Before we left Florida for the summer, my friend Sara talked me into doing a Spartan Race. I haven’t done any type of competition in a couple of years. I haven’t felt like competing because I have been dealing with a shoulder issue which turned out to be two bulging disks in my neck. I haven’t felt “good” and haven’t felt the need to compete.
My husband and his cousin did a Spartan race a few years ago, and he loved it. He felt doing CrossFit really prepared him for the Spartan race. I have been wanting to do one with him, but we just haven’t signed up. We seem to be too busy living life, socializing, and traveling nonstop to seriously train for any event.
So, Sara said, “We are doing a girls’ weekend with a Spartan Race in Nashville, you should do it.” And of course, I said, “Yes.” Over the summer, I took a break from CrossFit and was lifting and doing cardio here and there. I haven’t been pushing myself because I have been trying to heal the bulging disks in my neck and stress on my left bicep tendon.
As the Spartan weekend got closer and closer, I decided I wasn’t going to do the race. My neck and shoulder were starting to feel better, and I didn’t want to impede my progress, plus I hadn’t really run which is another huge part of the race. I hadn’t done any research and really didn’t know what to expect.
When I got to Nashville, two of the other three girls met me right away at the airport. Right from the beginning, we were laughing so hard we were crying. It was the beginning of a wonderful weekend.
We picked up the fourth girl a few hours later and headed to the Arrington Winery. They were more serious about the race and thought drinking was a bad idea but after careful reconsideration, we thought a few tastings wouldn’t hurt. At this point, I wasn’t racing so I was all about sitting outside and drinking wine.
After a few hours of exploring we got ready and went to dinner. Here the girls started persuading me to do the race. They said what else are you going to do while we are racing? You might as well run/walk it and do the obstacles you can or do squats or something instead of burpees if you miss the obstacle. Don’t hurt yourself but just do it.
It got me thinking that I already paid for this race and should do some type of workout while they go bust their asses. I had workout pants, borrowed a race tank top, and had some sneakers. These were not Spartan sneakers, and I wasn’t even sure they were the most comfortable shoes. But I wasn’t trying to prove anything. I decided to try.
I talked to my husband that night, and he told me I should do it, hurt neck and all. He also had faith in me that I could do most of the obstacles. I thought he must be crazy. Once I got off the phone with him I told the girls that my husband thinks I should do it. But he also thinks of me as the badass CrossFitter I was when we met and that is not the girl I am anymore. But his confidence in me gave me a little in myself.
The next morning, we got up and ready. I felt like the biggest loser and totally unprepared. I had seen a few pictures of people competing at the Spartan races, and I knew the race would be muddy and I would probably get wet. I wish I had my running shoes and wish I would have done a little more cardio and strength training before this weekend.
On the other hand, I also felt calm. I had no expectations of myself, and I wasn’t nervous because I didn’t really know what to expect, plus I wasn’t trying to prove anything. I just thought I’d get a little exercise on a beautiful fall day in Nashville.
As we were driving to the race, we saw a beautiful sunrise. I was really happy I decided to do the race because I didn’t want to miss out on the car ride or the laughs we were having again. The weather was absolutely perfect. Cool and cloudy but not a chance of rain.
As the starting time approached, I did feel a pang of nervousness. There was another couple there from our gym in Florida who do Spartan’s all the time. I was afraid I would look like a fool trying to do a race that I really had no business doing. I started with the other two ladies in my age group. The first obstacle was a hay bail. The second was a four-foot wall. The third was a five-foot wall. I was able to get over all of these and thought well that’s 3 of 28, just keep going. By the fourth obstacle, the girls and the other couple were gone. I knew I couldn’t keep up with them and didn’t even try. They all love running and are way faster than me even when I try. Next was a sandbag carry. Easy enough.
