Midwest Super Spartan Recap

FINALLY! Here is my race weekend recap.

Jon and I hit the road about 11am on Friday. He even let me write on the windows as long as I didn't use shoe polish or put "Chick" anywhere. Even though I really wanted to put "You Got Chicked" on the rear, I understood he was driving and he didn't want any confusion. Marriage, its all about compromise.

Five hours later we found ourselves checked into the Hampton Inn in Ottawa, IL. Jon changed to run around The Wal-mart a few times for his marathon training, and I went down to the pool. Since I had completely rested, soaked in Epson Salt, and massaged to allow my foot/shin to heal, I was a little worried about lactic acid build up and just overall stiffness. Post-swim I headed back up to the room to get ready for dinner. Jon returned from his run with the most marvelous treat ever: Freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. I'm talking light and crispy on the outside, but really chewy on the inside. Jon is a Hilton man, and informed me that all Hampton Inns bake them around 5pm and serve them free in the lobby. They earned themselves a very loyal customer. Vacations will be built around these cookies. FYI: We have since found out they are Otis Spunkmeyer brand. Go getcha some. Dinner was eaten at Bianchi's, a local pizza pub that makes their own sausage.Yummy. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing, enjoying cable television (no cable in our home), and going back and forth between feeling like vomiting and excitement.

The next morning, I woke still feeling like vomiting from my nerves. Its much harder to calm yourself in a hotel room versus at home since there aren't as many distractions. Plus, Jon wasn't running so I really didn't have anyone to exchange race day fears with. This was a first for me, and it proved a little tough. I've always had friends racing with me to share angst and excitement, but this time I had to rely on myself to generate calming, reassuring, you're not going to die thoughts. So I did what I always do, and I turned to food. I did my usual race morning ritual of a sweet potato and fruit smoothie. Yes, I brought all of that with me. I do not want to have to poop in the woods. I have a good ritual finally figured out. During 'breakfast' I watched the IN Sprint episode on Spartan TV. This too is a a pre-race ritual/motivator. Its a reminder of how hard that race was, and I finished it. I can finish the next one.


Chicago Spartan Team

We eventually made it to the festival grounds. We got ourselves checked in. Pee'ed about a million times. Found the Chicago Spartan team tent. Didn't know anybody, but still kind of hung around the tent like a couple of Creepers. Talked to a pair of racers about shoes. Got our team photo taken. Still didn't know anyone. Really, it was just awkward. I'm not the most social of people when sober, so it was just a little uncomfortable. After meandering and observing some of the obstacles, Jon told me it was finally time to head over to the start line. The MC made some speech I couldn't understand, but I "Aroo'ed" when everyone else did. They played Drop Kick Murphys over the speakers to get us all amped up like crazy, drunk Irishmen ready for a bar brawl. A smile crossed my face and all race fears vanished, replaced by excitement and adrenaline. And then we were off through the Greek columns and smoke.

The first half of the race, we ran. We ran about 4 miles through the woods and creek beds. I can only remember 3 obstacles. The first was to shimmy down a culvert from the top of an embankment down to the creek. The second was a super muddy barbed wire crawl. I had to take off my CamelBak to get under. I simply chucked it ahead of me, and then moved forward. This made for an extremely muddy pack at the end. Not an inch of it was clean and I had mud and pebbles jammed in the clips. Using stick I cleaned it out, and threw it back on. At one point we had to cross a creek and climb up an embankment. They had ropes to assist in the climb, but I have been finding my shoes sufficient enough to climb without slipping. Other than that, we ran. The terrain was pretty calm in comparison to IN and the TM the weekend before.

Eventually we came out of the woods to an aid station and a spectator obstacle. I asked the volunteers how far we had come. She said we're about 4 miles; half way. She also said they added aid stations because of the cold and the directors were concerned about people cramping. I decided I was feeling really good, and could go without my Camelbak. I spotted Jon, shoved a Gu in my back pocket, left my Camelbak with Jon, and parted with a muddy kiss. I headed up the cargo net climb. Then we had 2 slanted walls to get over. Except, we had to go over them backwards. I used the supports on the side to help me climb up and also a wonderful stranger's cupped hands. This is what is great about Spartan races. Someone, even a perfect stranger, will help another racer out. After those 2 walls, we had to climb this ridiculously high structure. By far, my least favorite obstacle. The slats were muddy. I hate heights and ladders. Some A$$hole asked if anyone had fallen off. I not so politely told him to STFU until I had both feet planted safely on the ground on the other side. I bear hugged my way up. At the top, the damn thing was swaying. I wanted to cry. I wanted my mommy. I wanted a cherry picker machine to come pluck me off this thing. A guy next to me gave me good advice onto how to go over the top. With shaking legs, I listened to every word, and eventually found the ground. I was alive, now back to business.

