Tag Archives: Great Urban Race

Great Urban Race Recap

Two days later and feeling finally hydrated I am ready to face the challenge of blogging about the beast known as The Great Urban Race: New York City.

These feet have no idea what is in store for them!

After being denied by a bunch of cabbies FINALLY someone picked us up from our hotel in midtown on Saturday morning and was willing to drop us off at Boat Basin Cafe for the start of The Great Urban Race.  Why can’t cab drivers in New York find addresses?  Why do you have to give them cross streets?  We didn’t know any cross streets which didn’t bode well for our adventure throughout the city.

Once we registered for the race we were excited to see everyone’s costumes and listen to the keynote speakers they had acquired from The Amazing Race.  The advised us to trust our partners, race fast and race smart.  Done.   As soon as we got our envelopes we were instructed to wait to open them.  However, there were a bunch of CHEATERS who opened early and took off before people even got started.  Like the nice New England girls we are we waited and probably hurt our time by about five minutes.  Oh well.  So once we got our envelope open we sent our clues to our ground support.

Our families and friends were all willing to help solve the clues to get us to our destination.  The absolute best help we got was from Jessica, a veteran Great Urban Race adventurer who I met through this blog.  She solved the clues so fast and even sent us this awesome google map of all the locations.

How awesome is this!?

If we were to do this race again we would wait to get all our locations mapped before we took off.  Once we got our first answer to Pylones we tried to go there and then decided to back track once we got that map and that cost us in both energy and time.  Our first stop was to hit up Duane Reade for school supplies for kids and in the process we ran right past the American Folk Art Museum, which was a disaster that we wouldn’t realize until much later on.  We worked on the tic-tac-toe as we ran and took pictures next to a gyro stand, got a business card and took a picture with these Yankee fans (the only people who didn’t say “no”, HOW RUDE!!)

He looks thrilled right?

We then raced off to Sprinkles where we botched the puzzle and ended up with a 30 minute penalty but we did get a yummy cupcake which tasted delish but I don’t know if it was because we were so hungry or they were really that good.  We then ran off to Pylones where Erin picked at tattoo out of a bag and we had to search the knick knack store for a matching animal.  We got a rooster/chicken/bird thing!

Move over Birkin this is the next it bag!

We were getting really tired at this point but since we were finally getting some clues solved we were feeling good but still nervous about the time that was ticking away FAST! We decided to hit up Bryant Park and do a pedometer challenge for some granola and then ran off to the Drama Book Shop to solve a Rebus puzzle after a small subway snafu.  We had seen some of these before and go this one right. (Sandbox, Downtown, 3 degrees below zero, he’s beside himself, touch down, just between you and me)

Number three and four we had to rely on my sister for help!

We finally got on the subway for the first time successfully and headed off to Abracadabra and ran into some fellow Urban Racers where we accidentally tripped up a bicycler who was texting and riding.  Sorry dude!  Distracted texting is DANGEROUS!  What else is dangerous was what was waiting for us at Abracadabra!  We knew there would be something gross to do and we had a deal I would eat anything dead and she would eat anything alive.  Erin lost this round.

Erin taking  one for the team by eating a meal worm. GAG

We than began what seemed like the forever run to this parking lot where we had to search through cars for clues about all the features it had.  It was a easy clue but it was so far away from the subway it was killer to get to.

Car search for clues!

Finally we were starting to run out of time so we knew we had to hustle.  We hopped back on the subway and headed to the American Retro Bar and Grill.  This was a long run from the subway stop and we knew we had only about an hour and 15 minutes left or risked not being back by five and a DNF.  And you know what that means NO MEDAL.   THE HORROR. Here we experienced our first MEAN urban racers.  Everyone else kind of worked together and said hi when we ran into each other offering help and words of encouragement.  Because running all over the city in 100 degrees helter skelter is def. a bonding experience.  When we were running to the bar we asked a team running back if the bar was straight down the street and all we got in return was a scoff, a dirty look and a snarkey “I don’t know” jerk. jerk. jerk.  It is not like we were going for the win people the winners finished about an hour and a half prior to that conversation.   Get over yourselves!  When we finally got to the bar after a much more wrong turns and unnecessary miles we had to drop a gold ball on the top of a miller 64 bottle and knock the cap off.  By the grace of god I did it on the first try.  Hallelujah.

pure delirium had set in by this point.

