{"id":1361,"date":"2017-09-02T14:05:14","date_gmt":"2017-09-02T20:05:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/yogapantsdiary.com\/?p=1361"},"modified":"2020-10-08T14:25:07","modified_gmt":"2020-10-08T20:25:07","slug":"i-am-a-beast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yogapantsdiary.com\/?p=1361","title":{"rendered":"I AM a Beast!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well it’s over just like that.\u00a0 I’ve run my race of the season and it came and went so quickly!\u00a0 While I sit around in my post race blues, I guess I’ll write you guys a post \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

This past weekend, I conquered the Spartan Beast.\u00a0 I usually run the Tough Mudder as my race of the season, but this year I found it a little disappointing.\u00a0 Every year I run the Tough Mudder and I feel changed.\u00a0 It is usually the only race that pushes me to my limits and leaves me feeling accomplished for overcoming my fears in the race and finishing.\u00a0 This year, it just didn’t feel the same.\u00a0 The race was held in a new location and the course was much easier.\u00a0 Everyone I had talked to felt the same way.\u00a0 So when we crossed the Tough Mudder finish line, I didn’t feel like I’d accomplished my goals for the year.\u00a0 We raced really well and I completed all the obstacles, but I didn’t feel changed.\u00a0 I didn’t feel pushed to my limit.\u00a0 I didn’t learn anything in the race.<\/p>\n

So two weeks later, we signed up for the Spartan Beast.\u00a0 The Beast is a 14+ mile mountain trail run with 35 obstacles.\u00a0 Most of the obstacles require upper body strength, agility, and practice to complete.\u00a0 If you fail an obstacle, you’re penalized with 30 burpees.\u00a0 30.\u00a0 We had never run the Beast before because we always preferred the Tough Mudder.\u00a0 I’d always heard it was just as hard, but in a different way.<\/p>\n

Start Line: <\/strong>I haven’t been so nervous at a start line in a long time.\u00a0 I’d never run the course at Breckenridge, but I’d watched the elite team run in on TV the year before and it looked brutal.\u00a0 I heard them announce that the course was just under 15 miles today.\u00a0 There always some shouting at the start line about “I AM A SPARTAN” and then it’s time to run.\u00a0 We made it up the first hill climb fairly easily and I could tell that our trail running training had really helped.<\/p>\n

First Miles: <\/strong>In the first miles we covered some obstacles, 7 foot walls, 8 foot walls and a river crossing.\u00a0 We were both feeling strong and excited for the race.\u00a0 Near mile 3-4, we picked up an additional team mate.\u00a0 As you run these races, the people near you tend to hang around.\u00a0 You turn around and help the same person over obstacles and you find yourself playing leap frog on the course with the same people over and over. Finally, I just asked a girl what her name was because she appeared to be racing alone.\u00a0 Emily quickly joined with us and kept our pace.\u00a0 She stuck with us till the end \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

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Middle Miles: <\/strong>In the middle miles we covered a lot of the heavy carries.\u00a0 There’s an atlas stone carry, sand bags, and even a bucket carry filled with gravel.\u00a0 It’s not easy.\u00a0 The heavy carries leave your legs dead, your heart pumping and your arms weak.\u00a0 And they happened all together.\u00a0 I had been worried about my grip strength for weeks leading up to the race, but it seemed to holding up just fine.\u00a0 Emily kept us going when we needed and we dragged her through the obstacles.<\/p>\n

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Burpees………crap:<\/strong>\u00a0 There are two obstacles that I have failed in the past at other lengths of this race.\u00a0 The spear throw is one chance at throwing a spear into a bale of hay from 15-20 feet away.\u00a0 1 chance.\u00a0 1 fail.\u00a0 30 burpees for Kim.\u00a0 The very next obstacle was the rope climb, no problems here.\u00a0 Then came my nemesis: Mount Olympus.\u00a0 I have always failed this obstacle.\u00a0 I can never figure it out in time before my strength gives out.\u00a0 30 burpees for Kim.\u00a0 The next obstacle was Hurcules Hoist where you pull a sandbag off the ground using a long rope until you hit the bell at the top and then lower the bag back down.\u00a0 I foolishly tried the mens weight, and my hands just didn’t have the ability to hold on to the rope.\u00a0 30 more burpees for Kim.\u00a0 Immediately following that one was the Rings Rig.\u00a0 It’s a series of rings and pipes and then you hit the bell at the end.\u00a0 I was so tired at this point that I wasn’t sure I could do it.\u00a0 If I were fresh, I could no problem.\u00a0 But I’d just had two failures.\u00a0 I couldn’t do more burpees but wasn’t sure I had the strength.\u00a0 I even cut my hand on the obstacle before I began.\u00a0 I could have skipped it.\u00a0 I could have just given up, in fact in the middle, I almost did. But I didn’t. And it felt AWESOME.<\/p>\n