This is where it gets really fuzzy. The last half of the race had a bunch of obstacles crammed together. So less running and more physical exertion. I'm pretty much going to name the obstacles that I can remember and promise them to not be in race order. There was the Hercules Hoist which I rocked. I was a little worried about this one. In an older post I mention how I tried to haul a Cinder block up and over a tree branch, and I failed miserably. Apparently, pulleys are key. From there we had to climb over walls. This one I nailed too. TM prepped me for this one. I got up and over 2 walls, and helped a fellow racer over them as well. After that we did more walls; under, over and through. We had to do the tractor pull, which I really enjoyed. Basically, have your pick of concrete blocks attached to chains and drag it around a short course. There were hills, the last one was particularly steep and they didn't slide very well. We had a tire flip. Simply flip it two times off the block, and two times back onto it. I managed to pick a tire that still had the wheel inside of it, so it was HEAVY. But I stuck with it. My tire also did not start on the block. So flipping it back, I had to go 3 times. On the third flip, I actually ringed the block and had to shuffle and scoot it back up onto the starting block. Water station and Gu.

After a bit of running we had another bunch of obstacles. And its really fuzzy. There were log over, unders which the volunteer told us to just go under all of them. Somewhere in there was the Pancake Carry. Then there was a log obstacle that you were supposed to run across, but it had turned into a scoot train. I took my first set of burpees. I didn't care to wait in line, nor did I feel it very challenging. There was a crazy obstacle that had logs stretched perpendicular across a water ditch. You had to climb across 4 wet, muddy, slippery logs onto a really wet, muddy, slippery hill. They were pretty far apart and I have no idea how I actually made it across. Jon says I must have busted out my Ninja moves. I like it, and I'm sticking with it. Of course I only made it across three, but it was farther than others. This was my second set of 30 penalty burpees. From there I think we had to just go up and down mud hills and into mud-water ditches. These water ditches were really freaking cold and hard to get out of. In the first one I jumped into, there was a larger man struggling to get out. I shoulder pressed him out. He was shocked to turn around to see that I was the one responsible for helping him out. "Sorry for getting fresh. It was really cold." His buddy remarked, "That was like when people get Superman strength to move cars to save kids." Yep. That sums it up. Don't come between a girl not built like a walrus and getting out of freezing water. I came across these two later at the monkey bars, and 'The Buddy' gave me a "Great job." He witnessed me talking to myself as I crossed. At this point everyone's hands were numb. Standing in line we all shoved them under our armpits or were blowing on them. Once it was my turn, I had to jump to get on them. Then I proceeded to talk to myself out loud for everyone to hear. "You got this Nick. Come on. Hands don't fail me now." You know, just stuff that a crazy girl says to herself. But it made my day for 'The Buddy' to acknowledge my small success.

There was also a log hop which I got across. The logs were spaced a fair distance apart with one log actually under water. It required balance and just confidence in your footing. The volunteer working the log hop, used the sun and shadow pointed to us where the hidden log was. You could also see it if you disturbed the water. The rippling water outlined it. I used both techniques to make sure I landed it. I think the really tall climb with a log-over was after that. It was a stretch to get to the top log and then you dropped about 8 feet. Little scary and probably dangerous. Then there was another log balance turn scoot. I started to wait in line, but decided I would just take the burpees. So up to 90 burpees on the day.

I made sure to run whenever possible. More than once I came upon a guy walking who I would Chick, only to have him all of a sudden sprint by me. I found it very amusing. Some men just can't stand being beaten by a girl.

I eventually saw Jon as we came upon trenches we had to go in and out of. I knew we were near the finish. First, the Traverse wall. Fail. Looking at my pictures my mom noticed I was going the wrong way. She reminded me that I am left handed which explained why I was going sideways and not against the wall. In Texas, I'll be sure to lead with my right foot. So my fourth set of burpees. I think I'm better at burpees with an audience because that was the first time I did 30 in a row. Right afterwards I had to throw a spear. Robby that I work with had given me some lessons with one of our inflatable lite sword toys and it had paid off, sort of. My spear throw was actually really good. It went the distance, it was the right height, but my aim was off. Next time....  Up to 150 burpees. Then the Fire Jump, which resulted in the best picture of me In the Entire World.

