Sort of like the Spartan 300 I used to take on with CrossFit, Spartan Race is a new revolutionary obstacle course—but with a twist—they give you a training protocol.

From beginner trail racers and mud run participants to hardcore warriors, tough guys and marathon runners, everyone comes out to test themselves on the insane obstacle races. There are three levels: Sprint, Super, and Beast. Spartan Race was created with the idea that working out is not always torturous … Spartan Race’s goal is simple: to get you off your couch, throw you in the mud & trails, and feed you one tough endurance event day that will be the adrenalin rush of your life.

Spartan Race provides its participants with a daily workout, a weekly newsletter, and inspiring blogs that will help them get from the couch to the finish line within 45 days. It really is as simple as signing up, showing up, and never ever giving up.

Spartan Race will be in Colorado at Fort Carson May 5th & 6th and in Texas in Burnet May 19th & 20th.

You will understand what it means to be a Spartan at the finish line …

For frequently asked questions and answers check out: spartanrace.com/spartan-race-obstacle-course-faq.html / To register: spartanrace.com

• Best Hotel: Decker Creek Bed and Breakfast and Biscuit
  Of all the hotels visited thus far, Eko could live in the Decker Creek B & B & B forever. Behind the beautiful cabin there are 50 acres of fenced-in property where Eko was free to run around. Dogs are even welcomed at breakfast and offered homemade treats!
• Best Park: Zilker Park
  This park offers the best of both worlds: a path where pet-owners can walk their dog on a leash and a wide open area for dogs to run free, which Eko loved. Feeling more adventurous? Jump into a rented kayak or canoe and enjoy the beauty of Austin from the water!
• Best Hike/Run: Turkey Creek
  This offers the best hiking scenery and is the only place Will and Eko have found on their trip that allows dogs to be off-leash on a trail. The two-and-a-half mile trail crisscrosses the creek, giving dogs the opportunity to splash around in the water.
• Best Pet Store: Lofty Dog
  This pet store really matches the atmosphere of the city – laid back and welcoming. Pets are allowed to roam free, which made it easier for Will to shop for treats while Eko was busy playing with the very attentive staff.
• Best Restaurant: South Austin Trailer Park and Eatery
  Many Austin restaurants are pet-friendly, so Will and Eko chose this spot (also known as Torchy’s Trailer Park) for its unusual setup and fun environment. There are picnic tables, televisions, ping pong tables and foosball tables – what’s not to love!

“Austin is a unique city with an active pet-friendly community who were eager to share their favorite spots with us,” said Kearney. Fellow animal lovers can get inspired to start their own journey by logging onto Petcentric.com or using the Petcentric Places mobile app to find pet-friendly places and information anytime, anywhere.

In the British Isles, it is a tradition that women may propose marriage only on leap years. Supposedly, a 1288 law by Queen Margaret of Scotland (then age five and living in Norway), required that fines be levied if a marriage proposal was refused by the man … compensation ranged from a kiss to £1 to a silk gown to 12 pairs of gloves (wtf?), in order to soften the blow. Women looking to take advantage of their opportunity to pitch woo were expected to wear a scarlet petticoat—fair warning, if you will (via wikipedia).

This is, of course, the premise of the movie Leap Year, which was not all that good of a movie but I saw it because it’s terrible and a chick flick and I appear to love those two things.

Anyhow, I think the ideal Leap Day would involve lots of Leaping. As in jumping in the air. I’m going to be doing a Bumps and Steeps Locals Clinic on Aspen Mountain. Not really what I had in mind but time is fast running out on Locals Clinics and I have to attend at least two in order to achieve a break-even on my investment in the unlimited pass. So I go. And given my skills, I may well be leaping. Unintentionally. Sort of like this video:

Wish me luck. Happy Leap Day!

… then I went.

… and now, I will probably not ever go again either. (I also happen to be in Park City this weekend, yay!)

It’s awesome, yes, that X Games are in Aspen. But it’s really crowded, the views are not awesome, and the lines for the buses are beyond ridiculous.

However, the music in town for X Games is also ridiculous. Ridiculous. So we have to appreciate that!

Saturday the always-free Hi-Fi Concert Series at the base of Aspen mountain features AWOLNATION, at 5:30p. Although I enjoyed Big Boi last year, AWOLNATION is definitely a hot-hot act right now and sure to please the X Games crowd.

Belly Up has some stellar acts, a few of which are already sold old (Deadmau5 sold out in a flash and caused a lot of drama to boot):

Plus Sunday night TheGoodLife! & Louie Vito present Raekwon & Ghostface Killah with very special guests DJ Spider & 12th Planet.

