If running isn’t hard enough for you, let me introduce you to obstacle racing. It’s a race up and down hills, over walls, up and down ropes and over and though mud pits. My friends invited me along on their team with my coworker, super stud Heather, her husband Jim and tall guy. Here we are at the start, happy, clean and ignorant of what is to come.
Heather and I joined a Spartan Boot Camp gym for a month to prepare for this adventure. We learned some important stretches.
We actually had to climb a wall just to get to the start line!
We love hills. Wish they were steeper, longer and more plentiful. This course had all hills all day with just a few obstacles to challenge us at first. The course was 12 miles long with about 30 obstacles.
Running up the hills always gives a beautiful view of the area.
Water stops BYOB. (Bring your own bottle.) And stay hydrated.
We did the open race non-competitive so it is OK to get assistance from other people. I just like this pic because it looks like I have muscles! Some of my training included doing 30 pull-ups and 100 push-ups. With lots of rest of course.
Mud anyone? They spray down the hill to make it extra slippery. The barb wire isn’t sharp but does encourage me to keep my butt down.
Heather, the super stud is ahead of me while a struggle to pick up this 45# concrete atlas ball, carry it 10 feet, drop it, do 10 burpee’s with full push-up and then pick up the ball again to return it to it’s start position.
Feel like James Bond climbing for this obstacle. Or maybe more like a monkey. Whatever it takes to ring the bell.
This is hopeless for me. My worst obstacle ever. I forever throw like a girl. So I am supposed to do 30 burpees for missing the obstacle but since I am not in the competitive division I skip them and run onto the next challenge.
Did I mention that the race was held at a motor cross raceway?
Yippie! I finished my first spartan race! I am already signed up for another so am glad that this one went well.
Showers provided. Get some of the mud off or take it home with you. Its your choice.
Spartan Beast!
All cleaned up and able to give a big hug to my wonderful husband who was chasing us around, taking our pictures and cheering us on at every opportunity. He deserves the medal for doing all that running just 1 week after rocking it at Ironman Madison. Thank you Kari!!
Leave a Reply