost it once. Although I did manage to soak my feet in the river slipping off of a rock about a mile from the campsite.

Low clouds, as we approached the trailhead.

The trek to the campsite is just about exactly 4 miles from the trailhead, but we had added another 2.3 miles by abandoning the car on the road. By the time we set up camp, ate and got our sleeping gear sorted out, it was after midnight and we were dog tired.

Trailhead to campsite.

Getting to bed later than expected meant getting a later start the next morning. We didn't start our day trek until after 10:00 on Saturday. The plow up and around the mountains was steep and rocky. We watched a mild thunderstorm approach through the valley, and debated turning back, but it looked like it was going to miss us, so we pressed on. The hike crossed several boulder fields and a nice mountain top meadow surprised us.

Approximate route from camp to peak.

We finally reached the peak sometime around 1:30 that afternoon. The view from the top was awesome and it was indeed a little windy up there!

Looking back the way we came.

The boulders that make up top of Windy Peak.

 On our way back down, we ran right into the storm we thought had passed us. It started out mild enough, then cranked up and brought down some small hail on us. It got bad enough that we finally sought shelter in a small cave. It was dry, but a tad too cozy.

We're just friends, I swear.

Looking out the cave. The white on the ground is hail stones.

It tapered off a bit and we started out again. On the last, and longest, hill down it really started pouring. Thankfully no hail on this side of the mountain. There wasn't a lot of lightning, but we did get one good shot when we were high up that was close enough to feel the pressure in my ears. Fortunately, we made it down without incident, aside from being soaked down to our underwear. We literally looked like we had jumped in a swimming pool with all of our clothes on.

The hike to the peak covered about 5 miles, out and back, with an elevation rise of roughly 3000'. The total trek from car to peak and back was a little over 17.5 miles and just under 4000' elevation gain.

The big picture. 8.75 miles and 4000'.

It's a good bit of exercise, but worth the effort. Just be sure and bring a vehicle with some decent ground clearance.

Race Review - Survivor Mud Run

The first thing that struck me about this race was organization. These guys definitely know what they are doing. Getting parked was easy and parking was close to the fairgrounds. We had a team miscommunication that morning and ended up getting to the venue just a half hour before our heat. This was not a problem as the registration area was easy to identify, organized, and we breezed through it in about 2 minutes. The bibs had the RFID timing chips attached to them, so getting ready for the race was that much simpler. There was a free bag check, but the parking was so close we didn't utilize it.

This race started a little later than most, with the first heat going off at 9:15, and our heat at 9:30. The course was well laid out with a good bit of running at the beginning, which helped spread out the pack before the obstacle choke points. The venue was a motocross track and they used the hills there well, sticking to more of the sort and steep variety, rather than those tough, long uphill ploughs, like at Rugged Maniac.

The course staff were friendly and encouraging.

After some squishy mud pits we came to the big slide, where a race staff member was yelling at us to "run fast and go head first!", so I did. It was a comfy inflatable slide, which was a nice change from the usual piece of this sheet plastic thrown right on the hard, lumpy dirt. The pool at the bottom was a good depth and not as ice cold as these things usually are. Certainly the safest and most comfortable slide I've been on. Not to long or too steep.

It soon became apparent that the title of "mud run" was apt. This race was the muddiest I've run to date. Thick, deep, sticky mud everywhere. Many of the obstacles were wire or net crawls through mud, or just random mud pits you had to slog through and try to keep your shoes from getting sucked off.

Slop pit.

The obstacles were well spaced and getting stuck behind people wasn't really an issue. The few obstacles that were narrow enough to get stacked up, were short enough that you wouldn't be stuck for long. We did catch up to the stragglers in the first heat pretty quickly and it was obvious that several of them were just walking the course.

The later heats enjoyed extra slippery hills.

The most interesting obstacle was a narrow tube crawl that terminated into a drop into a deep mud pit, with a hill to scramble over to get out, that then turned into a slick mudslide down a short hill. The most dangerous obstacle was the cargo net climb, only because it was the only one with any real height to it. The wire under crawls were not barbed. Although I did see some quitters walking off the course, I didn't witness any injuries. I got a few scrapes from rocks in the mud pit, but no major cuts.