I'm in the middle

Next up, was the rope climb. In the middle of ice cold water. A majority of people skipped and took the penalty. However, I trained on my rope and was going to give it a whirl. I chatted with a man in a very lovely kilt. We both agreed, we're at the end, WTH, might as well freeze our butts off. The pond dropped off, so we had to swim to get out to the ropes. Once out there I got my feet on the first knot and pushed up. Then holding on, I pulled up my feet to the next knot visually checking to see if they were on since I really couldn't feel them. I continued this a couple more times until I just couldn't go any longer. I dropped. I froze. I swam as fast as I could. I literally clawed at the giant hill we had to climb up to get out of the pond. Yeah, it sucked, but it was my favorite part of the race. After that, it was one long, muddy, barbed wire crawl and climb up another giant hill. I skipped climbing up the logs that were there because it simply looked really dangerous. I slid down the hill to the Gladiator pit. Biggest disappointment ever. They were in La La land, oblivious to a blood thirsty Spartan Chick headed their way. They didn't come at me, but I hit one of their puggles to wake them up. Gladiators, step up your game. Then the finish line.

Final Barbed Wire Crawl

 

The finish line

 

Best Pic EVER!

Spartan Race video is HERE.

 

 

 

Tough Mudder Recap

I asked James if he wanted to write the race recap. His response/recap:

Hi, I'm James.
F*ck Tough Mudder.
The End.

Short, sweet, succinct. A true expression of how he was feeling the Monday (2 days) after the race. My recap is going to be a bit longer, but with just the highlights. It took us between 4-5 hours to conquer all 12 miles. Obviously, that would be a really long post if I covered all 5 hours. So here's the important stuff.

The Who Dey Crew: Brendan, Me, James, Taylor, TJ, Dave

I went in with very low expectations. I have heard the horror stories of TM, their parking debacles, their poor safety standards, etc. I was proven wrong. We did have to park off site and take a shuttle to the course, but there was no shortage of shuttles. They were constantly running and we didn't have to wait more than 5 minutes before or after the race. When the bus came to pick us up after the race, the driver had the heat cranked. Super, duper bonus points to that driver. As far as before the race, packet pick up and bag check was a breeze. Everything was well marked. To pick up your bib, we just had to find the area of the tent where we fit alphabetically. There must have been 25 sections, so no long line to wait in. Once through the packet pick up, there were volunteers ready to mark our foreheads and arms with our bib numbers. Once we bibbed up, the boys dropped their bags at bag check. Again, very organized. They were divided by bib number. They gave you a "bracelet" that you stuck on your bag that had your bib number on it. You simply found your bib area and gave the volunteers your bag. And it was included in the registration.

Now the fun stuff. I don't remember the order of the obstacles, nor am I going to go through them one by one. This is simply the highlights and what I remember. I included the course map here if you're curious. First, to get to the start line, you had to go up and over an 8 foot wall. Gotta love a race that makes you work to even start. Once we were all up and over, off we went on our adventure. Jon was able to watch the first few obstacles, hence the pictures. We crawled under some barbed wire. Then had to march through mud, which was more like clay so our feet didn't sink.



Catching my breath



Shortly after was the Arctic Enema. Keep in mind, the weather hovered around 45 degrees the whole time we were out there. This obstacle consisted of a tub filled with ice cubes with a wall in the middle you had to go under. You had to go under because they put barbed wire above the wall. When it was my turn, I noticed there were quite a few people waiting on the other side of the wall to get out, including my teammate Brendan. So I waited till a few people actually clamored out. While I waited I got yelled at by the volunteers and I also told people behind me they were more than welcome to go around, but I was waiting until it cleared out some. There is strategy in OCR. The whole smarter, not harder mentality comes in play. Either way I was waiting. The question was, was I standing in ice or not. Nobody went by me. Finally, I hopped in and made it to the wall. Hesitation. Again, the volunteers were yelling at me to go under and I shook my head no. The wall went down to my knees. I tried to think of every possible way to avoid this, but the race directors apparently thought this one through. Eventually, I mustered up the courage and went under. Feet first, grabbing the bottom of the wall and pulling myself through. Brendan said my face once up was priceless. I'm sure it was. Pretty sure, the breath was knocked out of me. I now have a new found sympathy for all of those aboard the Titanic. An Alaskan cruise is out for the foreseeable future.

