Spartan Race Amesbury report and 2 SPARTAN RACE GIVEAWAYS!!

Morgan Mckay and I having some festival fun after our 8:30 AM heat.
 

"Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of."

-Benjamin Franklin

Even though I generally go to great lengths to avoid short distance races of any kind, 2014 marks the third year in a row I have made the trip to Amesbury, MA for the Spartan Sprint. This race seems to be one of the exceptions to my "no running fast" philosophy that dominates my racing calendar. One of the most compelling reasons that I return to this event year after year is that I really enjoy having the opportunity to get back out on course for a second lap after the elite heat to give back a little to the community that has given so much to me. I love that I can complete the course with athletes new to the sport, lend a hand over a wall or a little advice and encouragement from within the trenches instead of just on the sidelines. The Amesbury race was my first ever Spartan Obstacle race two years ago and one I can't resist simply because I can cram in a weekend's worth of fun in a 24-hour period and get home to my family at the end of the day.

For anyone who reads this blog, it probably isn't a surprise that I generally try to find some lesson or meaning in every adventure I undertake. Some of the lessons teach me about better training, race preparation, nutrition or race etiquette; others are pretty spiritual and powerful lessons. The Amesbury race always provides a reminder of the first commandment of racing; it isn't worth doing if it isn't fun.

Jeffrey Bent attempted to teach Mogan and I how to do one-arm handstands. I think we need to keep working on it!

I arrived at the venue before my 8:30 AM start solo and warmed up for the women's elite in plenty of time. I was initially a little concerned that the elite heat would generate a bit of a circus now that NBCSN was there filming for their new Spartan TV series, but I was happy to find that it didn't feel much different than last year's event. I visited with some old friends, but most were all-business as the evolution of the ladies' heat

Spartan testing my SPANDITS! shorts and top at the Amesbury Sprint. They
rock! Not a single snag or pull after two laps of the course!
Pink hair would have been a nice touch too. 

has become extremely competitive. Since I have reviewed this event in years past, I won't give a synopsis of the obstacles at Amesbury this year. However, there were few twists and added challenges to the traditional obstacles to keep things interesting. For one, Spartan is done messing around with the elite heat. New to 2014: double sandbags and tractor pulls for all elite racers (meaning that we needed to carry two sandbags at a time as well as pull two chained cinderblocks, rather than one). The bucket carry up the Amesbury Sports Park required elites to carry a bucket of gravel 7/8 full with gravel up the steep slopes of the Amesbury Sports Park, compared to the 2/3 full of the open heats. An awkward 60-70 pounds in a 5-gallon bucket with no handles was pretty brutal. In a 100m ascent, I am pretty certain I had to stop to rest with my bucket balanced precariously on my thighs no less than 5 times. When I arrived at the bottom and dumped my bucket into the gravel pile, my fingers were nearly seized up from loss of grip strength. Spartan Race also tossed in a few challenges for all heats such as increasing the course length to 5 miles, monkey bars with varying heights, and thin, slippery climbing ropes with no knots, which increased the difficulty ten-fold for many. Although I fared well, I missed the spear toss (shocker) and the rope climb resulting in a whopping 60-burpee penalty. Ouch.

Happy with a top 20 finishing time out of 3,800
women to run the course, but
the real fun had yet to come.

My favorite part of this race is all of the familiar faces and fun at the festival and post-race shenanigans. I met up with my Canadian pal Morgan Mckay, whom I met nearly 2 years ago at my first Death Race where we became instant friends. Since then, we have raced and played together many times and have witnessed one another have both great successes as well as suffer spectacularly on course. Along with her friend Jen and fellow Reload Ambassador Freddy Rodriguez, we jumped into an open heat to tackle the course a second time, this time on our own terms. We stopped to socialize and made new friends, buddy-carried one another, fell into the deepest depths of each mud pit and attempted every obstacle with as much added difficulty as we could create for one another. We stopped to help strangers, flopped in the sand turning ourselves into sugar-coated doughnuts (oh wait, that was just Morgan), and we laughed a lot.

