"Set your sights high. The higher the better. Expect the most wonderful things to happen." ~ Eileen Caddy
I decided back in October that I wanted to commit to running a Spartan race. Many of my friends and my husband had completed various Spartans, and I always sat back wondering "What if?". What if I tried to get out there and do it? Would I make it through? Would I be able to finish? Would I fail every obstacle? Would my pain keep me from even competing? I had so many questions, but the biggest was...
What if I COULD do it?
I decided I was tired of my goals taking a backseat to my pain. Endometriosis freaking sucks. There's no way around that. For years, it kept me from doing what I truly wanted to do. I had to cancel plans or cut workouts short. I had to miss out on time with family and friends. I had to dial back my goals and keep them modest for fear of what might happen if I had a major flare up. Close friends, my husband, and my trainer had witnessed what it looked like when my body took over. I would cramp up to the point that I couldn't breathe. And I worried about that happening during something like a Spartan. But I decided I didn't want that to be an excuse anymore. If I trained and prepared, perhaps I could convince my body to cooperate, at least for the day. That was my goal anyway.
ROC Training over the past 6 months has been a grueling challenge week after week. I learned how to jump over walls, low crawl under "barbed wire", carry logs and heavy buckets, climb ropes (well, almost!), throw a spear, pull a hoist, bear crawl up hills, and run and sprint until I felt like my legs might fall off or my lungs might give out. It was definitely a different challenge from Jungle Gym. I also got used to getting wet, cold, dirty, and bruised.
All that led to this weekend and a trip to Charlotte for my first Spartan Sprint. I was beyond excited, mostly because I felt prepared, and my diet has definitely helped me to feel much better in the past few months. Now was as good a time as any to conquer this goal. And I was surrounded by AMAZING people who helped me feel supported, determined, and strong.
After a hilarious night of cooking "breakfast for dinner" for 13 people in our big rental house, I felt like I barely slept Friday night. I was so anxious and excited that I never fully relaxed. But I rested as best I could, and by 5:00am, I was up and ready to roll. We piled into vehicles and got to see the sunrise as we drove to "the farm" for our race. And Lord did it smell like one!
We headed towards registration and realized just how COLD it was outside. Much, much colder than we expected. But the weather forecast promised warmer temperatures, so we kept moving as best we could to keep warm while we waited for our start time. We stretched, we jogged, we danced, we huddled. And just as we lined up in our corral, the sun broke through and we could finally feel some warmth. I was surrounded by my team, I felt great, the sun was shining, and I couldn't stop smiling. With a chant of "AROO! AROO! AROO!" we were off!
The terrain starting out was riddled with divots and hoof prints, and I realized right away that EVERYONE was passing me. I'm not a fast runner, so this was no surprise, but it did deflate my spirits a little. But my husband kept checking back to make sure I was still on the move, and we soon reached our first obstacle. Wall after wall after wall to get over. And I crushed ALL of them! But soon what I feared happening started to come true. My stomach, lower back, hips, and thighs cramped up and I struggled to move or catch my breath. The pack in front of us moved further and further ahead, and I made the mistake of looking behind me. There was literally no one there. I was the last person in our heat. Dead. Last. But I held true to my training and told myself, "Just keep moving. You will get through this. You will start to feel better. And you've got a long way to go. JUST. KEEP. MOVING."
By the time I reached the inverted wall, my breath was starting to stabilize and my body was loosening up. Steve gave me great instructions on what to do to get over the wall, and to my surprise, I made it up and over easily! By that point I was pumped! I knew the race could only get better as my body returned to normal and I could truly give it my all.
I started climbing the cargo net and one of my ROC coaches reminded me, "This is your race, Crystal. Run YOUR race." I didn't need to worry if I was at the back of the pack. This was my goal. And I knew at that point I would make it through. I just had to keep going and not quit. And I soon rejoined our group and found I wasn't as far behind as I thought I was. My spirits were high and I was ready to go!
I was able to make it across part of the Olympus, which made me pretty happy since I had only tried that once in training. I also made it through half of the rings, which I never could've done a few months ago. The bucket carry, sandbag carry, atlas carry, hoist, and plate drag were all incredibly easy thanks to all the heavy carries and pulls we do in Jungle Gym. I was so thankful in those moments for my trainer and all the crazy stuff he makes us do!
What I wasn't prepared for? Frigid water and pure, unadulterated MUD. Not even mud. Cow shit. Straight up poop soup. I think the pictures here say it all...
We followed this up by literally sitting in the mini "river" and taking a quick bath together. Six grown adults, splish splashing our cares away. It felt like a scene from The Hunger Games, without any fear of killing, of course. It was probably one of my favorite moments.
We took off running again and towards the end, I was met with a fate of many burpees. I didn't do the rope, which I had already planned on skipping, and I missed my spear throw. The rope has given me a lot of trouble during training, and due to the muddy race conditions, I knew today was not the day. I did my burpees instead and got to witness one of my teammates, Katie, rock her rope! I'll continue to practice this obstacle for sure.
We had one more stretch to run, and by this point my calves were cramping like crazy. But I knew the best thing to do was to keep moving, so slow and steady was the name of the game. We came to the A-Frame cargo net, and my heart immediately had a panic moment. I don't do well with heights, and I knew this was going to be tough for me. I climbed up as quick as I could while still remaining steady, and when I almost reached the top, the woman in front of me just stopped! There I was, with her butt in my face, and I couldn't go anywhere. She just kept sitting and wouldn't move, so I looked at Steve to keep my focus. I knew if I looked down, I would start to freak out. She finally started her descent, and I was able to transition to the other side. I made it down without a problem, which was a huge feat for me. I was just so ready at that point to finish!
Our final obstacle was the monkey bars, which were super difficult. I watched many strong men fail them over and over. The bars were especially fat, and the heights changed as you moved through. I tried to swing for the second bar and missed, so off to do more burpees I went.
Our group of six was finally finished and ready to jump over the fire! This was one of my other favorite moments. Cheryl, Katie, Leah, CJ, and Steve - y'all definitely got me through. I'm so glad I had you all there to cheer me on, and it was awesome to see so many of your strong and fierce moments. That's pure joy on my face right there as we crossed that finish line!
As I reflected on the day, it took awhile for it to truly sink in. I just DID THAT. I ran 4.9 miles and completed 20+ obstacles. I fought through pain and fatigue. I overcame a near mental crumble. I witnessed my friends and husband repeatedly crushing their obstacles. I accomplished the goal I set months before. The goal that at this time last year seemed nearly impossible.
Now the question is...did I catch "the itch"? I've heard that once you do a Spartan, you're "hooked". I'll be honest. I wouldn't go that far. I'm extremely proud that I finished and so glad I accomplished my goal. This was definitely a bucket list moment. But do I feel the sudden urge to do another? If I'm being perfectly honest...no. I'm quite content to be free of the mud and the cold as I sit here warm and comfy typing this. I also woke up today feeling like I got hit by a bus. My body aches, my legs are sore, my arms and knees are bruised, and I'm all around just tired. It was awesome, but I think this will probably be a once-a-year-kinda-thing for me. (*wink, wink) But I will continue to train, because each day brings the chance to improve and move one step further towards NEW goals. My goal now is to get stronger with my upper body so that obstacles like the ring, the rope, or the monkey bars aren't a struggle. Because we're never too old to set a new goal...
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