I just kept chugging along, jogging really and crossing off the obstacles as I did them. Even though I hadn’t lifted hard over the summer I knew my strength was my upper body. I knew I could pull myself up and over pretty much anything I could get my hands on. I just kept hoping I didn’t hurt myself. My physical therapist said pushing weight over my head would cause pressure on my neck but pulling weight up may not be as big of an issue. He said start light and see how it feels. As I went through the obstacles things were feeling pretty good. I had a little happy feeling inside.
All of a sudden, I realized I was two miles into the 6.5-mile race and had completed seven obstacles. Now even though I didn’t want to hurt myself, I didn’t want to give up. My husband missed three obstacles when he did his Spartan so that became my goal. My other goal was to not let the fourth girl catch up to me because she started 15 minutes after me (in another age group). So, I continued on my way, talked to a few random people here and there, and completed the obstacles as they came up.
Many of the obstacles were jumping up and pulling my body over a wall then climbing up and over something. Most of these were relatively easy for me and nothing was hurting yet. I tried to use my back muscles and keep my neck straight while running.
The first obstacle I missed was Olympus which was number 12. I tried it and got about one-third of the way into it. I wasn’t sure how to use my legs to help, and I could feel the pressure on my shoulder. I decided to drop. To my relief instead of burpees, I had to do a penalty loop. Yay!
Five obstacles later was the Hercules Hoist. I lifted it up and dropped it. Well, I was supposed to bring it down slowly. Thankfully, I was allowed to do it again and pulled it up and let it down correctly. This was probably not good for my shoulder but I didn’t want to do burpees. The next obstacle was Multi-Rig. This one was very intimidating, and I was nervous about my shoulder and neck. But I swung from the first three rings onto the straight bar. I got through that and onto the next ring. Then I was stuck. I couldn’t get the momentum to get to the last ring and then the bell so 30 burpees it was. Ugh.
I did the inverted wall then it was time for the Spear Throw. I asked the judge for advice. I threw it and hit the board but not with enough might so it fell to the ground. 30 more burpees it was. Eight more obstacles. I was hoping to get through them with no pain and no more burpees.
At this point, we only had about a mile and a half left. I am not a runner and have never found joy in running or achieved that “runner’s high”. I just don’t get it. I want to be a runner but it doesn’t work for me. I have done two half marathons but that was ages ago (2011 and 2013). Anyway, even when I trained consistently I had IT band issues, and during the race they were flaring up again. I tried jogging a few times but the pain would radiate down both knees. I was glad my neck and shoulder were not hurting, but I forgot about the IT band issues with my legs. I didn’t think about how running six miles without training can really hurt. Needless to say, I walked the rest of the race.
I came through the woods and saw that we had about three obstacles left. I could smell the fire! I was so excited that I was about to finish this race and not be disqualified! I went under the dunk wall, up the slip wall, and jumped over the fire!! Woo hoo!! I was done and only had to do 60 burpees and one penalty loop. I couldn’t believe it!
I found my two girlfriends and the other couple. We all chatted about our racing experience. They were all super proud of me and happy that I took the Leap of Faith and did the race. It took them all about an hour and a half and me just over two. Their support and excitement made me feel really excited and proud of myself, too. One of them even said they felt like the obstacles were on the more difficult side of the races they have done. I couldn’t believe it and was so happy I got through most of them.
After a few minutes, we saw the last girl coming out of the woods. We yelled and cheered for her all the way to the finish line. She was so happy to see us and it gave her an extra boost. After she crossed the line, we got our picture taken together and even went back and jumped over the fire together. It was so much fun. We were all so proud of each other and happy that we pushed each other to complete this race.
We had so much fun! These girls are so strong and inspiring. I can’t wait to have another girls’ weekend with a Spartan race attached.
In Spartan, there is a thing called the Trifecta. You have to complete a Sprint, Super, and Beast Spartan race within the calendar year. One of the girls I raced with only needs the Beast to complete her Trifecta. I need to do a Sprint and a Beast. I also would like to do a race with my hubby. The problem is there are only two months left this year!! That’s a lot of miles and a lot of obstacles. But the timing might be right! Stay tuned!