Spartan Race 2013!

Well, its about time I write a "wrap-up" for the Spartan Race 5K that I did in August! What a fun event. I mean, who doesn't love an excuse to roll around in mud? I ran the Boston Spartan Race and it was a blast.

To be honest, the obstacles were cool, but they were more of a "break" from running up and down the mountain. It is only a 5k (3.1 miles) but it was a tiring race! If you're training for an upcoming Spartan Race: TRAIN ON HILLS. While I love to run, I don't train on hills as often as I should so I would highly suggest this! Then again, running the Spartan Race is more fun to me than a competition for how fast I can run it... so enjoy yourself!

before........

... and after :)

Throughout the run, there were about 20 obstacles that you had to complete. They had separate sections of the obstacles for girls (which kind of made me feel stupid... until the end of the race when I was tired!) and if you couldn't complete the obstacle, you faced a series of burpees. Who doesn't love burpees?! ;) Some of the obstacles were climbing across monkey bars, carrying sandbags up and down the mountain, dragging cinder blocks, climbing/jumping over walls, sliding down muddy hills, jumping over fire:

weeeeeeeeee

and the ever-exhasuting crawling under barbed wire through mud.. and 4 billion sharp rocks. While this was a blast, it was also the longest, most painful obstacle, and after swimming under a muddy wall, I saw that there was another entire stretch of barbed wire to struggle under. My face says is all:

"... more barbed wire???"

struggle fest

trying a new strategy to get through it!

While this race was awesome, and definitely something you can't do every day, I thought the price was a little insane. I paid close to $120 and because of that, I'm not sure I would do it again! I suggest getting a big group of friends to motivate you through it; make a day out of it. As I always say, it is good to sign up for a race or event so that you have a goal to work towards! That is what keeps me going and helps me to continue training.

all smiles at the finish line!

Don't forget to bring a change of clothes and enjoy the entertainment afterwards! Stay tuned for my post on the Electric Run, which I paid $45 for and it was worth every penny!!!

Stay healthy!

Morgan

Healthy Homemade Apple Sauce

It is that time of year! Apple orchards are filling with people who end up leaving with 20 pounds of apples- but what in the world to do with ALL of those apples?

.... Make homemade apple sauce of course :)

I have to give props to my nursing buddy Lisa , who made this for me last year and ever since I've been planning on making it myself! It is healthy, super easy, and you can alter it to make it taste just as you like! You can also eat it hot (tastes desserty!) or cold (perfect side with lunch).

Healthy Homemade Apple Sauce

What you will need:

-Apples

-Cinnamon

-Honey

-Golden Raisins

I used about 6-7 apples varying in size and ended up with about 4 servings. The apples get all mushy and delicious when they cook, so I suggest putting in a few extra apples than you expect! (Plus, it makes delicious leftovers for lunches or tomorrow's sweets-craving!)

The only ingredients you need- easy!

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.Peel and slice your apples into bite-size pieces. Toss them  into a 9x13 pan.

Next, cover the apples with ground cinnamon, a drizzle of honey, and a sprinkle of golden raisins! Honestly, there is no right or wrong amount. You can add more as it cooks if you feel that it needs more flavor, but adjust this to your liking!

Heaven on Earth, huh?

Now cover your pan with some foil and let these babies cook! Once again, cook it to your liking. The longer you cook it, the softer and mushier the apples get. I like mine with a few little apple chunks, so I cooked mine for about 40 minutes. 

Stir it about every 15 minutes, and why not have a little taste test each time :)

the final product

My house smelled incredible, my taste buds were so satisfied, and I cannot wait to eat this again tomorrow, YUM! I also decided to try mine with a baby scoop of lowfat vanilla frozen yogurt... the melty combination of warm apples and froyo was to die for.

So go enjoy these beautiful fall days, enjoy a healthy apple alternative, and hit the pavement for a run in this perfect running weather!

Lets get healthy!

Morgan