Finally we had to run back to our missed clue at the American Folk Art Museum before back to the finish.  When we got there we were horrified to find out there was a line out the door and they were only letting in four people at a time.  It was almost 2 miles back and we only had 35 minutes until DNF.  We decided to take the 1/2 hour penalty and see what happened by running back.  We some how made it back with about 15 minutes to go despite our aching back from our backpacks and wobbly legs.  We ended up with an hour penalty for the mess up and the skip but we finished and even though our official time isn’t in yet I think it was around 5:40.  A little longer than we projected when we thought we had a chance to place in the top 25. hehe

In the end it was such a fun day.  It was one of the most physically and mentally exhausting days I have ever had and my shoulders are still screaming from the stupid backpack.  All I know is that when this bad boy comes to Boston next year we will see who is the boss when we are on home turf.  Peace out NYC you win this round.

Ahhhh. Finally sitting and enjoying my medal and a free Miller 64. Thank you Jesus.

Home Sweet Home

After three hectic days in New York City I am home and everyone survived.  Cooper seems the least worst for wear out of the three of us!  Our trip was super fun and went of without a hitch…except we didn’t win the Great Urban Race.  It was MUCH harder and tiring than expected.  My body is still struggling from running around in almost 100 degree heat with a heavy backpack for 5 hours!  We thought we would be done EASILY in three.  WRONG.  I will save my full review for later in the week until I get time and pure consciousness back.  The rest of our weekend revolved around my third favorite thing in my life.  FOOD.

Friday night our first stop was Crumbs.  We couldn’t decide on a single cupcake so we decided to split a variety sampler pack and drafted our 6 top contenders.  A strawberry and vanilla chocolate frosted didn’t get picked until last and did sit on the bench the rest of the weekend, due to a massive stomach ache that occured after the great cupcake draft.  I have to say while these were delicious we did get to sample some cupcakes from Sprinkles and even though I would need to try a full variety pack to make a full comparison.  Due to the little Sprinkles cupcake I had, I might have to go with Sprinkles.

O.M.G. SOOO DELICIOUS

Our next stop in the morning was to get a breakfast sandwich after hitting up 24 Hour Fitness so we could stay full for the long road ahead of us.  And of course, New York has the best bagels.  We got our bagels from Ess A Bagel in mid-town and they were also delicious besides the man behind the counter who was a little too abrasive for us non-New Yorkers.  But he was forgiven for his RUDENESS cause he makes a mean sandwich.

Bacon Egg and Cheese on Wheat Baby

We then headed off to the Great Urban Race which I will not include anymore spoilers of,  besides a giant shout out and thank you to Jessica who was the only reason we were even able to finish!! You are amazing!!

If we only knew what lay ahead…

 

So after a long day we headed off for a real treat (as if all the other food wasn’t) the creme de le creme.  The Peanut Butter Company Sandwich Shop.  It was like heaven on earth.  I got the black and tan.  It was wheat toast with creamy peanut butter and chocolate drizzle.  I could have like the plate.  And kind of did.  Check this picture out.

Black and Tan better than the Original

We also hit up Levain Bakery in Harlem where I got a dark chocolate peanut butter cookie and there is no picture because I ate it to fast.  Again no words for that experience.  If you are in NY you MUST hit up some of these spots if you are in mood for some serious caloric damage.  Finally before we left I picked up some presents for the Coop-ster at F.A.O. Schwartz.  I got him a LALA (elmo) Puppet and a Trumpette Howdy.  He loved the Elmo puppet and gave it so many kisses.  All he did was tip Howdy over.  Poor Howdy.

Present for the Super Cooper

All in all it was a great but physically exhausting weekend.  I am going to curl up on the couch with the Real Housewives NYC marathon and see how real New Yorkers navigate that beast of a city!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!!!!

Question

Did you guys do anything special!? If you were at NYC at Blogher did you have any great eats?!

 

Last Minute Hail Mary: DIY Workout Shirt

Well, well, well… our Great Urban Race t-shirts NEVER came.  And TODAY is the race…We blew it.  So in a last minute ditch effort we had to give up the Red Bull shirts we ordered and had to get crafty.  After extensive web searching we  came upon the site Rabbit Food for My Bunny Teeth, and this girl can make a REALLY cute workout shirts.

I want to be clear the last time I tried to get crafty I decided to make snow globe gift card holders for my co-workers.  Pinterest told me it was easy.  I still have glitter in the crevices of my kitchen floor AND one of them leaked in my car on the way to school, so we got some glitter up in there too.  Despite my past failures, we were out of options so we headed off to Michael’s to hopefully recreate Rabbit Teeth’s craftyness…

1. We first bought these really nice looking t-shirts. And got ready to cut:

If this doesn’t read “I’m Sexy and I Know It” what does?

2. We cut off the bottom hem, the sleeves, and the collar.  We decided not to cut to low on the front in the back because we are modest school teachers after all… ;)

3. We put sticker letters on the front to try to recreate so resemblance of our long lost Red Bull shirts.

Why doesn’t this look like bunny teeth’s?

