To say I was under-trained for this race would definitely be an under-statement. Yes, I was currently in the middle of training for my 6th California International Marathon and was in great aerobic condition. However, if you look at any obstacle course training program, I doubt if you will see any 20 mile runs on the calendar. My one and only Spartan specific workout consisted of climbing a rope HS hung from an oak tree in the back yard. This came to an end when I injured my shoulder three weeks before the race wrestling with my 100 lb puppy.
So, with the race drawing close and no time to start training appropriately, I dedicated myself to watching YouTube videos about the obstacles so I would know what to expect and have some idea what I was supposed to do. If that didn't work, there were always burpees.
NOTE: If doing burpees is part of your race strategy, don't be like me,
practice doing burpees! Lesson learned the hard way ;-)
What to Wear?
What to put on my feet was the easiest decision about my race day outfit. I knew I was going to be wearing trail shoes. I searched desperately for my old pair of Salomon's but couldn't find them anywhere (I think I donated them to charity). My only other option was my Pearl iZUMi trail shoes. Unfortunately, Pearl iZUMi no longer makes running shoes, so I knew that I could potentially ruin my favorite and apparently only pair of trail shoes.
On my lower half I wore my CW-X Stabilix tights. I have had these tights for years but they have held up incredibly well and love how they feel. Plus they have stronger materials that sort of wrap around your knees to help stabilize movement and reduce muscle fatigue. Maybe its just marketing hype, but my legs feel good in them. My choice of socks was difficult, but eventually I chose my new Zensah socks.
I was torn about what to wear up top. The weather was supposed to be 71 degrees at race start. Warm weather for running. I had read that long sleeves were preferable because of the barbed wire crawl and other obstacles. I found an old race shirt that I didn't mind getting dirty. I put it on and immediately felt warm and a bit constricted. This isn't going to work. I changed into a short sleeve black tech shirt. It would dry easily if or when I got wet and should come clean after the race given the color.
Pre-Race
I got up early on Saturday morning and fixed a pot of coffee and a breakfast sandwich with egg, cheese, and Canadian bacon. I packed my bag with extra clothes, flip flops, shampoo, and a hair brush. I also prepared a large bottle with some Cranked Naturals lemonade and tossed a Clif bar into my bag. Light packing compared to bike racing or triathlons.
HS and I left the house and arrived a Van Vleck Ranch at around 10:15am...roughly two hours before the race. We followed a long line of cars that snaked into the ranch and then turned and looped back to the parking lot entrance. The parking process could have benefited from a few more attendants directing traffic. The parking area itself was in a field probably used for cattle. I was thankful we were in a four wheel drive that could handle the ruts and bumps. Once HS saw the parking lot, he knew he wouldn't be leaving to get lunch.
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| Arriving two hours early to a very full parking lot |
The walk from the truck to registration was challenging and I was worried about getting hurt before the race even started. The ground was rough and uneven and full of holes left by cows stepping through mud. To make matters worse, dry grass covered all of the hidden obstacles. So a slow careful walk was called for.
Eventually I made my way to registration. I produced a printed copy of my bar code and a photo ID. I was handed a timing chip and an envelope that was printed to look like a running bib. I looked inside the envelope and found a headband with my number on it and three wrist bands. I had no idea what to do with all of this stuff. Thankfully the instructions were printed on the back of the envelop. One wrist band was to attach the timing chip to my wrist. There was another wrist band with my starting time on it. The third wrist band was for my free beer after the race.
I went back to the truck to put my stuff away and to grab my Cranked Naturals and Clif Bar. Back in the event staging area, I looked for my teammates. Luckily, it wasn't too difficult to find everyone. We posed for a few group pics and then took care of our last minute bathroom needs. As Max and I walked away from the outhouse corral, we ran into Chad who said everyone was headed to the start line to see if we could start early...12:00 instead of 12:30. We made our way up the hill to find out.
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| Stockton Public Works Warriors (and friends) |
Once the announcer was sure that everyone with a 12:00 wrist band was in the starting pen, he called for anyone else that wanted to start. In order to enter the starting pen, you had to climb over a four foot high wood wall. I had seen this wall in the videos I watched and was confused by it. Was there actually an obstacle before the start line? Yes, as a matter of fact there is...although I'm sure it wasn't part of the total obstacle count. Maybe this is a way to thin out people that shouldn't be racing.
All of a sudden I was consumed with doubt. What am I doing out here? What if I can't get over this wall? I hoisted myself up and over in a less than graceful way, but I did it and was happy that I had passed this initial test.
Race
The announcer spent several minutes trying to get the crowd pumped up to race. I was surrounded by many, many first time Spartans that were proud to admit it. Surprisingly, there seemed to be just as many people proud to admit that they didn't train when prompted by the announcer. Well, at least I won't be alone in the burpee penalty area. Eventually he started the race. I pressed start on my Garmin as I crossed the timing mat and I was off on my big adventure.
