5th Place.... I'll Take It!

Last weekend Joe and I participated in the Scavenger Dash, a scavenger hunt that gives you a set of clues and takes you around town. The race started at noon and I had worked the night before. I was beyond tired. Joe had signed us up for the race awhile back, so I knew I had to do it. I am happy that I did!

We arrived at a local bar to go over the rules and get our first clue. People were dressed up in costumes and having a good time. We didn't dress up because I didn't find out that we should dress up until last minute. So we decided to wear our winning Syracuse shirts. I figured that the shirt must be good luck! The best costume was a Sharknado homemade costume. There were over 100 teams.

After we received instruction on the rules, the first clue was given. Everyone ran outside and scattered. Since Joe and I are not from the area, we did a ton of googling and eventually found the first location. Upon arrival we were given a sheet with 12 clues. We sat on the side of the street and solved as many of the clues as we could. We also planned our route. We were able to solve most clues without any help, but we did use our phone a friend to solve the clue that used morse code. There was everything from binary to mixed up letters.

The clues took us to a yoga studio in town were we had to do our best yoga poses. We went with plank for Joe and downward facing dog for me. An art exhibit of giant butterflies, that I had to feed. We had to find 2 strangers and do the Heisman Trophy pose. Find a park, then I had to guide Joe through a "battlefield of mines" while he was blindfolded. Make a crime scene outline out of anything we could find, we chose sticks. Find a giant bench in a park, I think it was another art exhibit (we didn't have much time to read). Find a special flower in a local neighborhood garden. Find a statue of a snowman and mock him. Find a statue of a family of four. 

We finished the race in just under 2 hours and we were the 5th team to finish! The 4th team that finished didn't really finish all of the clues, but we will stick with 5th place for now. Even though I was extremely tired, it was a fun experience. It tested our ability to work as a team and communicate. There were plenty of times that I yelled advised Joe to do things a different way and for the most part he listened. :) Maybe with some more sleep and better team work we can do better next time, but I'll take the 5th place! 

Have you ever done a scavenger hunt race before?

How do you think you would do on a team with your significant other?

  

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Summer 2014!

Wow, I can't believe tomorrow is the first day of Summer! Why is it that time just flies by now that I am older? It's crazy to think that this will be the first summer in my entire 28 years of living that a beach is more than a 30 minute drive away! When I think of summer, I think of days laying out on the beach or by the pool. I think of BBQs with family and friends. I think of long days and fun nights. But this summer will be a little bit different. I am living in Colorado and I am feeling very land locked. So what is a girl to do? 

Here are the very exciting things that I will be doing this summer:

1. Work Out - I have recently started to take yoga classes at a studio and I am loving their Sculpt classes. They are yoga classes with weights added. I always leave feeling a million times better then when I walked in. I might even try cross fit! 
2. White Water Rafting -  This one has been on my list since I moved to Colorado last August and it will get done this summer! 
3. Hike a 14ner - Most likely it will be Pikes Peak and to prepare for this one, I will be getting out as much as possible and hike trails all around Colorado. 
4. BBQ - Joe and I BBQ year around, so I am sure this summer will be no exception. I love to grill just about everything! I will also use this one as an excuse to have friends over :) (I am looking at you Mallory)
5. Go to Jazz in the Park - Every Sunday in Denver they have Jazz in the park. I have heard that it is a ton of fun, filled with music and wine. What more do you need?
6. Horse Back Riding - My newest hobby is going to the barn and riding Kit! I have been having so much fun and I can't wait to spend my summer days at the barn! 
7. Be a Bridesmaid -  My best friend Brittany is getting married this July and I am honored to be apart of her special day. 
8. Plan my Wedding - I really hope I can get most of the planning done by the end of this summer! 

This summer I just want to spend as much time as I can outside with people that matter. I want to truly enjoy Colorado and everything that it has to offer. Although it is not the beach filled summer that I am use to, I am sure Joe and I will find a way to make it a memorable summer! 

What are your summer plans?

Do you have any suggestions on things to do in Colorado?

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I am a Spartan!

Last month I participated in a Spartan Race at Fort Carson with my parents and Joe. It was by far the most difficult race that I have every participated in. It was a 4.5 mile race with 24 military inspired obstacles. The race took place on a Saturday and we were in the 12:00 heat. We arrived on post at 10:00 to watch my 12 year old sister participate in the kids race. She is a natural athlete and did really well.

