Badass Dash Las Vegas Race Recap

This past weekend I ran the Badass Dash for the first time at Sam Boyd Stadium. I ran 2 other Badass Dashes a few years ago, both were at Silverton Casino and they were lots, so I was looking forward to checking this race out. I ran with a team of 4 others, 2 girls and 2 boys, plus me! The Badass Dash is a 7K (4.4 mile) obstacle course adventure race.

We had a 9am start time and by then it was pretty warm outside and we were ready to get started. Unfortunately, they don’t stagger wave start times the way Spartan Races or larger marathon events do. So, there were hundreds of people lined up for the 9am start. They couldn’t let all hundreds of us go at the same time since that would cause major congestion on course, so they let us go about 50 at a time every 5 minutes. It worked out great because there was no bottlenecking at obstacles however we waiting in the sun for almost an hour and that was no fun. I would suggest they give us staggering or wave start times, so we don’t have to just wait in line for so long! That would help us prepare a lot better and we wouldn’t have to wait an hour in line!

The Badass Dash is not intended to be a super intense race like the Spartan Races or Tough Mudders. They are geared towards having fun and are a great introduction to obstacle course races. They have over 40 obstacles, from super easy to difficult, throughout the course which is nice! I felt like the walls were challenging but also achievable for most, so that was a big plus! Being in a stadium, I was totally expecting the stairs to be part of the race, and boy did I feel the burn on those! Once we got through the up and down of pretty much the entire stadium stairs + all the ones outside, they set up the last 10 or so obstacles in the middle of the field. I really thought that was pretty neat and totally different for me, since I haven’t ran a Spartan Stadium Sprint yet. Lastly, they cooled us off with a fun car wash/spider web obstacle before crossing the finish!

Once my team was finished, it was then time for the kiddos to race! They were running with their friends which made it super fun for them. Both Diego and Elysse did the 2K (1.2 mile) Kid Dash. Remember those killer stairs I mentioned? This was also part of their race and I am so proud that they pushed through on those! The rest of the kid obstacles were also all in the middle of the stadium. They did most of the same last 10+ obstacles we had during our race as well. All 4 of them finished strong and had a great time, even if they did complain a bit about the heat!

I would totally recommend this race if you’re new to obstacle course racing and even if you are an OCR junkie! It’s challenging and fun 🙂 Go out there and give it a try. You just might surprise yourself 🙂

Badass Dash | Race 9 of 14 for 2014

I’m officially signed up fro 12 races through September and I’m sure I’ll find 2 more to sign up for before the end of the year. I am kinda surprised at how fast it’s going and how easily it’s been finding races! Thank goodness for living social & groupon deals! LOL

Our Pre-Race Selfie :) — Our Pre-Race Selfie 🙂

The Badass Dash is a 7K obstacle course race with about 30 obstacles throughout the course. My hubby and I signed up through a great Living Social deal and although I had already ran the race last year with my sister, he hadn’t ran it, so I figured it’d be fun to run it together. We also met up with some other running group friends when we got there. Also, some Camp Rhino peeps who’d already ran elite heat decided to run it again for fun with us, now they’re badass!! Having them run with us was a blast and helped push us through the tough parts! The course had a ton of stairs, some water and mud obstacles, tunnel crawl, over and under hurdles, cargo nets and walls to climb. Compared to last year’s race, I think the obstacles were a bit more challenging, so that was a tun of fun! There were no race bibs, but they did provide you with a timing chip at packet pickup along with a tech race shirt. The end of the race had the regular post-race goodies – bananas, orange slices, water, and a sports drink. Oh and let’s not forget the beer! LOL 🙂

Yup, I ended up a little muddy and a few battle scars! But, that's part of the fun! — Yup, I ended up a little muddy and a few battle scars! But, that’s part of the fun!

Have you done any obstacle course races? Do you love or hate them? I’d love to hear from you! xo

Training for Obstacle Course Races

I will begin this post by clearly stating that I am no expert on obstacle course races (OCR), nor am I a personal trainer! I’m just an average girl who really loves to push her limits and see what she can do. Last year, I did 3 OCR, including Tough Mudder and this year I’m signed up for Tough Mudder again and Super Spartan. I will probably add a few smaller ones too by the end of the year….what can I say, I really do love OCR!

So that being said, I thought I’d share with you a few tips that helped me complete (read: SURVIVE) Tough Mudder last year and what I plan to do in these next 2 months leading to my obstacle course races in April.