Max disappeared quickly, but Tony hung back with me. The course was hilly and dusty, but wasn't too bad. We worked our way through the runners. Looking at the course map post-race, I think some of the obstacles were in a different order. I know for a fact that the spear throw was not after the rope climb. The spear throw was actually right after the bucket brigade which had left me with limp noodle arms that could not put any oomph into my throw.
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| Sacramento Spartan Course Map |
Back to the race...
Tony and I made our way through the early part of the course. My confidence continued to build with each success. My plan to roll under the barbed wire changed when I saw that we were going to be going up hill. The wire itself was higher than I expected and I was able to simply crawl on my hands and knees without having to duck under the wire. The ground was peppered with small rocks, so I got up on my toes and did more of a bear crawl to save my knees. I still had plenty of room and went untouched by any barb until the very end when I stood up a little too soon and snagged the back of my shirt.
As we approached the Hurdles, my first thought was "These are higher than they look in the videos." Maybe all the videos I watched were from GoPros mounted to the heads of really tall men. What I thought was going to be a simple obstacle challenged me. The diamond shape of the top bar meant you couldn't really just roll over the top. Well, I guess I could have, but it probably would have hurt and I was trying to avoid pain.
I'm not sure if it was the next obstacle or not, but the monkey bars are the next obstacle I remember...probably because they resulted in my first burpee penalty. I stood up on the box and reached for the bar with my left hand. As soon as I applied a little pressure, my shoulder reminded me why I had stopped climbing the rope. I hopped down and walked over to the burpee area and got to work. Ugh. This is going to be a long day.
The Herc Hoist was fun and not as hard as I thought it would be. My studying had paid off and I used the technique I read about. I hoisted the bag steadily up to the top and brought it gently back to earth without making a soundy. Tony gave me a high five when I stood up and we jogged off to the next challenge.
Throughout this race, the wall obstacles got progressively taller. However, Tony and I had a system down. He would stand by the wall in a semi-lunge pose with his left knee out for me to stand on. This proved to be very effective over the first couple of walls. Things didn't work out so well on the eight foot wall though. Tony assumed the position by the wall and then added something extra. With his left knee ready for my step up, he stretched out both arms and put his hands together, palms up. "What is that?" I asked.
He instructed me to step on his knee first with my left foot and then step up and put my right foot in his hands and he would boost me up. I was unable to execute this deceptively simple move. My left foot went where it was intended, but I hesitated midway and instead of stepping up, I fell back...hard. I landed with a thud on the ground, on my right butt cheek. The people around me reacted and then asked if I was ok. I said I was fine as I dusted off my backside. I opted to use the women's cleats (two red 2x4's nailed to the bottom of the wall) to help me get over.
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| I really am having a good time. I loved the mental and physical challenges of Spartan. |
As I mentioned earlier, the Bucket Brigade wrecked my arms. It was hard. When I first picked up the bucket I thought "Hmm...not too heavy. This shouldn't be that bad." That was before I started the up hill climb. Tony moved ahead of me and I wondered if I was going to be able to keep up. The bucket was really getting heavy. Eventually Tony set his bucket down, so I took the opportunity to put my bucket down too. I ended up putting the bucket down two or three more times but I made it through the obstacle.
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| What goes up, must come down |
The spear throw turned in to 30 more burpees for me. I found a short line and waited for the guy in front of me to finish. Turns out he was a volunteer just playing around. I took my shot and missed. Off to the burpee pen as I expected. The course bent and turned and took us back to where the spectators were. First up for their entertainment was the rolling mud/dunk. This is why the spectators have to pay to $20 enter! LOL
I leaped across the first mud pit and just about cleared it. The next pit must have been wider because I landed in it, soaking my feet. Not that it mattered, the next part of the obstacle was a muddy water pit with a wall to go under instead of over. I guess this is the "dunk" part. I approached the wall and decided to slip under feet first. The water was surprisingly cold. I had expected a warmer, yuckier experience. I then attempted to scramble up the wet, plastic clad wall and had to extended a hand for a little help from Tony.
HS, Trisha, and Lindsey were watching and cheering. HS offered Tony a word of advice. Actually, it was more of a warning. HS told Tony not to help me too much because I would just run off and leave him if I had the chance. Thanks, Honey!
Up and over the slip wall followed by a couple of tire flips and we headed back out into the rolling hills of Van Vleck Ranch.
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| Slip Wall |
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| Tire Flip (200 lb. tire for women) |
During my Spartan studies I read about the Twister and Olympus. I knew they were tough. However, in all of the videos, websites and blogs, I don't remember ever seeing anything about the Bender. In my opinion, this was the toughest and scariest obstacle that I completed.
When Tony and I approached this obstacle, I was immediately worried about how to get up and over this curved, monster of a jungle gym. Standing next to it, it just seemed to loom over our heads. Spartans clung to the bars and struggled to get up and over. We got in line and waited our inevitable turn.
