About a month ago I participated in my second Spartan Sprint. After my first race in May, I knew exactly what I was getting myself into and I knew I had to be prepared to be pushed mentally and physically but also knew how I'd feel in the days following the race. (Read that as..."not so good"!) But it was going to be nice to experience the race with a partner. So Emelyn and I road tripped down to Atlanta to volunteer for the kids race on Saturday and then run the race Sunday. It was a much cheaper way to race when you volunteer because you get a free race out of the deal. We decided that since kids were our specialty, why not volunteer for the kids race?! We drove down Friday to Conyers, GA and got up early the next morning to head to what we would later find out to be the site of the 1996 Olympic Equestrian cross country course. It was chilly...cold for Georgia...and we met up with some outgoing crazy fun folks and waited for the kids to show up. Our job was very simple. Move a ribbon from one side to the other depending on if older kids were coming through (1 mile course) or the younger kids (1/2 mile course). It was fun to watch the kids and encourage them. It was cold and the kids had to get wet right off the bat so by the time they got to us, they were wet, cold, and many were crying and shivering. I felt bad for them but I was also pretty pleased to see that no one was giving up. They may have wanted to and maybe their parents wouldn't have let them if they tried, but they stayed on course. A big part of the Spartan founder's ideals is how do you deal with obstacles in your life? Groan, mumble, complain? Or run at it, conquer it, embrace the opportunity to become stronger? Spartan races came onto the scene around 5 or so years ago. He wanted to push people out of their comfort zones and intentionally put obstacles in their way that they would have to work through. But let's get back to this particular race. After eating out at Outback steakhouse and getting plenty of protein (and some carbs in those potatoes!), it was an early bedtime for us. We'd already napped after volunteering (who knew how tiring that would be?!) but it wasn't hard to fall asleep. We had decided to choose the early race time the next morning due to the incoming rain. No matter what, it was going to be a chilly 40 degree rainy day, but might as well get there before the course got too torn up.
When we got to the race, no rain...yet. As we got ourselves ready and stood in the line up corral, still no rain. Just before our wave started though, it began to really rain. So we're wet before we start. Good old Georgia red mud. We get going at a good pace-jumping over walls, crawling under walls, climbing over round bales, running through the woods. No burpees yet. About 20 minutes in we hit the monkey bars...these aren't your average playground monkey bars. Big bars, staggered up and down, and fairly far away from each other. I didn't get past the first one when I did my first Spartan and I had been using the monkey bars at camp's playground to practice (however they are much smaller in diameter and close together). My goal was to do better than last time. And I was able to make it to the 3rd one...but it still meant 30 burpees for not finishing. Off to the Atlas stone. Pick up a 40 pound cement ball, walk it to the other side, drop and do 5 burpees, pick the ball back up and return it. By now it is so wet and sloppy out. Off to the mud pits to climb in and out of leading right into the barbed wire crawl. It was actually a tad bit higher than the one in OH and I could crawl a little easier but once it got too low, I rolled. And that always makes me SO dizzy...and so sick. Still feeling pretty good. I wasn't soaked to the bone and freezing yet. My hands were pretty wet and starting to feel cold but that was it. I think that there were a few walls after that point. I helped Emelyn up and then I got a hand from other folks. One cool thing about Spartan racers is that they are totally willing to help one another but will let you have the chance to try it yourself first. I don't remember all the obstacles but I do remember the cargo net in the middle of the run. We walked up to a straight cliff and I know that I didn't see the net at first and I was like, "Holy &*% ....how the....?" Oh wait, there's a cargo net. Emelyn and I started up but there was a lady who was really nervous about going up. Who knows if it was a height issue or feeling unstable on the net but she wasn't having it. Her friends had gone up first and she was at the bottom. Emelyn got behind her and I was beside her and we encouraged her up that net. She was super excited to get to the top. Somewhere in the next few miles included a bucket brigade, spear throw (30 more burpees!), and more. When I got to the dunk wall, that water was so so cold. It was the first time I was going to get my head wet. As I jumped in and made my way to the wall, I had a hard time gathering myself to go under the wall. Once I did, it totally took my breath away....actually took my breath away. But I also had water in my eyes and didn't have anything clean to them off with and walked around blind for a few seconds until I took the inside of my shirt and wiped my face. Once I opened my eyes, my contacts were actually fogged up! That's cold man! As someone else said, "Now this shit is real!" Soon after the dunk wall was the rope climb (made it higher than last time! I've got to practice this!)....30 more burpees. I think that the slip wall was next...no issues. After that we ran back into the woods, away from the mainstand area. You know you're close to the end but not too close and now it's all down to grit.
What is grit? According to wikipedia it's, "
psychology is a positive, non-cognitive trait based on an individual's passion for a particular long-term goal or end state, coupled with a powerful motivation to achieve their respective objective." This is where I started my mantra of embrace the suck. This was turning into a mind numbing part of the race. You know it sucks, it hurts, you're cold and you could moan and complain and focus on what's cold/hurting OR you could completely embrace that, of course, this isn't the most desirable situation but you're going to go into it with the best attitude you can muster and tackle the challenges head on, as best you can, and get through it...and smile through it (try it, it works!) You're sliding down hills, carrying a 20 pound sand bag through a never ending creek that's full of pot holes, your feet feel like concrete weights that hurt with every step, but the faster you do the obstacles and the faster you run, the quicker you get to the other side...in this case, the finish line. Sometimes in life we need to embrace the suck. While we won't know the finish line like you'll know during a race, it still helps to embrace the situation and tackle it head on with the best attitude possible.
