The title of my last Spartan post was, "Embrace the suck." That was after running my 2nd Spartan race ever, another sprint in some terrible conditions. 2017 was going to be the year of my trifecta. So, round 3 of Spartan would consist of 3 races-sprint (5 miles), super (9 miles), and a beast (12 miles). In May I traveled to beautiful Colorado Springs to run the first two legs of the trifecta-super and sprint- in the Spartan military series at Ft. Carson. I had never run the super before and now I was not only going to run my longest race to date, but I was going to turn around and run the sprint the next day! A few of my concerns, besides the obvious back to back days, were the altitude and the hills. The altitude ended up being a mostly non-factor-tried to drink lots of water and get good sleep. But those hills during the races were a killer to the ankles. You kept going up and up and up....then down and down and down on very rocky terrain. I had to tape my ankles for the next day. So much strain on them going down the hills. I'll never forget the worst 2 hills I have ever seen in my life. The first was for the bucket brigade. Carry a 5 gallon bucket filled 3/4 of the way with rocks, without a handle, straight up and straight back down. (I paid money for this??) I saw guys puking on the way up and folks slipping and falling on the way down (I would end up doing that on the 2nd day). At the end of the race, the only concern I had about the next day was having to do that obstacle all over again. Thankfully, they didn't make you go up the entire side of the "hill" for the sprint, just halfway. That day though I stopped to make sure someone next to me was okay and I slipped on loose rock and fell
on a cactus and the bucket of rocks landed on my thigh (now I was the one being asked if I was okay!). That left a mark. But back to the hills! The second terrible hill was the never ending hill right at the end of the race. You've gone almost 9 miles (not counting the ruck carry, sand bag carry, and bucket brigade miles) and this route kept going up and up and up. I literally could not see the top and it was just an endless back and forth going up. That hurt the legs...and the lungs....and the morale. At the top I can still remember the wind whipping the flags of the Atlas carry obstacle followed by the Olympus (did it), monkey bars (didn't complete that), and finally the fire jump. I went into the super having never "rung a bell" on any obstacles. Not all obstacles have bells but some do-rope climb, z wall, olympus, multi rig, monkey bars, and twister. I was able to ring the bell at the z wall, olympus, and twister-two of those obstacles I had never seen before and I was so stoked to complete them that I was on a high running to the next obstacle. I almost hit the spear throw each day-one stuck in the wooden frame and the other went in...then fell out. So close! Monkey bars and the multi rig are next on the list to conquer. So is the rope climb but dang that one is hard! There were several "carries" in this race, especially with it being a military race. Sand bag carry, ruck carry (I saw those rucks pulling guys backwards), and the bucket carry. At the end, without knowing what to expect for a time especially with altitude, hills, and the distance, I was super proud of my results. 3:39:38 over an unofficial 9 miles (Spartan only counts the distance between obstacles and not the distance ran while AT the obstacle "funny math"), only failed 4 obstacles (rope climb, multi rig, spear throw, monkey bars-A-mazing!), and hit 3 bells...and I was still alive and walking and willing to do it again the next day. :-) That night I did something that's a little out of my comfort zone and went out to eat with people I didn't know, racers that are a part of the Spartan 4-0 group. Had some good food, continued to drink water like it was going out of style (3 times a night to get up to pee might mean I was well hydrated), and then headed back to bed for another race in the morning. 1 down...2 to go!
The title of my last Spartan post was, "Embrace the suck." That was after running my 2nd Spartan race ever, another sprint in some terrible conditions. 2017 was going to be the year of my trifecta. So, round 3 of Spartan would consist of 3 races-sprint (5 miles), super (9 miles), and a beast (12 miles). In May I traveled to beautiful Colorado Springs to run the first two legs of the trifecta-super and sprint- in the Spartan military series at Ft. Carson. I had never run the super before and now I was not only going to run my longest race to date, but I was going to turn around and run the sprint the next day! A few of my concerns, besides the obvious back to back days, were the altitude and the hills. The altitude ended up being a mostly non-factor-tried to drink lots of water and get good sleep. But those hills during the races were a killer to the ankles. You kept going up and up and up....then down and down and down on very rocky terrain. I had to tape my ankles for the next day. So much strain on them going down the hills. I'll never forget the worst 2 hills I have ever seen in my life. The first was for the bucket brigade. Carry a 5 gallon bucket filled 3/4 of the way with rocks, without a handle, straight up and straight back down. (I paid money for this??) I saw guys puking on the way up and folks slipping and falling on the way down (I would end up doing that on the 2nd day). At the end of the race, the only concern I had about the next day was having to do that obstacle all over again. Thankfully, they didn't make you go up the entire side of the "hill" for the sprint, just halfway. That day though I stopped to make sure someone next to me was okay and I slipped on loose rock and fell 
on a cactus and the bucket of rocks landed on my thigh (now I was the one being asked if I was okay!). That left a mark. But back to the hills! The second terrible hill was the never ending hill right at the end of the race. You've gone almost 9 miles (not counting the ruck carry, sand bag carry, and bucket brigade miles) and this route kept going up and up and up. I literally could not see the top and it was just an endless back and forth going up. That hurt the legs...and the lungs....and the morale. At the top I can still remember the wind whipping the flags of the Atlas carry obstacle followed by the Olympus (did it), monkey bars (didn't complete that), and finally the fire jump. I went into the super having never "rung a bell" on any obstacles. Not all obstacles have bells but some do-rope climb, z wall, olympus, multi rig, monkey bars, and twister. I was able to ring the bell at the z wall, olympus, and twister-two of those obstacles I had never seen before and I was so stoked to complete them that I was on a high running to the next obstacle. I almost hit the spear throw each day-one stuck in the wooden frame and the other went in...then fell out. So close! Monkey bars and the multi rig are next on the list to conquer. So is the rope climb but dang that one is hard! There were several "carries" in this race, especially with it being a military race. Sand bag carry, ruck carry (I saw those rucks pulling guys backwards), and the bucket carry. At the end, without knowing what to expect for a time especially with altitude, hills, and the distance, I was super proud of my results. 3:39:38 over an unofficial 9 miles (Spartan only counts the distance between obstacles and not the distance ran while AT the obstacle "funny math"), only failed 4 obstacles (rope climb, multi rig, spear throw, monkey bars-A-mazing!), and hit 3 bells...and I was still alive and walking and willing to do it again the next day. :-) That night I did something that's a little out of my comfort zone and went out to eat with people I didn't know, racers that are a part of the Spartan 4-0 group. Had some good food, continued to drink water like it was going out of style (3 times a night to get up to pee might mean I was well hydrated), and then headed back to bed for another race in the morning. 1 down...2 to go!