If you look close you can see the course
winding back and forth on the right.

The course was quick and you finished covered in mud. If you didn't bring your own wash water, your were in trouble, because we saw no showers there. The obligatory beer was sponsored by Left Hand and they brought 3 nice offerings.

Results:
Kellan posted our best time of 37:31, putting him 12th for age, 63rd for men and in the top 4% overall at 78th place.
I came in a little behind him at 38:49, placing 14th for my group, 73rd for men and making the top 5% overall at 91st place.
Dave pulled caboose with a time of 43:14, going 21st for age, 149th for men and in the top 8% at 206th place.
The quickest time posted was 26:49 with just under 2,000 competitors finishing.

Our personal podium.

This was a really fun race and I enjoyed it a lot. I would definitely recommend to someone looking to run their first obstacle race. It's fantastically organized, safe, well laid out, kid friendly and an all around muddy good time.

DIY - Spartan Slosh Pipe and lifting technique

We first came across the slosh pipe at this year's Spartan Race in CO Springs. After struggling with it post race, I decided I needed to build my own and get a feel for this crazy device.

Putting one together is pretty easy and will run you about $30-40, with the PVC glue. The biggest problem is storing it. I stash mine under the deck in the backyard.

To build one, all you need is:

1 - 10 foot section of 4 inch PVC pipe.
2 - 4 inch PVC pipe caps.
Hot Blue PVC glue, or the like.
Water.

First, clean off the pipe ends and inside the caps for a good glueing surface.
Glue one pipe cap on the pipe.
Allow 15 minutes or so for it to dry.
Fill the pipe about half full with water.
Glue on the other cap.
Wait another 10-15 minutes.

Pro tip: Mark a centerline and/or a preferred grip position, on the completed slosh pipe.

10' of sheer awkwardness

Ours weighs just over 45 pounds, and feels about the same as the one at Spartan. At Spartan, being the best at the pipe can earn you a free race entry, so here's some tips on beating the competition:


1. Get a good base, feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart.

2. With the pipe in a mostly vertical position, establish your grip.

My grip postion is 3 feet wide, 18" each side from center.

3. Squat down slightly, and lift the pipe straight overhead as you stand up.

Dip down into it a bit.

Drive it overhead as you stand up.

4. Once overhead, hold it steady as the water equalizes. Don't fight it by trying to drop your arms one way or the other! Try and hold it steady.

Lock your arms and use your core to hold it steady.

5. Once it's steadied a bit you can begin your presses.

Try to keep the pipe parallel with the ground.

Timing is important, find your rhythm.

6. If it gets off balance, hold it overhead and let it equalize again.

It's easier to steady in the up position. "X" it out.

7. Now invite your friends over and laugh as they struggle to figure out the Slosh Pipe.

You might also like:
DIY Spartan Spear with throwing technique

Multivitamins: Are you pissing your money down the drain?

Nutrilite introduced the first real multivitamins way back in 1934. By the 1970s, multivitamins had become a staple of the American diet, replacing "an apple a day", for many households. One of my earliest memories is taking a brightly colored character from my Flintstone's vitamin bottle, and promptly sticking it up my nose.

Countless studies on the use, abuse, pros and cons of multis have been carried out over the years. Often with contradictory conclusions. Do they prevent cancer? Can too many cause cancer? In short, you can probably find and convince yourself either way. That's not what this article is about. I've set out to discover if taking them is a waste of time and money. Every afternoon, when I see my too brightly colored urine in the toilet, I have to wonder: Am I just pissing all these vitamins down the drain?

Perhaps this money could be better spent.

Rich Froning, 3 time winner of the CrossFit Games, was quoted recently in Outside magazine as saying, "You should be able to get all the nutrients you need from your diet. I take protein and amino acid supplements, but I honestly don't know if they do anything."

This is precisely where I am at. In my goal to get as fit as possible, I cleaned up my diet, drink protein shakes and pre-workout mixes, started twice a day chondroitin for my aging joints (which I've found doesn't seem to do anything), Omega 3s and, of course, the multivitamin. After taking a handful of pills everyday for years, I began to wonder if they were really helping all that much.

My answer: Probably not.
The reason: I probably get all I need from my diet.

