Update: Spartan Races + Injury

I’ve been MIA again for a little over a week. This was not my intention at all. I planned on getting back from the Spartan Beast & Sprint giddy with excitement and ready to share the experience here on the blog. But, sometimes life doesn’t go as planned.

First, the good news:

1. The SoCal Spartan Beast was an amazing experience again. I’m glad Jason and I finished strong, albeit exhausted!

2. We both finished the Spartan Sprint and because the event had been rescheduled from September, we got both the 2014 and the 2015 medals. Woohoo, I finally got my Spartan Trifecta for 2014!

And now, the bad news:

Jason hurt himself on the last obstacle. It was a Tarzan swing type thing, where you had to swing from one end to the other without touching the water trench that was in the middle. Sadly, Jason’s foot hit the edge of the trench and fell into the water. He knew he was hurt pretty badly and got help getting out of the water. Meanwhile, I was on the side doing my burpee penalty. I didn’t even attempt that obstacle! I saw him limping towards the finish line, but assumed it was a leg cramp. Once I crossed the finish line, I saw that he was hurt and he immediately called for medic. That is of course, once that finisher medal was around his neck! True Spartan. At the medic tent I could see his ankle was super swollen and after they bandaged his ankle and put ice on it, we got a ride to our car and were told to go to the hospital. I had about 5 minutes to run to bag check for our stuff, grab our finisher tshirts, and on Jason’s insistence, I purchased the Trifecta holder I was waiting to buy after the race. Once I got back to the medic tent, Jason was already in the van that was taking us and a few other injured Spartans back to our cars.

We knew getting him to the hotel room would be difficult, so we stopped at Wal-Mart and I bought him some crutches. Thank goodness for elevators! We made it to our room and decided to not rush home, but rather keep the foot iced, elevated, and give him ibuprofen. Throughout the entire ordeal Jason remained calm and said he wasn’t in much pain. The next morning, we checked out and arrived to Vegas a little before noon. We went straight to the urgent care and after getting his xray, it was confirmed his ankle was fractured and we got a referral to see a podiatrist the next morning. At the appointment, we learned his injury and fracture was pretty bad and had to have surgery. Surgery was scheduled for Thursday morning. I’m relieved to say that surgery went well and he’s healing now. We’re doing everything we can to keep him comfortable, but of course he isn’t able to move much and he needs to keep his leg elevated, so he isn’t always feeling great. But, the doctor is sure he’ll make a speedy recovery! Not sure he’ll be doing another Spartan race anytime soon, but we’ll see 😉

Big thanks to all our family and friends for the visits, phone calls, texts, and messages on facebook and instagram! We appreciate it so much.

So, that’s where I’ve been since Sunday, playing nurse and taking care of the Mr. I’ll be blogging the race recaps later this week, though. Hoping to be getting back to some sort of routine here soon. Not just with blogging, but with work, home life, and nutrition and workouts!

How I Feel about the SoCal Spartan Sprint being Postponed

After completing the Spartan Beast in Temecula on Saturday 9/13, I was ready to complete the Spartan Sprint the next day. I had been training hard and was feeling good about leaving the shortest distance race for last. On our way to the hotel room to freshen up after the Beast, we met up with our teammates who had driven from Las Vegas to Temecula to complete the Sprint with us on Sunday. We were all excited and ready to run together the next day and then that night we received this email:

The disappointment I felt from reading that email is beyond words. Reading it now makes me ill. I was so ready to have my trifecta medal. I planned an entire trip around it. Like I wrote in my blog post before I left, I sacrificed so much to be there and to come back incomplete was just a huge let down. I’ve seen images of Spartan racers running in the rain and in the snow, I never imaged they would cancel a race because it was too hot, especially because they have this posted on their website:

I honestly believe Spartan Race did their due diligence before & during the race. We received emails from Spartan before the race with warnings about the heat and giving straight-forward advice on how to prepare for it. I heeded the warnings. I prepared. I hydrated the week before the race. I took electrolytes, a hydration pack, and waterproof sunblock. My husband wore a wide rimmed hat and carried a hydration pack too as a spectator. He carried coconut water for us, too. Was it hot? Yes. But, in my opinion, it was bearable with preparation. Those who didn’t prepare paid the consequences. They weren’t able to complete the race, they became sick or injured. Do I feel for them? Of course I do. I do not wish anyone pain or defeat. I know it was tough, but the Spartan races, especially the Beast, are designed to be tough, right?

