Fun in the Mud and an Awesome Summer Salad!
Today was the most satisfying run I’ve completed to date…the Mud Maxx 5k! This was the first year of the race, benefiting the Shriners Hospital, but the organizers did a good job getting most everything straightened out and the run went rather smoothly. The object of the race was not time (it was untimed), but to have fun and get as muddy as you could (given that we haven’t had rain in weeks, it wasn’t too muddy though). I’m also going to share with you my after-race lunch. A leftover mediterranean-style bulgar wheat salad we made last night that was just so delish I have to share it’s goodness with the world!Mud…
Almost all of us had fun in the mud when we were kids, some more than others. I think I clearly fall into the “more than others” category…thus why when I saw the advertisement for the Mud Maxx 5k, I just had to participate!
This race did a lot of things right…
- Start time set at 9am so people could get out to Humble, TX without having to get up at 5:30am (well, if you aren’t my friend Paul, story to come about that…)
- Advertised as an untimed race, which likely prevented most from pushing themselves too hard and hurting themselves on the rugged terrain
- Created a few great mud pits (always could be more, but beggars can’t be choosers) and encouraged participants to have fun in them
- Kept the race low-key but still well-organized despite a flood of registrations on race day
- Had plenty of water stations (4) set up on the course for the near-record heat
- Local Fire Department Volunteers hosing off runners at the end
What it could improve for next year…
- Better post race snacks…I love my gummy bears as much as the next person, but there could have been some healthier options, such as pretzels and leave the sodas at home, nobody running a 5k in 90+ degree heat should be drinking soda (please bring gatorade or the likes)
- More sponsorship (though too much would probably get rid of the great low-key nature of the race)
- More Mud!!!
- Though untimed (which I encourage it to remain), having a timer at the end of the race would be nice to track your change from year to year
Ok…so since I was all gung-ho about this race, I had my husband sit out (he didn’t mind…) to take lots of pictures of the muddy fun! You can see how gung-ho I was below at the start…
The pic is blurry because I just happened to be flexing and acting silly…but, I did calm down and put on my “game face” (or just squinting into the sun…you’re choice…)
The route for the race was on the very gracious Schneider property in Humble. As it hasn’t rained in weeks, the mud seemed to be created by the combination of truck track grooves and lots of water to create a bit of a mucky mess (more watery than muddy, but still got the job done).
Like I mentioned, this was a later race, started at 9am this morning, which I believe encouraged a larger turnout, but also hotter temperatures (90F+ heat index likely flirting in mid-90’s; as I write this now at 2:30pm it is now 97F with 99F heat index).
It was a very low-key start, a bull horn and a flag is all there was…then an “on your mark, get set, go!” A classic never dies…
The organizers encouraged participants to wear costumes, and some were quite creative…such as smurfs (seen below), men dressed in drag, and hula dancers…
The course weaved through the Humble country-side, which is beautiful (if you aren’t under the blazing summer sun)…
Humble does look pretty…nice little escape from Houston for a day…until the mud monster comes to visit!
Our friend from Wisconsin, Paul, defeated the mud monster first and came in leaps and bounds earlier than everyone else in the pack (my hubby even said he ran a little extra and back and still was a few minutes ahead of the next person).
A little aside on Paul…as I said, this race was at 9am, most could sleep in until 7am or so before having to get ready for the race. Not Paul! Paul is currently in Houston on an internship and lives near Minute Maid Park (where the Astros play). He doesn’t have a car in Houston…just a mountain bike…
So, Paul rode his mountain bike all the way from Minute Maid to Humble, a full 20 miles! Now, if were a road bike that’s one thing, but a mountain bike and still win the race by a wide margin? That’s dedication! If I knew he was running this weekend, I would have put my bike rack on our car so we could give him a lift and save him from the 20 mile ride back to his apartment. However, I wouldn’t expect anything less from a seasoned marathon runner (he even won one last year…).
A few minutes later (well, maybe more like 10…), I came around the bend to defeat the mud monster! Never mind the little child in the background, her and her mother were completing the 1 mi fun run…(note the brownish staining on my legs…that’s the mud, I don’t tan 
)
The last bit was a bit tough, definitely got my hill workout in for the week!
I was so glad I was wearing a jogging bra at this point, it’s not funny…TX is getting HOT!
Mark said I did quite well on this run…probably in the top 30 or so overall (300+ participants) and top 5-10 female with a time probably around 35 minutes. I attribute my trail running skills to my 6+ years at camp traipsing through the woods all summer long. I’m actually most at home on trails and in the woods, this was much needed for me!
But, I survived the Mud Monster! And lived to tell the tale…
However, there was no way I was getting into the car smelling of stagnant Bayou water…
Good thing the Fire Station sent over a few trucks to help rinse us off…
And…all hosed off and ready to get on with my day!
What a great run!
Now, after the run, I obviously was quite hungry…it was a longer (time not length), harder terrain, and hot race…so I needed fuel to get me through the rest of the day (which isn’t over yet…).
Since we are in cost saving mode due to the impending purchase of our home (loan now out of underwriting and all is set to close on June 26th), we decided to drive the nearly hour home and eat leftovers from last night for lunch. I had wanted to experiment with bulgar for some time now but finally had the inspiration to make it come true yesterday for dinner!
Thus was born my Mediterranean-style Bulgar Salad!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup uncooked bulgar wheat
- 2 cups water
- pinch salt
- ~ 3 chopped Roma Tomato (I used 6 campari tomatoes)
- 1 chopped English cucumber (they are smaller than traditional ones in most US grocery stores)
- handful of Kalamata olives
- 2 oz good quality feta cheese (more if it isn’t good quality, the good quality stuff can be stretched further and has crisper taste than store brand or Athenos feta)
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach
- 2 tbsp basil
- 2 chicken breasts (marinated in dressing of your choice, we used Newman’s Own Italian but next time want to use balsalmic vinegar and oil)
Directions:
Boil water with a pinch of salt. Once boiling, remove from heat, add bulgar wheat and cover for 30 minutes. It is much like a couscous, but takes a bit longer and has much heartier flavor and texture. Once bulgar is done cooking, transfer to a bowl and cover. Place into fridge to cool down (or you can serve this salad warm if it isn’t, say 98F outside).
Chop up veggies, tomatoes and cucumbers should be bite sized. Slice olives in half, and spinach and basil should be coarsely chopped. Crumble your feta cheese if you are using bulk feta cheese (which I use, Phoenicia is an awesome and cheap international market for those in Houston, highly recommended!).
Stir in veggies and cheese into bulgar until evenly distributed within salad.
Grill (or bake) your chicken breast to your favorite specifications. Dice and fold into salad. You may want to refridgerate the cubed chicken breast before mixing into the salad (we did).
Voila! Makes ~6 servings of 1 cup each…
And, it tastes even better the next day after the flavors meld a bit more.
Next time though, we will substitute dill and parsley for the basil. We really wanted to do dill this time, but the grocery store was out of dill this week 
Nutrition (1/6 of recipe):
- 204 cal
- 2 g fat
- 27 g carb
- 7 g fiber
- 20 g protein
Yum! What a great way to start off a Saturday…a great race and a wonderful light summertime salad! We won’t be going back to pasta salads again…
Sounds like a seriously fun time!! And the fact that it’s not timed… totally my kind of event! Great job!
Loved your comments on the race. your internal clock must keep perfect time, as your actual time was 35:10. i was the shriner handling the “unofficial timing” and helping hand out water & finisher dog tags at the end. I had a great time watching everyone else have fun. I also cook occaisionally and love your salad receipe. thanks, and see you next year.