The CDC recently reported that more than half of Americans take a multivitamin or other supplement. Most studies show that most people who take them are healthier. But the reason is not the vitamins, but more likely the people that take them. Healthier people are typically the ones who seek out that little extra. If you're reading this, you are probably not gobbling down a greasy McBurger and swilling a beer. More likely you've gone for a jog or had a hard workout within the last day or so. And, odds are, you also take a multivitamin or some other type of supplement. Not because they make you healthy, but because that's what heathy people do. As Nutritional Epidemiologist at NIH, Regan Bailey put it, "It's almost like the people taking them aren't the people who need them."

If you eat fish 3-4 times a week, do you really need to take that Omega 3 supplement? Probably not. If you hate fish and won't eat it, should you take it? Probably wouldn't hurt. If you eat lots of fruit and vegetables, do you need that multivitamin? Probably not. If you eat like crap, do you need it? Probably.

My daily dose of pills, not long ago. 

I'm trying to cut out the pills and go as natural as I can (I'm forced to take some due to medical reasons). I stopped the chondroitin and noticed no ill effects in my joints. I'm phasing out the Omega 3, as I eat quite a bit of seafood. The multivitamin is also on the list, since I cram in fruits and vegetables everywhere I can. The only thing I cling to is my protein shake. I do so because it's a full serving (or more) of fruit, it's really the only way I get any milk in my body, and of course, the protein. If I can get my head wrapped around a solid breakfast (I'm lazy in the mornings), maybe I can phase that out too. That's the goal. Baby steps.

Reasons to keep taking that multivitamin or supplement:

• Poor diet
• Lack of sun or milk (vitamin D)
• You've been advised by your Dr. to do so
• You figure it can't hurt

Reasons to stop it:

• You have a varied and balanced diet
• You get sun
• You'd like to go more natural
• You'd like to save some money
• You hate taking pills

As for me, I'm focusing more on the food and less on the supplements.

Summer 2013 Pentathlon - and sea level experiments

Last Friday was the longest day of the year. That means time for the 2013 Summer Solstice Pentathlon!
This time we were visiting my mom in Grayland, WA. Elevation about 1 foot. Down significantly from our home in the Mile High City.

We arrived on Saturday the 15th. For Father's Day, the next morning we went for a run on the beach. The plan was for an endurance run until one of us quit. But my son and I are stubborn, so even though I had a cramp in my hamstring and he stressed a tendon in his foot, we ran until we came to a jetty and had to stop. It was just about exactly 6 miles and took just about exactly an hour.

I was able to work my cramp out halfway through the run, but Kellan injured his foot pretty good and limped around for several days. This made for a long 6 mile walk back.

Fast forward one week and we've found a school track to do our quarterly Pentathlon. We're hoping for impressive numbers due to the elevation drop and although Kellan's foot isn't 100%, he decides to push forward.

Below are our numbers. As always, participant's age is next to their name, change from last quarter in black and overall from the beginning in red.

Wade (39):
Push-ups - 58 (-2) (+9)
Sit-up - 60 (0) (+20)
Broad Jump - 80" (-4.125") (-1")
Sit & Reach - 1" (+1") (-.375")
Mile - 6:50 (-:46) (-1:40)

Kellan (13):
Push-ups - 50 (-9) (-5)
Sit-up - 71 (+6) (+23)
Broad Jump - 60" (-4.75") (+9.75")
Sit & Reach - .25" (0") (-1.25")
Mile - 7:03 (-:11) (-2:27)

Thoughts:

Our experiment in elevation blood doping seemed to work well right away. The 6 mile jog was pretty easy and neither of us felt too winded. Bodies gave out well before lungs, and if Kellan hadn't tweaked his foot we would have ran a good part of (if not all) the way back. But after a week of acclimatizing (and partying, staying up late, etc. Hey, we were on vacation!), the mile run for time felt pretty rough.
Consequently, my workout today back at the gym at 5280' elevation seemed particularly rough.

That said, I still cut a good chunk off my mile time and Kellan would have done better, I'm certain, with a foot that was 100%. More surprising was our severe drop in the broad jump. Although it's never been my best event, the fact that we both lost over 4" is interesting. Fatigue? Sea level weight gain? Who knows.