4. We spray painted with fabric paint, let dry and peeled off the letters.

Looking more dirty than paint splattered

5. Here is what we got: an apron of sorts.

Thank god for pattern sports bras. Basically this shirt is just  barely a trouble zone cover! YIKES

So luckily our shirt/aprons have a cute Nike sports bra under it in order not show some serious Miley Cyrus side boob.  I am not really sure where we went wrong but like I said craftiness is not my strong suit.  These will do and when (notice that optimism) we go to Vegas for the GUR championships we will get much better costumes.  Not a question.  There will be no slacking next time. We learned our lesson.  I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon after I get home from NYC to recap the race and share our results!  After Super Cooper is smothered in hugs and kisses!  Miss my little chunklet!

On a Train to NYC on a Fast and Furious Friday

Going to miss this crazy meatball!

I am off to NYC this afternoon and I am so excited.  Not only will I get to compete in the Great Urban Race but I will also get to meet Jaime and Alyse from Sweat Pink for one of their morning boot camps in Central Park on Sunday morning!  I can’t wait!

I  hope the Peanut Butter Company Cafe is grinding those peanuts because I will be there soon and I will be hungry!!  On a different note I vlog’ed about my favorites of the week below!  Check it out!

This week my fast and furious favorites are:

Fitness: Nike Training Club I am in love with this app.  I love seeing real athletes and their workouts.  There are so many options for every day you could use this for a very long time without your body getting used to it.  It is full of intense circuits that you can adjust to your current fitness level.  It is free and I want these shoes SOOOO BAD.

Family: Finger Puppet Books – Cooper hates reading.  He always shuts, throws, or wiggles away from a book. So many of his toys do things, talk, sing, dance, that I can see why books would be boring.  We tried really hard to keep him away from TV and for the first year we did really well.  Then we kind of fell apart. This made reading even harder.  However, we are having much better luck now since we found these finger puppet books.   They are still more stimulating than regular books but we are taking baby steps and small victories here.  :)

Food: PB 2: Powdered peanut butter at its very best.  All the oil and the fat has been pressed out and it leaves you with a powder with all the taste and a quarter of the calories.  Do I have to say anymore?

Question: Do you use any of these things? Do you put PB2 in your smoothies or do you use if for other things?  If you do please share, I LOVE THIS STUFF. :)

 

Run Run Mom Heads to NYC

This weekend I am heading off to New York City for the Great Urban Race.  I am used to regular road races and even some dirty ones…but one that I don’t follow people around in a very organized line from start to finish?!  Dear god this could be a disaster.

For those of you who don’t know about the Great Urban Race.  Great Urban Race describes itself as a wild urban adventure!  Teams of two—four solve twelve clues and participate in exciting mental and physical challenges while discovering the city in a fresh way.  It is basically the amazing race limited to one city.  They say if you want to win you better be ready to run the whole thing.  The running is no problem, BUT the public transit, solving clues, and just general spacial awareness could be my downfall.  I am glad my teammate, Erin is a much more organized person than myself.

We decided months ago we were not going for fun.  We were going to WIN!   I want my team Sugar Free to win the whole thing.  We want $300, a medal, and an invitation to the National Championship in Las Vegas.  This not only would give us to bragging rights, but it would also make us the coolest teachers at our school.

If this didn’t already… (middle schoolers are REALLY hard to impress)

Team Sugar Free Rocks Warrior Dash

Unfortunately, even though we have been planning this for months we made one major misstep.  Our costumes.  We were really gung ho at the beginning and ordered our Bondi bands to represent the “Sugar Free” part of our Sugar Free Red Bull costumes.  We got matching shorts, sports bras, and Reebok CrossFit socks.  What did we forget?!  OUR SHIRTS!!!  We ordered them last week and they are still not in.  The panic is setting in.  We have until Friday around noon for these bad boys to show up or we are screwed.  We are going to have to scramble to get something together.  I am half tempted to go dig out my old bedazzler and get down to bizznassss.

This headband would look alot better with a costume to go with it!

If we are not bedazzling all day Friday and Saturday morning these are some of our NYC goals:

  • Run in central park
  • Shop!  Athleta in person?  Yes please!!
  • Eat EVERYTHING at the Peanut Butter Company
  • Go to the Protein Bakery (and get my pic on their blog)
  • Get “fancy” drinks
  • Hit up some reality TV hot spots: DASH, the Gansevoort, Rosie Pope, Georgetown Cupcake, and anywhere a Housewife has been filmed…or  even more importantly get a glimpse of a housewife, or their main man Mr. Andy Cohen

Me fan-girling Ramona but DEF. not eating at her recommended restaurant Catch…a little (lot) over budget..

  • Finally take first place at the Great Urban Race

Questions:

Are any of you competing this weekend?  

 More importantly anyone from NYC or frequent visitors know some must hit eateries or fun places to go??