This was the last time we'd see Jon for a while. I can remember bits and parts. The terrain was tough or awesome depending on who you ask. It was hilly and steep. Any course that is on an Off Road facility is going to be hilly. Also, courses on Ski Resorts will be mountainous. Courses on Farms are flat. Race directors will use the terrain to their advantage or your disadvantage. You've been informed. Train accordingly. So I was happy. We went through woods and up and down hills. Perfect Saturday for me. Early on, we did the Dirty Ballerina which was jumping over trenches filled with water. I learned a sweet Super Hero pose from a fellow racer. Taylor fell, a lot. In fact Taylor fell the entire course. It was his thing. There were more walls to go up and over. These were higher, so we had to help each other over. We had to go over a hay pyramid. This again required team help to pull each other up. There was a Lincoln Log looking obstacles where we had to go over and under logs. That was fun.

The biggest mental obstacle was one the directors did not map out. We did the fire obstacle, which was smokey and wet. It ended with a jump over fire into a 10 foot deep muddy water pit. I did a sweet Can Opener with a Tarzan holler or something remotely like that. All was good and gravy. Then we had to stand in line. For what? We had no idea. But we waited, and waited, and waited. We were wet and cold. There was nothing we could do, but wait. There were people in front of us and behind us. We speculated what the next obstacle could be since the line was so long. This is where the brain gets tested. Do you whine and bitch, or do you suck it up and embrace the suck? Well, we all embraced it. With our hands tucked under our arm pits, we waited. Our estimate was about 30 minutes of this. The obstacle? Just a really steep hill where people descended at a worm's pace trying to not break their tail bones. The course was slippery and wet. People did not have the best shoes for this terrain. And it was dangerous. So we inched down until finally at the bottom. This was only one of many of these steep hills descents. This one just sticks out in my mind since there was such a long line to get down it. There were lots of ripped pants from them (including mine, just a couple of holes) and I saw a lot of crack.

And we were cold. Rest stops became shorter because standing around allowed the cold to set in. We also started to get more distance between each other. Cramps were running rampant amongst our team and well, all racers. Each aid station had mylar blankets so when at the top of the hill, all you saw were flecks of silver across the course. Not all the rest stops had bananas. At one particular rest stop, one of the boys said, "I could really use a banana." (or something along those lines). Sure enough, a guy dressed in a banana costume turns around "I'm right here." Classic. Timing/Irony was impeccable.

Happy Girl

Aside from the hills, my favorite obstacle was the log carry. You had the choice of a long log that you and a buddy carried or a round cross section of a trunk. I searched for the biggest cross section I could find. They were all pretty light, nothing compared to Log who resides at Mt. Airy. We carried our logs along a 1/2 mile motor cross course. So up and down little hills. I was happy. If I wasn't so stiff and cold, I would have skipped. I breezed right through switching my log from one arm to the other. This is in contrast to the IN Spartan when I searched for the smallest log for the first 2 carries and my dad had saved me a small one for the final carry. I was only 3 weeks into training then. Now, I'm a weirdo who loves carrying logs. I mean, seriously. Invite me over for your next bonfire. I've got a headlamp. I'll fetch logs all night. :)

Post Log Carry is where we started to really split up. We had been out there for hours. Did I mention it was cold? It was Brendan, Dave, and I for a while. We hit the Electric Eel. I skipped it, but planned on skipping it anyways. Long story short, I do not believe getting tazed proves your tough. Being electrocuted simply means you are an electrician, in trouble with the law, or a top secret agent being tortured for information. I am none of those things. Or am I? Hee Hee. So I watched Brendan and Dave belly slide through that thing and did not regret skipping it. Judging from their expressions and twitching bodies, it hurt like hell.

Onward and upward we went. Until, I saw the most wonderful vision ever. My husband!!! Pretty sure there may have been light radiating from him as I climbed the hill and saw him along the sidelines. He had my gloves!! He had Gu's, Salt Tabs, and Nuun for the boys and their cramps. We refueled. I got kissies. And then we were off again. This happened maybe around mile 7 or 8. It was right by the 10 foot Berlin Walls. Poor Brendan. As if he wasn't already beaten and bruised. He got knocked in the jewels a couple of times helping folks over the walls. Again, another obstacle the directors had not planned.

