5k Foam Fest Fun

There is nothing more exciting than your first 5k. While I have taken part in quite a few 5ks since I began running last year, for this fun, mud run my sister and I added a new member to our team! While I enjoy running further distances, my sister is usually my running buddy for fun runs and obstacle races. This time around we invited her boyfriend is join in on the fun for Saturday’s 5k Foam Fest.

Calling ourselves team Foam Busters, my sister handmade us awesome T-shirts with an elephant image that she drew. We all matched in our shirts and blue colors, and were all pumped (minus the horrible traffic we encountered on the way) when we got to the Aviator Sports Hangar 5, Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn.

After handing in our waivers, putting on our bibs, and taking a pre-race photo, we headed to the starting line at 12:30 p.m. Foam filled the starting line, making it a bit slippery, my sister’s other half slipping already that had us laughing early on.

I was looking forward to this race because obstacle races push me physically, especially testing my upper body strength that I have been working on since most of my power is in my legs. I was also looking forward to this race because I didn’t have to worry and stress over time and just enjoy myself in the moment.

Thank god that the race wasn’t timed because some of the obstacles had long lines that had us waiting for quite some time. All the obstacles were fun and easy to master. While the foam aspect of the race was lacking, the mud aspect made up for. I saw a few people enjoying mud flights, us Foam Busters even dirty-ing ourselves after the first mud obstacle we encountered.

The first mile felt really short, a mix of some running and obstacles. While I can’t remember the exact order of obstacles, they included:

• The “Spider Web Forest” where I used my Matrix skills to duck, bend, and jump over ropes like a ninja.
• “Monkey Business” that included us climbing a rope sideways. I even climbed a bit higher half way through to push myself and did feel it in my arms.
• “Chamber of Foam” that included us jumping through the inflated obstacles full of foam.
• The “Cargo Climb” that had us waiting for 20 minutes.
• The “Slip-N-Slide” that was one of my favorites. All 3 of us team Foam Busters had a running start and at the same time jumping belly first down the slippery, inflatable lane.

Mile two felt a bit longer and was mostly running, whereas the last mile broke up the running and obstacles to mirror the first mile. There were times I just wanted to sprint it out, but kept the same pace as my teammates. Other times I did feel a bit tired, I am not going to lie, running and then completing and obstacle, and then picking up speed again. However, for most of the race we kept an easy pace, speed up when we felt like it, and slowed down to walk up to the next obstacle. I was pleased to do every single obstacle (thank god no walls!) and the race ended with the best one—the “Death Drop,” that consisted of us climbing up the 40 foot slide and flying down, the water and gravity shooting us forward.

We then all crossed the finish line together, posed for a picture, and put on our finisher medals proudly. We munched on a Cliff bar and sipped on a Mike’s Hard Lemonade, both sponsors of the event.

The sun was shining, a perfect 75 degree day for this type of race. My legs the next day to my surprise felt a little sore. While I did work my body, it defiantly wasn’t a Spartan type of race. I felt a 2 on the scale of soreness, Spartan soreness a 10, but I know that feeling a little sore in my quads means that I did get in one good workout!

I enjoyed having another member added to my typical 2-woman team, we all encouraged each other along the way.

I am also happy to start half marathon training next week, balancing fun runs with more serious (but equally fun!) longer distances. While I was never so into sports and was a pretty lazy child, I am feeling more athletic after every race I accomplish!

Did you race this weekend? How do you feel about fun runs or mud races?

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