The Spartan World Championships - Killington, VT
I had the honor of participating in the biggest obstacle course competition to date - I toed the line with the best in the sport. It was one race i most definitely will never forget.
Pre -race
Jim and I were able to get away early and spend an extra relaxing day in Boston - I so needed it. Then we traveled 4 hrs away to killington, vt. (was supposed to be 3.5, but Siri got us lost several times). We got to stay with the team in a cozy lodge close to the venue.
There was a lot of hype and pre race stuff going on - press conferences, dinner at Joe's farm, etc. I tried to take in the experience without getting too nervous - Not an easy thing to do. I've been out of the limelight for a few months after an injury took me out and the pressure to win was on everyone else.
My fitness was somewhere near 80% - I knew going in that my uphill running was just not back yet. I had had lots of time to get a strong upper body throughout the injury time, and I felt confident in that aspect.
This was also my first time on this mtn, and I knew I had a lot to learn.
Race Day
Surprisingly I was not feeling too nervous - maybe because the pressure wasn't on me? I went through pre race rituals, but this time was trying to decide what shoes to wear clear up to the starting line. I decided to go with my InOv8s because I love to feel the ground. These shoes have a cleat style bottom, and stick to the mountain like glue.
I also got to try out my new Ultraspire Camelback:) I was so surprised that I barely noticed it was there the whole time.
It was fun to be a part of the pro team this year - We were introduced before the race and got to hop the wall to the starting line before they let everyone else through with all the cameras. Such a cool experience!
This was going to be such a long race and there was so much unknown. My plan was to try and keep up with the front runners, even if I was huffing a little. If I let them out of my sight it was going to be hard to stick with them.
The sendoff
Our course was automatically uphill, the going was slow from the get go, even through all of the first walls and crawls. i was with the leaders til I hit the huge round hay bales - crap i got stuck. I didn't make it over and had to give it 3 runs. The leaders had a bit of a lead then.
I tried to stay calm and just plug away at the hill.
The beginning was no joke. a minimum of 45 deg incline on the hill - almost 2 miles up. It was absolutely brutal and we were hiking. Amelia, Claude, Morgan, and even Jenny seemed to be running somehow. This is where I need to be by next year.
By the time we get to the top, I'm in 10th place. Ugh.
Surprisingly April is behind me?
I know I'm going to get the obstacles out of order and forget some cause there were so many!
By the time we hit 2 miles, my heart was pumping pretty good. There were a couple walls at the top, and then more running through the forest. My shoes were awesome here and I was able to cruise through pretty well. Lots of guys in the way though.
Yankey 384 7893
The number I had to memorize a number based on the last 2 digits of our bib #. Well they had this last year, and someone told me to bring a marker:)
More running - I'm feeling decent, and I seem to be catching people.
Until....
sandbag carry - 65 lbs 1 mile up, 1 mile down
The down was just as bad as the up. However I was able to pass 2 girls here! My steps were slow but steady. It was brutal!
I've never been so happy to be done with an obstacle.
At this point, all the running and obstacles are jumbled in my mind. i know there was lots more extreme climbs, lots of forest running, and more walls that I handled with no problem.
We also had a tire pull that was pretty decently hard on the uphill.
Also had the tractor pull - a concrete block on a chain.
It was time to get wet about now. There was a water pit that had a wall that we had to go under - brrr that water was freezing.
The mud pits began with a nice dose of freezing water being blasted at me through a hose. They made sure they got me til I was far enough away.
The barbed wire crawl was horrible - it was super bumpy which made it hard to roll. The barbed wire was extra low and I kept getting snagged in it. I don't know how bigger people made it through that!
One thing that I did right in this was was monitor my nutrition. I had my watch set to beep every 45 min because you lose track of time sooo easily. i took a salt tab, anti fatigue, and gel everytime and it helped me to never drop.
After 6-7 of the hardest miles of my life, it was time to return to the bottom and go through the gauntlet of obstacles that I knew was waiting for me.
