Midwest Super Spartan Part 2: Race Day

So, after running the Hurricane Heat the night before, I woke up at 6 am and started to get ready for the race.  I had a few bumps and bruises but other than that I was relatively rested for the race.  I wore a pair of compression underwear and Nike Dri-fit shorts with an Under Armour compression long sleeve shirt and a Under Armour Dri-fit short sleeve shirt on top.  I wore a pair of Smartwool socks and my Nike Air Pegasus 28's running shoes and my Camelbak 2L hydration pack.  I'll tell you how all the gear held up later on.

I got to the race site at about 7 am after having a decent breakfast at the hotel (This was the first time I've actually had time to get a decent breakfast before an OCR).  I always take too long getting ready.  It was only in the low 30's when I walked into the gathering area.  I waited as long as possible to check my back and remove my pants and hoodie so as to stay as warm as possible.  I had a few minutes to stand by the fire pit before heading to the starting line.  I got in a decent stretch near the fire pit and at the starting line but had to keep jumping around and flexing in order to keep the muscles loose.

The race started as they usually do.  The MC got everyone pumped up and we ran off through the smoke and into the woods.  It started off with everyone packed close together and I was right in the middle of it for the first mile but then started to slow a bit since my lungs were not yet used to the cold air.  My legs were still sore from the night before and were feeling a bit tight.  I honestly cannot remember the order of the obstacles we faced or even how far it was in between those obstacles.  All I know is none of the obstacles created by Dirt Runner or by Spartan Race compared with the cold.  That was the biggest obstacle for me and I am not usually affected by the cold.

The course was very slick in some spots and I saw several people go down in the first 10 minutes.  I myself didn't start to fall until halfway through when cold and fatigue were setting in.  I managed all of teh obstacels with the exception of the one where you have to jump from log to log that are standing on end and the rope climb.  The rope climb was in 4-7 ft of water depending on which rope you chose.  Of course I got the one in 7 ft of water.  My body went numb once I got in the water and I couldn't muster the strength to pull myself up so I did my burpees.

There was quite a bit of running on this course and it was not nearly as hilly as some of the other courses I have run but the cold was a definite factor.  I made decent time for the most part, except for where there were lines backed up at the obstacles.  I ended up with a finishing time of 3:17:57.  I was hoping to come in under 3 hours and I thought that I did.  I have heard accounts from others that kept their time independent of the timing chips and said that there was a difference between the 2 times.  But that is my official time.

In hindsight, I have no real regrets as to how I ran my race.  I wish it was a little warmer for the race but you cant control the weather.  Next year I plan on being more prepared.  On the bright side, with my finish of the Midwest Super, I completed my Spartan Trifecta and earned my medal.  With this race, my racing season is over and I will now go into full on training mode for next year.  I still want to lose another 20 lbs and I hope that will help my times for next year.


List of obstacles at the Midwest Super.....

Rope Climb in water
Over Unders with Logs
Over, Under, Throughs with walls
Hercules Pull
Tractor Pull
Log Balance Beam over water
More Log balance Beams
Sandbag Carry
2 Barbed Wire crawls
Inverted angled wall climbs
8 ft walls
Log hill Climb
Gladiator Pit

Gear...

Under Armour Compression Underwear - Washed clean, no damage
Nike Dri-Fit Shorts - Washed Clean, No damage - 4th OCR
UA Compression long Sleeve - Washed Clean, no damage
UA - Short Sleeve Dri Fit Shirt - Washed clean, small hole from barbed wire on shoulder
Smartwool Socks - No damage, washed clean
Nike Air Pegasus 28's - Washed somewhat clean, no damage.  Does not have adequate grip for OCR's.
Camelbak - Washed clean(as always), no damage


Ron

Midwest Super Spartan Part 1: Hurricane Heat

OK, so now that I've had a week to heal and warm up I think I can finally put the Midwest Super Spartan into words.  This was by far the most challenging race I have done to date.  The obstacles provided by the Dirt Runner course were awesome and the extra obstacles built by Spartan Race were equally challenging.  The cold weather provided the hardest obstacle to overcome.  It was barely above freezing when the race began at 8 am.  Not to mention the tired and sore muscles from the Hurricane Heat the night before.

The Storm is Coming.....

The Hurricane Heat was held Friday night and started just before the sun went down.  The temperature was only in the low 40's to start and only got colder.  We were divided into 5 teams of 16.  After starting off on the Chicago Spartan's team, I moved over to the Corn Fed team because they were short a member.  We started off with 30 burpees, as usual.  Spartan Race loves their burpees.  Our first task was that each team had to build a fire pit.  Each fire pit had to have at least 12 seats around it and a full stock of firewood nearby.  The Corn Fed group divided up into 2 teams to start.  One team had to grab buckets and haul gravel from a pile about 50 yards away and make the base of the pit.  The other team, of which I had the great misfortune of being on, had to comb over a nearby field full of pieces of concrete to create the sides of the fire pit and the seats.  After there was enough gravel, those people started gathering the firewood from a central pile.  It took roughly 30 minutes to build our fire pits an I have to say that the Corn Fed Fire pit was the prettiest one of the five.

After the fire pits were constructed, we moved off into the woods, not to return again until the very end.  I am not going to go over all the details of the Hurricane Heat because I believe it is something to be experience first hand and not by word of mouth.  Needless to say, I loved every grueling minute of it and was in good company the entire time.  At the end of the Hurricane Heat, we got to sit around one of the fire pits that we created to get warm and enjoy a little bit of conversation before claiming out Hurricane Heat dog tag and T-shirts.  I must say, that most of the time, as was the case here, I enjoyed the Hurricane Heat more than the race itself because of the people I get to meet and the friends that I make.  If you ever get the chance to do the Hurricane Heat, especially the night before the race, please don't deprive yourself of the opportunity.

Ron