Heading to the actual X Games? Map below:

Buttermilk Mountain Winter X Games Aspen 2012 spectator map. Click here to download the large version of this map.

EatAspen has a list of all the X Games deals in town here.

Tim Berg – Seek Bromance (Avicii Vocal Edit) – 127 BPM

Katy Perry – The One That Got Away – 135 BPM

Alexandra Stan – Mr. Saxobeat (Maan Studio Remix) – 126 BPM

Flo Rida – Good Feeling – 129 BPM

Wolfgang Gartner & Will.I.Am – Forever – 128 BPM

Hot Chelle Rae – Tonight Tonight (Goldstein Remix) – 118 BPM

Taio Cruz & Flo Rida – Hangover – 129 BPM

Enrique Iglesias, Pitbull & The WAV.s – I Like How It Feels – 129 BPM

Kaskade & Skrillex – Lick It – 128 BPM

Kelly Clarkson – What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger) – 117 BPM

Oasis Texas now consists of five restaurants, four retail shops, entertainment, and office space. The rink is open through January 1. Admission to the rink is $10, which includes skate rental. Bring a new, unwrapped toy for the Marine Foundation’s Toys for Tots annual holiday campaign and get $1 off skate ticket. Oasis Texas is located at 6550 Comanche Trail. For more info: oasistx.com

Skating rink hours: Monday through Thursday 4-10p; Friday and Saturday 11a-11p; Sunday 11a-8p.
Christmas Eve: 11a-7p; Christmas Day: 1-10p; New Year’s Eve: 11a-10p; New Year’s Day: 11a-10p

Meanwhile, Whole Foods is introducing Disco Karaoke on Ice! Wednesday Nights Through January 15th from 7-9p . Disco Karaoke on Ice will include free hot chocolate, courtesy of Capital One Bank, to the first 50 guests. Plus, all karaoke guests will be entered into a chance to win a $250 gift card. Admission: $10/hour includes skates.

Over 30 of Austin’s finest yoga instructors will be leading classes on the festival’s four stages, bringing together the widest range of yoga Austin has ever seen – from kids classes to kundalini, from beginner to ashtanga vinyasa – which is so unbelievably awesome. I’ve been doing a few workshops, and there are some styles or teachers that work for some people (like AT for me) and others for others. The opportunity to try a bunch out … so cool!

The complete schedule of classes & instructors is here: austinyogafestival.com/schedule/

Tickets: $25/day pass, $40/two day pass (other deals for friends, kids, and so on are listed): austinyogafestival.com/tickets/

A percentage of all ticket sales from the Festival will go towards supporting several local organizations: Austin Food Bank, Community Yoga, Amala Foundation & Yoga Care Foundation.

Om on!!

Presented by the University Co-op, Burnt Orange Tailgating covers anything and everything related to UT Football. I miss going to UT games when I’m up in Aspen, so it’s a little bit of vicarious living (and some laughs … oh college freshmen!). I don’t see how anyone could live in Austin and not have at least a passing interest in the Horns. For the upcoming epic TX/OU weekend, they’re planning big things: coverage from the Dallas Texas Exes Golf tournament, Friday pregame pep rally at the Dallas Co-op with Bevo and the Longhorn Band, Dallas Texas Exes Beat ou Happy Hour, and lots of tailgating!

If you’re heading up to Dallas for the Red River Shootout craziness (could it be the last??), look for Burnt Orange Tailgating! If you’re living vicariously like me, they’ll be releasing the TX/OU episode on October 10th.

It’s 10:54am and OU still sucks.

UPDATE: Here’s the TX/OU episode!

Did you know you can get a full week, seven days, of free yoga at tons of studios across the country thanks to National Yoga Month?

It’s no secret that I’ve been practicing A LOT of yoga recently. I did a seven-day boot camp in Aspen that was transformative. No, I didn’t come to any life-changing realizations. No, I didn’t make any decisions. Trust me, I had plenty of realizations and decisions needing to be had, I WANTED them. But yoga, you learn through doing it, is just about doing it. Just about being. The other stuff comes with being. Being present. And it definitely does not come instantly.

Why then was my yoga week transformative? Because it made me realize how important yoga is to my health and well-being. I have previously publicly declared that I’m not yogi. But I AM. I am a yogi.

There are 10 days left to take advantage; yoga month culminates September 30th with The Time for Yoga, a global community practice.

Use the studio finder here to immediately get your yoga on. For free.