At this point Taylor had caught back up with us. We came upon the Boa Constrictor. Seriously, the worst obstacle in the history of OCR. You had to go down a black tube into water. Above the water was boards and barbed wire, so there was only enough room to stick your head out of the water. Already, this is suffocating. Then to get out of the water, you had to go back up a black tube. The scary part? You were forced to go under water to get out of the tube. In other words, the bottom part of the tube was completely submerged. Freaky. Some hesitation, again. Taylor literally shoved my butt up the tube. Then it was only a matter of crawling out and hoping your shoes had enough traction to get you out of the tube. It was intense to say the least. Oh, and Taylor is claustrophobic. Go Taylor! He did it!

James an I post race

After this, we really became segmented. The cold was bad. We finally grabbed mylar blankets. I eventually broke from group and ran the rest of the course skipping obstacles along the way. Every obstacle had water, and I was done with the water. Since I skipped obstacles, I told myself I had to run the rest. So I did. And it was great. I was never so happy to just be running and keeping my body temp up. I repeated the triple D's in my head to keep my mind occupied. Discipline, Determination, Drive. I passed people and kept on trucking until I was eventually at the end. Then I searched for Jon and my warm clothes for about 15 minutes. A shower was out of the question. Water was the enemy. We headed over to the Port-a-Potties. Jon unpinned my bib since I couldn't feel my hands. And I changed. In a Port-a-Potty. Took me forever. My tights are really tight around my ankles so with my numb hands it took about 10 minutes just to get those off. It was a slow process, but eventually I was in dry, warm clothes.

After 4-5 hours, we reconnected, hopped on the bus, walked to our cars, they passed around a bottle of Jack, and we went to McDonald's. Mmmmm....cheeseburgers. Yes, plural.

Overall, it was a great course. Although, too much water for me in the cold weather. It was 12 miles, and I think this fact escaped some people who signed up. Jon said the medics were pulling people of the course left and right. Its not easy. In fact, it lives up to its name. It was tough. TM definitely makes it a point to test racers mentally and reinforces the team aspect of its courses. I needed my team at several points during the course. I was scared/fearful when in the Boa Constrictor and Arctic Enema. I'm happy to be able to say I've done a TM, but I really don't think I will do another one. The price was steep and I'm not down with torture.

Now, time to prepare for the Super Spartan....

No Rest for the Weary

The Tough Mudder has come and gone, which completed part 1 of 3 of my week of pain. Still to come is my Spartan Hurricane Heat on Friday night and the Super Spartan on Saturday.

Thoughts/Reflections going into this week:

• I felt pretty good overall on Saturday. I crushed all the hills with no problem. Let me tell you, there was no shortage of them. And they were big. Yay, for weight vest hill sprints, walking lunges, and having a strange love for going up and down hills.
• I had zero cramping, which the rest of my team suffered from. Thus, my Gu's and Nuun worked. With a slight allergy to bananas and peanuts, I had to bring my own nutrition on the course. Glad I did. I carried them in a little wrist pouch I had bought a while ago at TJ Maxx for about $5. Worked like a charm. I was never really thirsty, so I was properly hydrated prior to the start. But I made sure to drink water at all of the water stations.
• I am not built like a walrus or any other Arctic creature. I froze the entire time. My teeth were chattering before, during, and after the race. I joked with Brendan that my shoulders would be sore from shaking. Well, they are. I ended up leaving the team somewhere around mile 8 and ran the rest. There was no stopping at that point cause I probably wouldn't have been able to restart. 
• Gloves are necessary when cold, even if I don't need them for the obstacles. I made the decision at the start line to ditch them. I was flexing my hands the entire time to try to keep them warm. Luckily Jon showed up on the sidelines around mile 7 maybe, and I got my gloves. I simply took them off and tossed them to the side on water obstacles. 
• My shoes are the shit. No problemos on the slippery slopes we had to climb. Once again, not too heavy. To anyone seriously looking to getting into OCR, buy and train with Minimalist Trail shoes. Be sure to train with them though. Your feet, ankles, and shins need the time to adjust.
• My tights retained water. This weekend I'm wearing Capri's. Also, less layers on top. I had my Spartan Chick tank, UA Cold Gear Mock Turtle neck, and our 'Team' shirt, a UA Heat Gear Long sleeve shirt. Independently, they are all great and wick well. Together, not so much. I'm restrategizing.
• I am that annoying girl that is all giggles and cracking jokes that she thinks are funny the entire course. Even when the going gets tough and my lips are blue, I am still smiling, laughing, and having a great time. I love OCR. It is a sport that I see myself doing for as long as I am capable. Some people run road races, ride bike races, compete in Tri's, knit, bake, swim, etc. I am an OCRer. I enjoy the full body workout. I love running on the trails and through the woods. I love the always changing challenges from race to race. I love the training. I love the camaraderie between perfect strangers on an OCR course. I love the community and support of my fellow Spartan Chicks. Its my hobby. Its the reason I get out of bed every morning (literally). My brother signing us up for the IN Spartan has changed my life. And I will forever be grateful for that cold, wet day in April where I found the joy in pushing myself beyond my comfort level and rediscovering the basic human in me.