Eat Clean! They say a good workout can’t out-exercise a bad diet and I really believe this. I’ve noticed that when I allow myself a lot of “cheat meals” my workouts suffer. I’m more sluggish and slow and of course, I don’t see the results I want. So, eating clean in the month(s) leading up to your OCR will help you get lean & strong!
Focus on Building Upper Body Strength! This was huge for me. Most of us ladies tend to have weaker upper body strength and a lot, if not most, of the obstacles you’ll encounter will require strong arms. Army man crawling, pulling yourself up walls & ropes, monkey bars, etc.. these all require strong upper body strength. Find a workout that is best for you and work on getting those muscles! Push ups, tricep dips, and pull ups (Disclaimer: I have yet to master 1 pull up. It’s on my to-do list!)
Run! You’re not training for a marathon, but you should be able to run at least 3 miles nonstop. Work on sprints and hills to really get those legs ready for the 10 + mile course.
Interval Training! You’ll be doing all sorts of things on an OCR from jumping over fire, crawling under barbed wire, and balancing on boards. You’ll have to build up your endurance and agility. Tabata, HIIT, Boot Camps, these are all great examples of high intensity training. Get lots of lunges, high knees, mountain climbers, and frog hops done!
Burpees! I don’t know anyone who loves a burpee, but everyone agrees they get the job done. And if you’re planning on doing a Spartan race, just know that the penalty for not completing an obstacle is 30 burpees..Yikes!!
Stretch! Don’t forget to stretch after your runs and workouts! This will aid in recovery, flexibility, and help prevent injury!

Also, do some research and check out what you’re up against. Go to YouTube and look for videos of the OCR you’ll be doing, specifically in your city. This will help you visualize what you’re going to be facing and get you pumped up! Tough Mudder has this great Boot Camp Training on their website where you can build your own workout circuit based on your fitness level and it’s designed to get you through their toughest obstacles! I’d also recommend checking out a training facility in your town. We have Camp Rhino here in Las Vegas and it rocks. We went last year and plan to go again this year. They have a beginners class where you can try out the obstacles, plus they give you tips and techniques for conquering the race. Lastly, have fun training 🙂

So, which OCR are you signed up for? I’d love hear about it and how you’re training!

2013 The Year of the Races

If you asked me last year where I thought I’d be at the end of 2013, this would definitely not be it!! I never dreamed I’d be sharing my personal ups and downs on this blog. I never imagined I’d sign up, nonetheless finish a half marathon. Yup, 2013 has been a life changer. I went from never participating in any sort of running/obstacle races to running 6 races in one year. It’s been an amazing journey and I couldn’t have done it without the support from family and friends, especially those who came out and ran alongside me! I used to dread working out and therefore rarely (read: NEVER) did it. I only ate “healthy” if I was on a “diet” and let’s be honest, fad diets aren’t healthy. They don’t last. Only a change in your lifestyle and your attitude is what makes the changes happen. The magic is in the commitment, not a pill.

I found that change in me by signing up for all these races/events. Signing up for these events has kept me on track with my exercise routine and eating habits. It’s given me a goal to reach and has made all the difference in my attitude towards working out and eating healthy. I can’t wait to see what 2014 will bring! So far we’re signed up for our second Tough Mudder in April and signing up for Blood, Sweat, and Beers 10K trail run in March. I really want to run a Ragnar Relay race and as soon as I learn to ride a bike (Yes, you read that right, I don’t know how to ride a bike!!) I want to do a sprint triathalon.

The Color Run 5K really introduced me to event racing. I had no idea what to expect, from the packet pickup to to the run itself, it was a great first experience!

After Color Run, I did Tough Mudder! I’d trained hard and really got into fitness during this time. I’ve said it time and time again, Tough Mudder changed my life!

The obstacle course race bug hit me hard and in May, I was ready for more! This time, it was a family affair and my sister, Norma, joined me for the Badass Dash 7K. The kiddos also participated in their first kid OCR and loved it!

Later in May, my sister and I, along with our friend, Veronica, did the Race for the Cure 5K with the LVAC team. This is a very important cause for us and our family and we were excited to have a part in raising awareness!

As most of you know, summers in Vegas are HOT! So, summer was spent vacationing and having fun with the kids with our Summer Bucket List. Towards the end of summer, I began training for the Rock N Roll Half Marathon!

I recently blogged about my first half marathon experience, if you missed it, you can check it out HERE! If you want the short version: It was by far one of the hardest and most amazing experiences I’ve had in my life!

Six days after the half marathon, I joined some of my book club girls for the Dirty Dash 5K and my son did the 1 miles Piglet Plunge! What a way to end a super fun year of races! You can read my review of that race, HERE.

I’d love to hear about your favorite races of 2013 and what you’re planning for 2014! Do you have any suggestions on races I should be looking into? Don’t be shy…