Obviously, I wish they hadn’t postponed the race until January. The goal of a trifecta is to race all 3 distances within a calendar year. Running the Sprint in January isn’t an option. I’ve worked too hard for this to not complete it now. I’m working on getting to run the Spartan Sprint in Malibu in December. But I’m still sad. Not only am I sad for myself, I am sad for my teammates who traveled 5 hours to be there and left empty handed. I’m sad for the friends I made along the course of the Beast, who like me were prepared to come back the next day and earn that Trifecta medal. I’m sad for the folks I met while training at Camp Rhino who were all excited and worked so hard to complete their first obstacle race.

We haven’t heard anything else from Spartan except that we’ve been automatically registered to a new Sprint event they’ve added for January 18, 2015 at the same location, Vail Lake Resort in Temecula, CA. This will be the weekend before their already scheduled events the following weekend there. The email was sent Sept. 14 and said more details to follow, but we haven’t received any new info yet. I’ll assume they will accommodate transfers without charging transfer fees as they must know not everyone will be available that date. I’m waiting anxiously to see what other, if any, compensation they provide their athletes. In the meantime, I’ll keep training!

– Has a race you’ve registered for and trained for been canceled before? I’d love to hear how you dealt with it and how the event company handled it!

One piece missing...will I get to complete my trifecta in 2014?!? — One piece missing…will I get to complete my trifecta in 2014?!?

Fitness Friday | Spartan Trifecta

The day is finally here! We are heading out for Temecula, CA this morning and tomorrow I will be running the Spartan Beast and Sunday, the Spartan Sprint. Add in the Spartan Supe r I completed in April and I’ll have myself a Spartan Trifecta! Woohoo!!

That is of course, if I survive this weekend. I love that feeling after a race, you know the one where you feel amazing and awesome! Your body is sore and bruised but you still manage to walk a little taller. You’re on a major high from completing something completely terrifying. It’s such a feeling of accomplishment when you cross that finish line. Not too many things in life compare.

But, that feeling before a race….the self doubt, the anxiety, the nervousness! The feelings of maybe I could have done more, maybe I shouldn’t have had that ice cream a few weeks ago. Maybe I should have ran more during my training. Maybe, maybe, maybe. Then come the what ifs. What if I cramp up during the race? What if I hurt myself? What if I don’t finish? Well, it’s just enough to drive a girl crazy (and quite possibly her husband too!) Ahhh!! Yup, these thoughts are all running through my head right now.

Friends ask me if I’m ready and I just shrug, give a weak smile and say, “We’ll see!” Because, well, the truth is, we’ll see! I’ve trained hard. I’ve given it my all. I’ve been to tons of boot camps, practice obstacle races, elevation trainings at Camp Rhino. I’ve sacrificed sleeping in on the weekends. I’ve sacrificed evenings with my family. I’ve sacrificed time with friends. I’ve passed on dessert I couldn’t tell you how many times. I’ve been so sore that it’s been difficult going up the stairs. I’ve gotten bruised and scraped. All for what? For a medal. For bragging rights. For that feeling after a race. For me. For my kiddos who believe in me. For everyone who supports me. I do it because it scares me. I do it because it pushes me to try harder. I do it because I can. Because I never dreamed I could.

Spartan Up! – Aroo

Virtual 10K and Spartan Trifecta Training Update

Just 17 more days until we head to Temecula, CA and I take on the Spartan Beast & Spartan Sprint! I’m still really nervous about, not only getting my butt kicked during the 12+ mile Beast course, but doing it again during the Sprint. I keep reminding myself that my hubby will running along with me during the Sprint and he’ll be a huge help for me over walls and such! Plus, after 12+ miles, the 5K Sprint shouldn’t be so bad right?

Either way, I have amped up my training and have been really focusing on endurance & upper body strength training. This past weekend, I put my training to the test. I ran the Moms Run This Town Summer Safari virtual 10K with some other amazing ladies Saturday morning. We started at 6am, knowing that it was going to be a pretty hot day. We met at a local park with a nice paved running trail. The run was great and totally non competitive. We ran together at a nice pace, chatting it up! I forgot how much I enjoy running with a group. I’m so used to running alone that it was definitely a nice change and I really need to remember do it more often. This was also race 11 of 14 for 2014!

