water and supplements, and just wing the rest. Nope, we had to go full on prepared. Not a biggie, I love him for it! It was an ongoing joke as we journied to our destination, about the weather. My app said we were going to be free of thunderstorms until around 4 am, his said we were going to have to deal with them for a few hours shortly after our arrival. Well, his was right. We made it to the site around 9, had every thing set up and ready to just relax, when I say lightening in the distance...
The cell phone woke us up to its annoying alarm tune at 5:15 am. My husband was going to be racing with the Elite heat, and his start time was 7:30. We dried off what we could, packed up and headed to the parking zone for the event. I began loading my carbs with my cold oats and protein, along with some eggs. He started to get a little frazzled. My outlook was to just take it one step at a time, not get worked up, and make sure my body was properly fueled and hydrated - no bonking today!
Alright, alright. No worries. We can adapt to the new circumstances, not a big deal. I looked over at my husband and he was freaking out too! His plan was to go through a THREE MILE course for time, and then go again with myself and a couple of our friends, after a break. He was concerned about me going it alone, not knowing how my body would respond (I would be lying if I said I didn't have a titch of concern myself). With that, he looked at me and said, "I'll be back in 50 minutes". Okey doke!
What if I didn't eat enough of the right food? What if...I had to stop the mental chatter. After fifty minutes, my husband wasn't back, sixty, seventy, eighty - finally after an hour and a half and witnessing one too many people coming across the finish line with blood and in apparent agony, he came to the final obstacle. The Rope Cross. One where you had to cross a line completely or you had to do thirty burpees. Not too many guys were completing successfully. However, my husband did! Wow! I am married to a Spartan. The cheers from all the spectators fueled him, I could tell he was very weak.
![]() We started out in a pack that seemed impossible to get out of, but we just had to be patient. Into the woods we went mud, and rocky terrain abounding. It is difficult to remember it all in detail, but I knew this was nothing like the obstacle races I had done before. The mud made everything so challenging. Difficult to climb, heavy to carry, and near impossible to run. Every time I tried, I would slip and slide and feel like I was going to wind up on my arse. When I came to the weighted bag lift I watched earlier, I knew what to do. Use my bodyweight to bring it down. Thank God for the gloves I brought, or it would have been torture! Next was the angled rope wall climb. I watched several girls struggle and then I went for it. I actually made it to the top without much issue, but once on top, it was difficult to know what to do. I went to grab the top, then my whole weight just fell. I was literally holding on with one arm, and our teammate reached out to grab my other arm. I grabbed it, got the other hand on the top and just pulled up like I was knee boarding. Once I got my boob over the top, I could then swing my leg over. But then an excruciating pain shot through my hip. Crap! No range of motion. I ended up contorting enough to get the rest of my body over and down the backside! Whew! Next was the rope climb, which I tried, but knew I wasn't going to complete. Sure enough, I had to do my 30 burpees, and let me tell ya they sucked! I don't really recall what was next exactly but it consisted of a lot of attempts to run in the woods, climbing slipper hillsides, and wading through mud pits. The obstacles that got me the most were the rock filled bucket walks, straight up wall climb and finally the rope cross. My body was so weak by this point, I was literally shaking as I climbed to grab the rope. I remember looking and everything was moving, and spinning and I was shaking. I looked back at my husband and said, "I can't do this. I can't". He looked me straight in the eye and said, "Yes you can." I believed him. I grabbed the rope and almost made it, but fell back into the water a bit. After climbing out, and everyone else crossing, we all jumped the fire wall together and trekked across the finish line, three and a half hours after we started.
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February 2017
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