When the spartan currently tackling the Bender made it over the top, the two guys in front of us looked at each other trying to decide who was going to go next. They looked at us and "Go ahead". Great, I wanted to watch some more. Tony gave me a boost so I could grab the bar and I hooked my foot on the bar.
At that point, I really didn't know what to do. I clung to the bar and tried to decide what to do with my limbs. Neither hand wanted to let go of the bar and I was feeling quite secure with my leg hooked. Unfortunately, I knew I couldn't just hang there indefinitely...I had to come down sooner or later and it would be best (in terms of overall burpee count) if I did it on the other side of the obstacle.
In a less than graceful or athletic series of maneuvers, I finally worked my way over the top bar. Relief flooded over me. The high five back on the ground was heart felt and well deserved. I never expected to have this flush of pride just from conquering an obstacle. It felt awesome!
This guys makes it look so easy. I wish I would have seen this before the race! LOL
Finish
About mile five, I noticed that Tony had dropped back a bit. I stopped and waited for him. He said his calf was cramping up and urged me to run ahead. The racing "angel" on my shoulder said "Go for it, start running! Don't wait for him." Ok, maybe that was my racing "devil". Then I heard another voice that said "Don't run. You'll never hear the end of it from Mike." (that may have been my racing "devil" too LOL). I told Tony I didn't mind walking. I added that even if I continued running he would just find me waiting for him at the next wall :-)
From that point forward we played it by ear and ran when things felt good and walked when things started to cramp. We continued to pass racers and were having a great time. Thankfully, the obstacles seemed to be a bit easier on the back stretch. Maybe the course designers had a soft side. They even had an aid station offering Clif BLOKS (energy chews) which would have been more useful at mile four instead of mile eight.
The second to the last obstacle was the Craft A-Frame Cargo. This was probably my favorite obstacle. As soon as I saw the large structure I told Tony, we need to start running just in case they're taking pictures ;-)
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| Participants over the net, spectators under the net |
After the A-Frame, it was a short jog to the final obstacle... the Multi Rig. I already knew I wouldn't be doing this one so I ran straight to the burpee penalty area. There were so many people doing burpees that many of us had to drop to the ground outside of the official area. It look me a long time to get to 20 burpees so I knew the remaining ten were going to take a while. I looked up and saw Tony standing there waiting for me. "Go ahead and finish" I told him, but he wouldn't listen and insisted on waiting so we could cross the finish together. My sister really picked a great guy :-)
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| No way I would hurt this guy after all the help he gave me ;-) |
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| Three happy finishers |
Post Race Thoughts and Injury Recap
Prior to the race I thought it was just going to be a stupid obstacle course and that it wasn't a "real" race. Groupon discounts? $5 bag check? $10 to park? $20 spectator fee? What kind of racket is this? IRONMAN is starting to look like a charity event. When I expressed my thoughts to HS his response was "How much is an IRONMAN race?" About $700 for the full I responded...hmm, maybe IRONMAN can afford free parking. LOL
NOTE: Spartan race photos are FREE!
Actually, I think my negative attitude came out of fear from knowing I had not properly trained. I never took the race seriously and that was my own fault. Now that I have completed the race, I can say that I was wrong. It is a real race and the organizers give you opportunities to compete at your own level...elite, age group, or open.
I competed in the open division and I am glad I did. The open division allows racers to assist each other. If I had been in the age group, Tony wouldn't have been able to give me any boosts and I would be doing lots and lots of burpees.
Actually, I'm not sure they even expect people to do burpees in the open division. There were signs posted that said something about if you don't think you can do an obstacle then you don't have to do it. What??? HS said he watched people walk around the rope climb and tire flip without skipping a beat. No burpees, just kept walking. Wow! Where is the fun in that? I want to earn my finisher's medal :-)
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| Awesome finisher medal that comes with a second piece with magnets on it so you can combine your sprint, super and beast pieces together to form a trifecta medal. |
I had hoped to come out of the race injury free and had I not taken that tumble at the eight foot wall, I think I would have been OK. My butt ended up being too sore to go to my cyclocross race the next day and the back of my right leg felt like I may have hyper-extended something. My right knee had some scrapes on it, probably from the Barbed Wire crawl. Lastly I developed a nice black and yellow bruise under my right arm. I'm guessing that came from clinging to the top of every wall and pulling myself over. All in all, not that bad.
Next Race
I never thought I would like this type of event as much as I did and I am looking forward to my next race. HS likes strength training and running so I think this type of event will allow us more opportunities to train together, whether or not he decides to race.
I think next time I will try a sprint just so I can get a little more practice on the obstacles. I also want to do a Beast (13+ miles with 30 obstacles). Of course, I plan on coming back to Van Vleck Ranch to do the Sacramento Super again. Aroo!
#SpartanSacrmento #SpartanSuper #Aroo