I saw Jenny coming down the rope climb and was excited to be close. I was in 6th place at the time.
I handled rope climb easily but legs were shakey. The crowd was awesome and cheering loudly. Loved every second.
I pass Jenny on the barbed wire crawl - Jenny told me she wasn't going to be a threat before the race - so I didn't take her seriously. That was a $500 mistake:(
Next came the lovely water section. I had been dreading this for months cause I heard how cold the water was the previous year. Somehow the water didn't feel too bad when I jumped in - some of the guys had cramped up in the water, and the first place girl had dropped out cause of it. I'm normally a cold water wimp so it was such a relief.
We had to swim out to another rope climb under the bridge. It wasn't as high and was easy. My breathing was still pretty heavy though and I couldn't swim like I wanted to. Goggles next time?
Run around the lake to the wall traverse. I never have issues on this,, but it did actually make me slow down near the end on one tricky part. I passed Jenny here.
Swim out to the cargo ladder to tarzan swing. Jim had set this up in my back yard specifically for this challenge. I was determined to get it. However my grip strength was waning, and the climb up the cargo ladder was harder than I thought it was going to be. When I got up to the rope, I couldn't reach it! I swung on the cargo ladder and decided that I'd have to get up even higher. Eventually I did grab it, but that was about it. I didn't know how I was going to swing to the next one! Somehow I did though. I even grabbed the 3rd before slipping and falling. (Come to find out later that this had a fail rate of about 99%). I still don't know any other girls that got it, and about 3%of men did.
I did my dang burpees, and they just didn't feel too bad still. I even shouted out "I love burpees" to help pump up all the guys around me sharing my misery. Don't think they appreciated my enthusiasm.
I'm getting ready to run back into the forest, and someone stops me and asks me my number - the one I was supposed to memorize. I look down at my hand. After lots of mud and obstacles, there was absolutely nothing there. CRAP! lol. ok so I had to guess. I had imagined the number on a phone, and I went through it slowly. When I pronounced the last number correct, and gave a big shout and continued on. (30 burpees is also the punishment).
Again - more blur. Lots of uphill, forest, etc. Except I'm remarkably alone. I was in the lull between where I had passed the slow guys, and hadn't caught the fast ones yet. I did see Jenny and the other girl ahead of me. I run faster to catch them.
Atlas stone carry - 5 burpees - carry back
More barbed wire crawl
Bucket Brigade - Can I say that this officially sucked the worse. We had to fill an entire 5 gallon bucket with gravel -sooo much heavier than sand. And of course - it was up and a down a steep hil. Jenny wasn't too far ahead. I had to take several breaks, and even accidently dumped some out (I frantically got it back in - you have to do it again if its not up to the line). When I get to the top, I see April had caught up a bit and was at the bottom. That girl is determined and tough.
Eventually we make it back down to the lake and have the tyrolean traverse.
For some reason most people have a really hard time with this. There was even a rule for the elites that they had to pass this obstacle. They got 3 tries. Each time they'd fall off they'd have 30 burpees then could try again. After 3 attempts, they'd have a 15 min penalty. Ouch. Thankfully I don't have a problem. The 5th place girl had been hanging out on top of the rope for a long time (according to my hubby), inching herself along. I used the underneath method, and cruised quickly along to the bell. I loved the crowd and the encouragment as a passed her easily.
I knew I was back in the money at that point and was wondering how far ahead the rest of the were. We had about 3 miles left to go, and I was trying to catch Jenny. She was a beast though and was still running up the hills. I got myself to run, but just couldn't gain ground. I have never been more ready for a race to be over. Just when we thought we were there, we enounter one more.
Freaking sand bag carry
back up the freaking hill
holy crap
Jenny is way close. I decide that I'm going to run. i have absolutely nothing left in me. But I wanted Jenny. I started midly jogging which was all I could do at this point. And so does Jenny:( This continues up and down the dang thing. She finishes less than a minute ahead of me.
I was elated to be done, and know that I gave what i had that day. I'm looking forward to next year and being better.
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