We waited around and watched as hundreds of people of all shapes and sizes (mainly really fit) started the race. Mal met us there to watch my sister and to take photos. It was nice to have someone there to document this race. I started to get nervous as the race approached and I remember thinking to myself that I really should have trained. At 11:45 we needed to go to the start line. Just to begin the race I needed to jump over a 4ft wall. I successfully made it over and got into the start line. My nervous got worse.  But, it was great to have my mom, dad, and Joe there to support me!

The race began and the first obstacle quickly approached. I was feeling good, it was an easy obstacle. But sure enough it was  followed by jumping over a 8ft wall! I only tried to jump over an 8ft wall once before the race and it was a success! I felt good the first half of a mile and my nerves started to settle, until I saw a man passed out on top of the hill we climbed. I re-gained my confidence once I completed a few that I didn't think I would be able to do. Around the 1 mile mark I needed water, but a water station was no where in sight. My mom stuck with me and encouraged me to push through it and I made it to the next water station. 

We made our way up and around the hill doing everything from pulling a cinder block to wearing a ruck sack up and down that hill. The course took us though a underpass through sewer water and over muck. It was gross. Once we  made it back to the viewing area we were faced with very cold water and mud, we climbed up hills and slid down them into ice cold water pits. We army crawled under barbed wire and pulled heavy things. The entire time we were encouraged and help by strangers, people we didn't know pulled us up. The spartan race not only puts you through difficult obstacles but it forces you to work as a team with people you don't know.  

There are too many obstacles to go over in detail, but here are a few photos to give you an idea of what I went through. 

Overall, I am very happy that I finished the race! It was great to start the race with my parents and Joe and to finish with them! I am not sure if another spartan race is in my future, but I so glad that I signed up for this one. It was tough and I wanted to quit, but this race taught me that I am fit and I can do anything! It taught me the true meaning of team and best of all, I can now say that I am a spartan! 

Have you ever ran a mud or obstacle race?

If not, is it on your bucket list?

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Weekend Update

Its been awhile since I have posted a weekend update, so why not post it... a day late. I have been having such a great time the past few weekends, so here is a quick highlight of what has been going on. 

Thursday:

This past weekend started off on a bad note, I was all set to go to my horse back riding lesson (can't wait to update you on this) and my lesson got canceled because of hail.... in May! really Colorado. I was all dressed and ready to go and my trainer called me to tell me that it was snowing at the stables. 

Friday:

On Friday I picked up an overtime shift at work, we are super busy and very short staffed. I have been working over 50 hrs a week. After my overtime shift Joe and I headed out to Grand Junction and went camping. We had so much fun and enjoyed every minute of it. Joe has been wanting to get out and enjoy the outdoors here in Colorado, but it has been really cold the last few months. But this past Friday it was beautiful...like shorts and a t-shirt beautiful. We had a long 5 hour drive through the mountains, but the views were stunning.  

View from our Camp Site

We arrived at our camp site  kind of late and set up our tent just before the sun set. We stayed at a really nice camp site right on the Colorado River. I started a fire and Joe surprised me with everything I needed for s'mores! We hung out by the fire and just relaxed. Later that night we snuggled in our tent and watched Brave on my iPad. It was the perfect night! 

Saturday:

We unfortunately had to wake up around 8am to pack up all of our stuff and go to a 5K. Joe and I ran in the Insane Inflatable 5K ! This 5K was filled with 11 inflatable obstacles everything from a huge jumper, a maze, and giant slides. We had a blast and I even came in as the first for women in my heat!! Joe kept my motivated and stayed by my side and we finished the race tougher. He came in 3rd and I was 4th over all in our heat! Even though it was a fun run I will take the WIN! 

After the race we headed back to Denver to get our annual pass to Elitch Gardens and even got to ride a few rides. Although Elitch is nothing compared to Dineyland, I hope it will be something nice to do when we can't think of anything to do and at $69 for the entire year it is well worth it! 

Even though the weekend started out not that great we were able to fit in a ton of fun things and I enjoyed my make-up and worry free weekend! Next week we are headed to NY to visit with Joe's parents and I also get to go to my good friend Brittany's Bachelorette party!

Do you like to camp?
What was the best race you have ever ran?

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