Post race: The top of my right foot is sore. I've been through this before. This week's focus will be on getting it back to normal. Gym shoes are out. I've been barefoot or in sandals (this includes at work). Applying RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation). If I don't feel comfortable on it, I will be skipping the Hurricane Heat Friday night. My sights are set on a Trifecta, so I cannot jeopardize Saturday morning's race.

Sunday morning I woke up and decided to get a work out in. This is when I discovered that gym shoes were out. So I altered The Murph (a workout I found on Seal Fit).

Original Murph:
1 mile run
100 Pull ups
200 Push ups
300 Squats
1 Mile Run

Nicki's Murph:

5 minute jump rope with faux rope
Done 5 times with short rest between sets:
  10 Pull ups - No assistance bands since no gym shoes, so sub 4x10sec negatives (hang on at top)
  20 Push ups - Became girly push ups



   30 squats
5 minute faux rope

Came with my pull up bar

Acceptance

Female Leader  Board

Well, I think I blew my goal out of the water. I was the first female across the finish line and my time held to make me the top ranked female. So, why am I not glowing with pride? Simply put: I did not race well. It took until today (Wednesday) for me to accept the fact that I won and to be proud of my finish.











I felt like this guy on Saturday.
Not my usual self. (From Mudathlon)

To further explain: Every other OCR I have done this year, I have done with a big fat grin on my face. Smiling the entire race. Just happy to be challenging my entire body. Saturday, there was no smile. I was miserable. Now, I'm usually miserable for the first 1-2 miles. As I've told Jon, I run like a good Derby horse: Slow out the gates, but a strong finisher. After my body has warmed up and all of the kinks/lactic acid has found its way out, I feel amazing. I feel like a million bucks. I just have to fight that first mile or so. I never hit that point on Saturday. The first 2 miles or so, I pushed myself, waiting for that feeling to kick in. Never happened. So instead of feeling miserable for 1-2 miles, I felt crappy the whole time. My quads burned. My lungs burned. I had extreme flem build up. I wanted to walk.  I wanted to quit. Where the hell was the finish line? Mentally, I tried to snap out of it. I gave myself a pep talk. I clapped my hands, pumped my fists. "Here we go Nick." "You got this." "You eat hills for breakfast." Nothing. Nothing seemed to work. The only thing that kept me pushing was the occasional sighting of the female behind me. "Must beat her. Can't let her pass me."

Crossing the Bridge

So I've been reflecting on the race. I've been trying to make the case to myself as to why I should feel proud of my first place finish. I always imagined a first place finish would result in the race of my life, not a race where I didn't feel strong. I don't feel like I earned it. The next female came in 2 minutes behind me. Where were the competitors who would give me a run for my money? I shouldn't have been first. I'm part of a Spartan Chick community whose thousands of members are incredibly strong and athletic women. Where were they? I have to realize that I was the fastest female that showed up to race on Saturday. I beat every other female racer. I beat every other female racer who stayed away because of the chill and rain. I beat every other female who did not sign up. Despite not feeling good, the pain in my legs and lungs, the non-existent smile on my face, I was the fastest across the finish line.



On this morning's trail run I was finally able to find a reconciliation. I realized I am a Spartan Chick. Spartan Races want to push you past your comfort level. I was no where near close to comfortable on Saturday, but I pushed through it. I didn't quit. I didn't walk when I should be running. I kept going. I went beyond my comfort levels, and finished as the fastest female. I didn't run my best, but it was a test of my mental strength. A test I think I passed, and a grade I earned.

Personal Stats



Finisher's Photo