Because of the last minute nature of the event for me, I was unable to train most of the week because I had to get everything ready for the trip. So that meant no weight training, no running, nothing at all in the way of training for the week leading up to the Beast. And if you have read my previous blog posts, you would know that I have spent the last month weight training and had gained 7 lbs of muscle, which I now had to carry for 13 miles of obstacles.
We started our drive to Winnsboro, SC from Chicago, IL at 4 am on Friday Oct, 12th. The drive took my wife and I through Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and finally South Carolina. Since we were in a hurry to get to our destination, we didn't stop to do any sight seeing. The only stops we made were for food and gas. We pulled into town around 6:30 in the evening just as the sun was starting to go down. We were originally going to camp at the location for the race but decided to get a hotel room last minute.
So now on to the race. I wanted to get to the race in time to run the 9:30 heat with Jay Tea, but we were delayed getting through the line for parking and I still had to get my race pack. This was my own fault and not at all Spartan Races fault. I should have allowed myself more time. I got to the start line at 9:45. Just in time to watch Team XTREME start the race. I am a huge fan of theirs and believe strongly in their mission to bring to light the adversities that our wounded and maimed veterans have to deal with on a daily basis. If you get a chance, check out their facebook page or their website.
Since I missed the 9:30 heat, I joined in on the 10 am heat. The MC did a great job of pumping up the runners and the crowd, with repeated calls of "AROO" and "I am a Spartan", and with the last call, we were off. I knew immediately out of the gates I was unprepared for this race. My lungs were unused to running in the colder morning air since I had only done 1 or 2 cool weather runs so far this year. They started burning almost immediately. My legs were tight and not moving smoothly because of the 14 hour drive the day before. I pushed through the discomfort knowing that eventually it would all go numb and I wouldn't feel it anyway.
The first obstacles that I came to were crawling under saw horses with netting over the top. There were 3 of them and each one got progressively shorter. I breezed through those just like everyone else. The next obstacles were only a hundred yards away and they were the over, under, through. You jumped over a 4 ft wall, then under the next wall, and then through a hole in the last wall. There were 2 sets of these.
After that point the obstacles all become a little hazy and the order in which they were done is a little mixed up in my head. After the over, under, through's, we went into the woods and the hills began. The hills were practically never ending. Or at least that's what it felt like. Sometime early on, within the first 2 miles, I met up with Zach. He and I didn't know each other, but we were both running alone and just kind of fell into place with each other. It's a long race and it helped to have someone to pass the time with.
We continued on together and I found the terrain extremely difficult. As soon as you get to the bottom of one hill, you were headed up another. Some were pretty steep, others not so much. Many of them were quite rocky and there were a lot of single track trails. At some point later in the race, Zach and I decided on a strategy to hike up the hills and run down them and to try and run as much as possible on the flat spots(which there were not to many of). I lost track of the number of hills, all I know is it was a lot. At some point towards the end there was a very long creak/river bed that we walked down for at least 3/4 of a mile. It wasn't so difficult but it did produce a lot of pebbles and sand in my shoes which rubbed quite painfully. Once we go out of the river bed i had to stop and clean out my shoes several times.
Here is a list of the obstacles that I can remember and whether or not I completed it.
2 Rope climbs - 1 completed 1 failed
2 vertical Cargo Net climbs - Both Completed
1 Pyramid Cargo Net - Completed
2- 70lb concrete ball carries - both completed
1 Hercules high pulley - completed
2 sets of Over, Under, Through's - Completed
1 Sandbag Carry Uphill/Downhill - Completed
2- 7 ft walls - Completed
2- 8 ft walls - Completed
2 Barbed Wire Crawls - Completed
1- 45 degree angle wall - Completed
1 Wall Traverse - Completed
1 Javelin Throw - Failed
1 Rope Traverse - Failed
These obstacles were not in the proper order but are pretty accurate. There may be more that I am not remembering right now, or may have suppressed memories of. This was by far the most difficult race I have attempted and completed to date. The terrain alone would have been enough to test even the best runners but along with the obstacles, made for a true test of my abilities. I found out what my weaknesses were and what I need to work on. I finished the race with a time of 6:29, which was unacceptable to me and below my standards. I know I can do better. I cant wait until my next race which is the Midwest Super on Oct 27th so that I can redeem myself a little. Stay tuned for the results of that race.
Ron
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