I didn't feel the full effect of the cold until Emelyn and I hit the finish line (we raced across!). After we crossed and they gave us our medals, shirts, bananas, and fit aid, I started to shake. I couldn't wait to get warm clothes on. I tried to rinse off but couldn't and just went in to the tent to change. I could tell that mild hypothermia was setting in because cognitive function was not so good....Emelyn can attest to that. ;-) haha After getting dry clothes on (but unfortunately I had brought sandals to wear back to the car....my feet were not in good shape by the time we got back!) we went into the med tent to get blankets and try to warm up some. After 10 minutes there, we had to walk the MILE back to the car. My feet were hurting so bad...it was still raining...but finally....we get back to the truck. First step, warm truck up! Second step, dry feet and put them into some warm socks. We waited there for a while to warm up and process everything. Despite the frigidness of the day though, it was a great race! I ran it MUCH faster than my first one (1 hr 55 min), I did 1 less set of burpees, and even though I still failed a few obstacles, I got farther on them. It was after this race that I decided to pursue a trifecta in 2017. That means that I will attempt to run and complete each of Spartans race distances-sprint (3-5 miles), super (8-10 miles), and beast (12-14 miles). I have committed to the Colorado weekend in May over Mother's Day-a super on Saturday and the sprint on Sunday (I'm going to be in a world of hurt!) and then the beast in Central Florida in December. Aroo!
About a month ago I participated in my second Spartan Sprint. After my first race in May, I knew exactly what I was getting myself into and I knew I had to be prepared to be pushed mentally and physically but also knew how I'd feel in the days following the race. (Read that as..."not so good"!) But it was going to be nice to experience the race with a partner. So Emelyn and I road tripped down to Atlanta to volunteer for the kids race on Saturday and then run the race Sunday. It was a much cheaper way to race when you volunteer because you get a free race out of the deal. We decided that since kids were our specialty, why not volunteer for the kids race?! We drove down Friday to Conyers, GA and got up early the next morning to head to what we would later find out to be the site of the 1996 Olympic Equestrian cross country course. It was chilly...cold for Georgia...and we met up with some outgoing crazy fun folks and waited for the kids to show up. Our job was very simple. Move a ribbon from one side to the other depending on if older kids were coming through (1 mile course) or the younger kids (1/2 mile course). It was fun to watch the kids and encourage them. It was cold and the kids had to get wet right off the bat so by the time they got to us, they were wet, cold, and many were crying and shivering. I felt bad for them but I was also pretty pleased to see that no one was giving up. They may have wanted to and maybe their parents wouldn't have let them if they tried, but they stayed on course. A big part of the Spartan founder's ideals is how do you deal with obstacles in your life? Groan, mumble, complain? Or run at it, conquer it, embrace the opportunity to become stronger? Spartan races came onto the scene around 5 or so years ago. He wanted to push people out of their comfort zones and intentionally put obstacles in their way that they would have to work through. But let's get back to this particular race. After eating out at Outback steakhouse and getting plenty of protein (and some carbs in those potatoes!), it was an early bedtime for us. We'd already napped after volunteering (who knew how tiring that would be?!) but it wasn't hard to fall asleep. We had decided to choose the early race time the next morning due to the incoming rain. No matter what, it was going to be a chilly 40 degree rainy day, but might as well get there before the course got too torn up. 
What is grit? According to wikipedia it's, "psychology is a positive, non-cognitive trait based on an individual's passion for a particular long-term goal or end state, coupled with a powerful motivation to achieve their respective objective." This is where I started my mantra of embrace the suck. This was turning into a mind numbing part of the race. You know it sucks, it hurts, you're cold and you could moan and complain and focus on what's cold/hurting OR you could completely embrace that, of course, this isn't the most desirable situation but you're going to go into it with the best attitude you can muster and tackle the challenges head on, as best you can, and get through it...and smile through it (try it, it works!) You're sliding down hills, carrying a 20 pound sand bag through a never ending creek that's full of pot holes, your feet feel like concrete weights that hurt with every step, but the faster you do the obstacles and the faster you run, the quicker you get to the other side...in this case, the finish line. Sometimes in life we need to embrace the suck. While we won't know the finish line like you'll know during a race, it still helps to embrace the situation and tackle it head on with the best attitude possible. 
I didn't feel the full effect of the cold until Emelyn and I hit the finish line (we raced across!). After we crossed and they gave us our medals, shirts, bananas, and fit aid, I started to shake. I couldn't wait to get warm clothes on. I tried to rinse off but couldn't and just went in to the tent to change. I could tell that mild hypothermia was setting in because cognitive function was not so good....Emelyn can attest to that. ;-) haha After getting dry clothes on (but unfortunately I had brought sandals to wear back to the car....my feet were not in good shape by the time we got back!) we went into the med tent to get blankets and try to warm up some. After 10 minutes there, we had to walk the MILE back to the car. My feet were hurting so bad...it was still raining...but finally....we get back to the truck. First step, warm truck up! Second step, dry feet and put them into some warm socks. We waited there for a while to warm up and process everything. Despite the frigidness of the day though, it was a great race! I ran it MUCH faster than my first one (1 hr 55 min), I did 1 less set of burpees, and even though I still failed a few obstacles, I got farther on them. It was after this race that I decided to pursue a trifecta in 2017. That means that I will attempt to run and complete each of Spartans race distances-sprint (3-5 miles), super (8-10 miles), and beast (12-14 miles). I have committed to the Colorado weekend in May over Mother's Day-a super on Saturday and the sprint on Sunday (I'm going to be in a world of hurt!) and then the beast in Central Florida in December. Aroo!