After the 10K, I went over to an LVAC gym nearby for a nice stretch, shower, and snack before meeting up with 2 other amazing ladies from my facebook running group and we headed up to Mount Charleston for Camp Rhino‘s Elevation/Spartan training at 11am. This was an awesome 2 hour workout that really pushed me. It was tough and brutal at times, but so rewarding! Getting to the top of that ski slope after carrying up a sandbag and then pulling a tire up the slope felt unbelievable. Literally ever muscle in my body was being used. My legs and arms were burning and sweat was just dripping off of me. Once at the top of the slope, we could take the ski lift down or walk/run back down the very steep slope. Let’s just say, I conquered my fear of heights this day and got on that chair. I was scared and nervous, but the view and rest were totally worth it!

Once I got home, I had my Skoop recovery protein shake (review on that coming up tomorrow!). I stretched and took a nice warm epsom salts bath. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel too tired or sore. I figured it was the adrenaline still running through me, but when I woke up on Sunday morning, I really wasn’t as sore as I thought I would be and I made it to Sunday morning’s 90 minute Camp Rhino boot camp! I’m glad I survived this weekend! I figured it would be a good test on where I was physically and endurance wise. I think I did pretty good and even doubled up on boot camp classes on Monday! Putting my body through these tests is definitely helping build up my strength, but also my confidence. Whatever happens during my crazy Spartan weekend, I’ll know that I trained hard and gave it my best.

Chasing Dreams I Didn’t Know I Had…..

I heard/read this saying somewhere a few weeks ago and it’s really stayed with me. I don’t even remember where I heard it or in what context, but it resonates with me in so many ways. “Chasing dreams I didn’t even know I had” is right about where I am right now. Yesterday I posted a “Transformation Tuesday” photo on Instagram as part of the monthly #grinderglamchallenge (a fun fitness based photo challenge) I participate in. You can read more about it on Leti’s blog HERE, she founded the challenge a year ago and it’s grown into an awesome community! I’m so happy for her and I don’t even know her personally. But whenever we do meet in person, I’m gonna give her a big hug 🙂

So, back to the photo. The response I got was so amazing. So many people liked it and commented about how proud they were & how happy they were for me. It was awesome and made me feel good. Thanks everyone for the support & encouragement! Here’s the photo:

Looking back at who I was then and who I am now, it’s hard to recognize the old me. I don’t even mean physically. Yes, losing 30 +/- lbs. hasn’t been easy. It was hard work with lots of ups and downs. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into! I just needed to lose weight. That was all I knew. But, in the process of trying to lose the weight and get healthy I found a passion I didn’t know I had. I signed up for races and had a blast doing them, especially obstacle course racing. Ummm…excuse me but I had no idea what obstacle course races were 2 years ago, nonetheless think that I would ever sign up for one willingly and enjoy it!! I’m giving myself challenges and goals to reach that I didn’t even know I wanted. I’m running, climbing over 8 ft. walls, crawling under barbed wire, jumping into ice cold water, and loving every minute of it.

I’m currently reading Spartan Up by Joe De Sena, the founder of Spartan Race and so much of what the book says about pushing yourself beyond what you thought you could do is so true. You will find courage you didn’t know you had, strength you thought wasn’t there because we are capable of so much more than we think. Overcoming obstacles in a race is so much like overcoming them in real life. You reach a wall, you find a way to go over it. You forget your fear of heights and you go for it. You may need some help, but you make it over the wall. You don’t let the wall beat you. These are all great metaphors for life too.

Right now, I’m dreaming of a stronger me. A me that will run a half marathon faster than the last one. A me that will conquer the Spartan Beast & Spartan Sprint in one weekend and live to tell about it. Am I scared? You better believe it. But I want that trifecta medal more than I am afraid of those obstacles. It’s that fear that drives me to be better. I can’t quit, so I need to train harder than ever before! Yeah, I’ll be tired, bruised, sore, and who knows what else, but I’ll come out more alive than ever before! Honestly, I am happy with how far I’ve come and I’m ready to push myself even harder to reach those dreams I didn’t know I had! Chasing these goal, these dreams, keeps me focused. It makes me a better person both inside and out and I like that.

So, what dreams are you chasing? I’d love to hear about them!