Tough Mudder Las Vegas

I know this is way old but I was having a love my husband day and wanted to celebrate some more about him. Especially since I don't write much. He's not quite as funny, as cute or as interesting as the girls to other people but I love him. 

This is from the Tough Mudder he ran with family back in April. This was called the Vegas location but it was 2 hours of driving through the desert. It should have been called the Middle of Nowhere, past the desert prison location. Anyway, I won't say much more because the pictures show quite a bit. 

Yes, the small dots on the hill top are people. 

Shot just to the left of the previous pic and again dots on the hill are people.

 The course was large and there were lots of hills adding a layer of difficulty.

Everyone before they started. The colors really made it easy to find them. 

Emerging from belly crawling through mud.

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Jumping into the water.

This last pic is the reason I haven't done a Tough Mudder. I have no desire to be electrocuted. None what so ever. I can do the race and the obstacles (with help) but I will not been shocked.

All those wires have random amounts of voltage through them. Some powerful
enough to knock you to the ground. 

And of course, Jake's triumphant jump into the water. (I love this video and this is one of the things I love about Jake. Silly huh?

Jake's Tough Mudder

So after running the Dirty Dash, Jake felt pretty good about running the Tough Mudder. Go thing too because he had already registered and paid for everything. I am proud of him and excited that he was able to do something with his brothers.

Sadly, the Tough Mudder is a rotten organization in my book. They make the appearance that they make large donations to the Wounded Warrior Project. Unfortunately the only donations made are ones of friends and family of the participants. Then on top of the outrageous registration fee ($100+), spectators have to pay $20 bucks to watch, unless you buy at the gate at which point it is $40. Because of the spectator cost, I didn't attend.

Luckily for me, most of Jake's family attended and they have awesome pictures. Not so lucky, I don't have copies yet. Luckily, I don't have to pick which pictures to post. Sadly, I don't have pictures to post. Maybe one day I will proudly display muddy pictures of my husband working together with his brothers and a few friends to complete the course.

Jake made a mess.

I know what you're thinking. Emily never blogs about Jake. But alas, I am and that's because he did something that didn't involve the kids (in which case it would be about them) or law school. He participated in the 10k Dirty Dash. This is because he has been training, along with his brothers and way awesome sister-in-law, to participate in the Tough Mudder.

 

Sammi and I tagged along to take pictures while Ellie stayed and played with her cousins. This is how they looked before the race.

 

Notice the white shirt. FYI, not a good choice for this activity.

 After running, walking, climbing obstacles, and sliding down a slide, this is what they finished looking like.

How they ended up with clean thighs while Jake's is caked in mud, I don't know?

 It sounds like it was a great challenge and a lot of fun to do. The day was warm-ish but the water quite chilly since this is run at Soldier's Hollow. So how do you clean off the mud? Pay $6 cash for warm showers or a power wash or use the traditional shower.

I love the guy in the towel. Any guesses if he has clothes on under?

 We did learn that it is best to wear something that will set you apart from the crowd. It was hard to locate them for pictures along the course. There are a few of Rob and Kristine on their blog. I think they had a good time and learned a little about themselves. Mostly I think they felt better about running the Tough Mudder.

Official picture from Dirty Dash

I know some of you are thinking, "How did you ever get that white shirt clean?" The answer is we didn't. It still has a slight brown twinge in it.

Exercising

With the weather turning nice out here and with Ellie and I both wanting to be out of the house more, I have started walking.  On warmer days, we head out and walk around one of Denver's many wonderful parks with paths for walking, biking, jogging, etc. You name it. I love having all the paths. Ellie sits in the stroller and "woof-woofs" at all the dogs we pass, which is a surprisingly large amount. After we come home and I do some yoga that I record off the Discovery Fit and Health channel.

I have learned that if you are trying to exercise with a small child at home, do it while they are sleeping or otherwise incapacitated like sitting in the high chair eating.  Ellie crawls underneath me while doing downward dog, climbs on my back folded in child's pose, sits on my legs while performing cat rolling, and sits on my face during the relaxation portion. Once or twice she has stood next to me and tried to mimic what I was doing. It is quite hilarious but very hard to complete the yoga sequence.

So far we have been quite diligent for the 2 1/2 weeks we have been working at this. On days that are a little too cold, I just try to do 2 bouts of yoga. Hopefully we can keep this up and add to it so I don't feel old once we manage to do physically active activities.

One day I might look at changing my diet so it is slightly healthier but right now I'm not too worried as I am pretty sure I eat more fruits and vegetables than most non-vegan/vegetarian Americans. I don't think my diet is too bad but I know it could use some tweaking.

Bigger, Faster, Stronger

Jake and I watched this documentary last night and I found it very informative but somewhat disturbing. This documentary was released in 2008 and is about a young man's quest to found out the truth about steroid use and America's obsession with becoming bigger, faster, and stronger. I would recommend watching this if you use or know someone who uses steroids or if you are simply interested in exercise and nutrition.

I wasn't too stunned with the information about steroid use at all. The most unsettling things really didn't deal with steroids that much. Back when the big baseball steroid problem broke out and Congress became involved with banning the use of steroids. This movie states that Congress spent more time talking and debating steroid use in baseball than they had spent talking about health care, the Iraq war, and a few other hot topic items. SERIOUSLY!!! Not to mention all the experts that came into Congress stated there were no studies that showed effects of steroid use and suggested that steroids should NOT be banned. Congress IGNORED the experts and banned them anyway. The guys narrating speculates that it had something to do with the fact that it was during President Bush's administration and that he was the owner of the Texas Rangers at the time that Jose Canseco played (who admitted to using steroids and testified he believed that everyone associated with Ranger management including the owner had at least some idea of the steroid use).

I have my own opinions about steroid use, but it bothers me that Congress ignored experts and signed laws.

Another part that bothered me deals with Orrin Hatch and Utah.  Once upon a time, supplements were regulated by the FDA, just as all other drugs and food products. Meaning testing for the safety of the products, regulating who can make them and how they are made, as well as dictating what the labels should say. Supplements are no longer regulated or tested by the FDA before they are sold.  Actually, supplements are only taken off the shelves if the FDA can prove they are harmful.  According to this show, Utah is the nations largest supplier of nutritional supplements and it was Orrin Hatch who lead the campaign to the deregulation of supplements. So now anyone can make a supplement and list the ingredients as "proprietary blend" and sell them.

I don't mean this as a crusade against Orrin Hatch or anything of the sort. I did study exercise and sport science with a number of nutrition classes and some of this information bothered me.

One point they did make in the movie is why are steroid, specially anabolic steroids or performance enhancing drugs, so bad in sports when doctors prescribe speed-like drugs for kids in school so they can study longer and harder and Air Force pilots are required to carry "Go" pills with them. These drugs are also "performance enhancers."

It was just a lot to think about and just another reason why I don't normally watch documentaries, or the news for that matter.