Spartan Sprint Complete!

Aroo! The Spartan Sprint goal has officially been accomplished!! I am SO happy, and completely pooped at the same time ;)

Our journey began Friday afternoon. My hubby (seen to the left :) ) Packed the Aztek for our night of camping. I'm pretty sure he brought enough for a family of four, to last about three or five days. But, better to be over prepared rather than under I suppose. I was more of the mentality we would really rough it. Ya know, take our minimal amount boiled eggs, jerky, protein shakes, oats

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...

He assured me it was just fireworks (yes, I was picking up the sarcasm), and the cooler air was just coincidental. Just a couple hours later, we were camping out in the back of the Aztek and I was out cold! We both woke up a couple times throughout the night, and it wasn't the best of rest, but we were going to be Spartans soon, we could handle it!

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!

We checked in, which was seamless, and headed to get our gear on. It was pretty nice that early in the morning. There weren't too many people around, other than the Elite folks who were ramping up to compete. Once they announced it was time to enter the corral, everything sort of shifted...

The announcer informed us the course was going to be 4.9 miles (WHAT?! I only mentally prepared for 3miles!), and that the terrain was very challenging, especially with the thunderstorm that came through.

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!

The anthem was sung, the rules laid out, and he was off! Shortly after I met up with my friends and we watched some of the course from a distance. The Weighted Bag Lift, the muddy Angled Rope Wall Climb, and the even muddier rope climb...holy cow what have I gotten myself into? This seemed to be a lot more challenging than the Rebel Race I had completed a few years ago. Was I really up for this? Was I going to be able to do it? What if my blood sugar went wacky?

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.

I ran to meet him and knew he had just completed something so physically tasking, but he was determined to go with me. Really?! He was going to do this FOR ME? I was so impressed.

He rested up a bit, refueled and refused to tell us a thing about the course. All he would say was that we were in for a treat. Nice. A treat. But will I die? "No, you got this", he told me. I believed him.

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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I have a bit of a confession to make. I cried a bit when I crossed the finish line. It was like every struggle, every fight, every challenge that I have gone through physically, mentally and spiritually the past several years were replayed in my mind, in an instant! It was overwhelming to share this moment with my husband. It was overwhelming to know my body overcame. It was overwhelming to know the anxiety I felt before, and be able to finish without any issues. It was exactly what I needed to put some things behind me. It was transforming. It was Spartan... AROO!