Helping 10-year-old Alex Hulme overcome apprehension of the razor sharp barbs of the barbed-wire crawl, assisting Spartans on the monkey bars and inverted walls, and pulling strangers suctioned waist deep in mud was particularly rewarding. Smiles and laughter are contagious, and I am honored to he in a position to celebrate the successes of each of these strangers in their moment of triumph.

The spirit of our second lap on the course reminded me of my first Tough Mudder back in 2011 and why I have spent the better part of the last 3 years running through the mud and under barbed wire. Back in 2011, I distinctly remember a moment where Lani and I looked at one another's mud-caked faces and instantly broke into uncontrollable laughter at the absurdity of it all; the kind of laughter that brings you to your knees gasping for air. This was one of the defining moments that changed it all for both of us. Somewhere on the hills of the Amesbury Sports Park, Morgan and Jen helped me find that moment again. Thank you ladies for that. There is nothing more important than finding opportunities to laugh at the ridiculousness that is this life. It is an even greater treasure to be able laugh in the face of enormous challenges. When obstacle racing ceases to be fun or challenging, I'll move on. Until then, I'll train like hell for the next one.

We collected lots of friends, both new and old, along the course. I am guessing that it was the two beautiful 25-year old women that drew the following, but it was spectacularly fun anyway!

Nope, don't know the name of the guy holding both my hand and Jen's, but as you can see, neither of us seem to care.

Life is short. If there is ever a time to get out there and chase fun, it is now.

Want some awesome, fun, Spartan Race-tested shorts like the ones I wore? You can customize your own material and length and support a small company. Made in the USA! Check out SPANDITS! and tell them Shelley sent you (and use my code SPANDITSLOVE for 10% off your order).

A huge THANK YOU to Hammer Nutrition for Hammer Gels, Mito Caps, Race Caps Supreme and Recoverite that fueled my awesome race and great day! The code in the upper right of this page will give you 15% off your entire first order with Hammer.

Check out the NBCSN coverage of this event Tues Sept 23 at 10pm EST. Now for the FREE Spartan raffles!

GIVEAWAY #1

Here is where you can enter the Reebok Spartan Race Cruise Sweepstakes! No purchase necessary. Open to US residents only. Winner will receive a trip for two including airfare, a 3-day Spartan cruise, and an entry to the ultimate tropical island Spartan Race. Click here to enter! Sweepstakes ends Sept 22.

GIVEAWAY #2

Click here to win an entry to any US 2014 or 2015 Spartan Race through Shelley's blog, Filthy Clean Living. Raffle drawing is Aug 25, 2014

Thanks to Reload Fitness and Mud and Adventure for you support!

Ultra Beast?

Saturday morning on Killington Mtn. Photo courtesy of Spartan Race.

“People say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for life. I don't think that's what we're really seeking. I think what we're seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonance within our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive. That's what it's all finally about. " - Joseph Campbell

Third barbed wire crawl at about mile 17 (lap 2). Rolling over the camelback = a little awkward.

Going forward preparing for the Spartan Ultra Beast, I was asked several times by my friends and family why I choose to take part in what appears to be an incredibly masochistic hobby- obstacle and adventure racing. It is not unusual for one of these self-inflicted sufferfests to take on 10, 15, 24 or even up to 58 hours leaving me in a dehydrated, bruised, sore, marginally functioning haze for the better part of a week.Truthfully, until being directly confronted with the question, I have never really felt a need to come up with an answer. It has always just seemed like the thing to do. In the last few months, however, the answer to the question has alluded me and a lack of cognizant awareness of my own inner motives has eaten at me. While I continue to be a work in progress, I have begun to find clarity on the matter through some insightful conversations and a little old-fashioned introspection.

This past weekend offered me some unique insight. At Killington Mtn. I competed in the Spartan Ultra Beast. The Ultra has been heavily hyped as it was to be the inaugural marathon-distance (actually 28 miles) military-style obstacle course competition covering 70+ legit obstacles and 12,000 feet in elevation gain over the course of one day. The best of the endurance obstacle racers from all over the country applied months ago to be selected to face off against each other and see where everyone stacked up. As I normally do, I signed up without thinking twice about it. I mean, what could be more fun?

Maybe I am simply enticed by all the mud? Photo courtesy of Spartan Race

It would be easy to say that I am enticed by the competitive spirit of it all. It is true, in fact, that there is a part of me that is a competitor; however, competition alone is not enough to motivate me through long, grueling workouts day after day, month after month, year after year. Worrying about how others are training or preparing for the next event would be utterly exhausting. Unbearable.

It would be easy to say that I seek to find my own limits; however, I am still not entirely sure that I want to define them. Limits are, well, limits. Who wants those?

Still smiling and chatting at mile 9 at the first sandbag carry.

What I seek is something far more personal: something far more powerful than the celebration of a win or the devastation of a loss. As the hours wear on and my body enters the red zone I begin to find these answers. In these moments, all of the clutter disappears forcing me to focus on the moment. Not the next moment, not the moment before. There is no energy for that. Every twig snapping underneath my feet is there for a reason- to remind me that I am alive and that every moment is here for the taking. I just need to take it.

As the mountain takes my strength, it empowers me to find strength in new places. Places I normally don’t need to tap into that force me to dig deep into myself. It is then that I realize that the human body is stronger than I have imagined. Physical strength eventually fades to emotional strength forcing me to focus in a way that is so difficult to seize on a daily basis. One step at a time. One moment at a time. Limits are only self-imposed.

Mile 23 with my Spartan sandbag friend. We hugged a lot.

In these moments time stands still. Perhaps crazy hallucinations and endorphins are responsible for this euphoria? I don’t know. But I know that I am not the only one to experience it. The connections that exist between once-competitors and the mountain are lifelong. Each interaction carries with it new connections that embed themselves somewhere in your soul, only to be revealed in time.

This is what I seek. To those of you who shared this one with me, thank you. Finisher or not, we all came to learn a little something to take with us into the next one. There is no finish line.

Happily representing Simple Brandz and coaching my CVA athletes at the Teen Challenge on Sunday. Photo courtesy of CVA.

Why blog?

I want to start out this first post with an apology of sorts. I am not really a blogger. I don't read very many blogs and it appears that I am on my way to a solid D in Blogger 101 so far. I feel a little like an imposter in the world of bloggers.  Oh, did I mention that I am not much of a writer? So, the logical question appears to be-  why do it?

What I hope to gain from this blog is to become more of a contributing member to a community that has given so much to me. Over the last 5 years or so, I have ventured into the world of adventure racing, endurance and ultra trail running, and most recently obstacle racing and mud runs. While personal fitness and healthy living have always been important to me, it has always been a very personal, almost private, part of my life. I have always run alone. I have always ventured into the outdoors as a means of escape from daily stress, to clear my mind and share my clarity with very few. This experience has always been spiritual and physically cleansing, but very personal.

Hurricane heat @ Spartan sprint

In these last few years, I have come to realize that the camaraderie that exists between training partners, fellow competitors, and even the support crews and volunteers at ultra-endurance races, obstacle mud runs, and other military style challenges holds another piece of my existence that I have never explored before. It is one that holds an equal value to all of those long runs spent alone over the years. When all hope is lost and the thought of taking another step seems impossible, there is nothing more powerful than a fellow competitor extending their hand to you, offering you a their last bite of food. Equally rewarding is the rare opportunity to be present in another's moment of despair and be able to empower them to go beyond self-imposed boundaries. It is in these moments that I am leaning to understand my own self more deeply and push my limits more than I ever have before. It is these experiences I hope to share, and how to best prepare for them, and the opportunities to recruit the next crop of athletes to these amazing adventure sports.

My training partner Lani and I finishing our first Tough Mudder

I welcome your feedback. Please feel free to make suggestions of topics that you would be interested in seeing posts on, questions you might have, or ideas. I hope that with my co-blogger Aaron's expertise as a coach and trainer and my experiences on the trail and as a working mom, we can help build this incredible community.