I signed up for this?!? ... GUUUULPP!!!

[Taminator]

Good luck today you two!!

Looking forward to hearing all the gory details LOL

 

[zeebs]

Has anybody heard from mamma lately? Did she/they make it out the other end of this? Just havent heard a update yet and was looking forward to hearing how it was and how they did.

Sent while not working too hard

 

[Summiteer]

Has anybody heard from mamma lately? Did she/they make it out the other end of this? Just havent heard a update yet and was looking forward to hearing how it was and how they did.

Sent while not working too hard

Haven't heard of any fatalities on the news.......

 

[GYMBRAT]

too cool, hope they did awesome!!! Kinda reminds of the "Tough Mudder" race. Gunna enter that in a couple years if Im brave enough

 

[zeebs]

Haven't heard of any fatalities on the news.......

Hmmmmmmm i guess in that case no news is good news.

Sent while not working too hard

 

[SledMamma]

Has anybody heard from mamma lately? Did she/they make it out the other end of this? Just havent heard a update yet and was looking forward to hearing how it was and how they did.

Sent while not working too hard

Weeeelllll.... The Spartan. (Ran in desert like conditions at 33 degrees 1pm in the afternoon...)

First Obstacle: Fire. No big deal.

Next: run about 3/4 of a kilometer over and under and through tires and walls. Now do 5 consecutive straight vertical 180ft hill attacks up and down with very sketchy footing. (The paramedic stationed at the top is your first clue!) At the top of each, another obstacle and 25 Burpees awaits. Now do more hill attacks. Just when you want to puke and every muscle fibre in your lower limbs is screaming for mercy, pick up 25 pound sandbag and walk off of cliff with it on your shoulders. Now walk back up the cliff and hand off sand bag. Run some more. Scale long horizontal wall and span the distance without using the top of the wall. Fall off. Do 25 Burpees for the 25th time. Water station. Choke on paper cup full of water. Pour half over your head. Praise Allah and run... If you can hear your husband dry heaving in the bushes behind you: Congratulations!! You are 1/3 done

Remaining obstacles included (but not limited to) waist deep mud pit, 20 foot vertical wall, dragging cinder blocks tied to ropes, hauling 5 tires up a vertical distance to an overpass, rope net climbing, belly crawl under barbed wire and through mud pit, A-frame wall to mud slide descent, vertical rope wall climb, javelin throw... Oh and more Burpees. The last obstacle: fight two Gladiators with large sticks to reach the finish line and receive medal from a Greek goddess...

The motto for the Spartan race is "You won't know until the finish line" and it is so true. You don't know a) how grueling it will be and b) what you are capable of. When I came off the sand bag obstacle, I seriously wondered if I would be able to finish the race; and then, I thought about my Dad and the obstacles that he faces every day from the minute he gets out of bed and pushed on...

I run about 60 kms a week and did alot of training for this race and I would say that where my training left off is where my training for a race like this should have began. I am often heard remarking that no matter how physically fit I am, nothing ever compares to sledding. This weekend I found something that does!! Still, once we finished we both declares the race AWESOME and considered doing it again. It's crazy!!

At the beginning of the race, a woman saw my t-shirt with my Dad's face on it and introduced herself as the mother of an 8 year old child with Muscular Dystrophy. We had a teary moment before the starting countdown and then we rushed off. It was a really powerful reminder of why I was there and how badly I wanted this. Approximately 4800 people tackled the race this weekend, with proceeds going to Muscular Dystrophy. The firefighters hosed people off for a donation, and used shoes were collected for profit. I am absolutely certain that a tonne of money was raised for people like my Dad. It was a very emotionally and physically rewarding day and sharing it with my husband (it was his first race ever) was the icing on the cake.

I highly recommend the obstacle racing experience: it is a whole new level of intensity and overcoming the challenge is highly addictive. If I had to give advice to others doing an obstacle race:

A) goggles won't help you. Good shoes will. Wear minimal clothing that will stay tight when you are packing 40 extra pounds of heavy mud.

B) those workouts you get every day in an email from Spartan headquarters... Do them!!!

C) Bring water. Eat more fuel the day before

D) Learn to love Burpees.

E) Whether you think you can or think you can't... You are right.




The Calgary Sun website had a great slideshow of photos:

 

[d mills]

Well done you guys........

 

[MOMMA]

You are absolutely amazing my friend xoxo

 

[zeebs]

Congratulation on your feat mamma! I cant explain how awesome it was to read your story........ the part where you felt like giving up and then thought of your dad and his struggles and decided to push on. To be honest with you if i was feeling like you thinking how bad someone else had it would have been the last thing on my mind. Sure glad to see you had success in this obstacle race, and nobody was severely injured.

On another note i got a chuckle when you mentioned burpees. I had to think awhile as to what they were. Hell come to think of it i havent done a burpee since elementary school! thanks for reminding how old i really am!

Sent while not working too hard

 

[medler]

Good job mama. !!

 

[snopro]

Whats a burpee mama?

 

[SledMamma]

Whats a burpee mama?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MGljX4bbps&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[snopro]

burpee - YouTube

Well I'm certainly old enough to remember the burpee but I guess my brain has washed any memory of this from my head for good reason it appears. Lol.

 

[the_real_wild1]

I cousin did it and had before and after pics of her group. I didnt know what it was so I read this post. LMAO. Looks like a tough race, but fun if you can do it.

 

[SledMamma]

Race results are in: I was lucky number 13 out of the 68 females in my heat. 58/142 total runners (male and female) in the 1:00pm heat and 251/1049 female runners through the day. I feel pretty good being in the top 25%... especially considering how defeated I was feeling by about 1/3 of the race

They have announced next year's date: August 17, 2013. My goal will be a top 3 female finish in my heat, and a top 25 overall... I am hoping to do a Tough Mudder sometime around May/June to change things up and test my preparedness and then ramp it up from there...Anyone care to join me in the future for a little mud and inspiration ... (GYMBRAT where are you?)

 

[TylerG]

Race results are in: I was lucky number 13 out of the 68 females in my heat. 58/142 total runners (male and female) in the 1:00pm heat and 251/1049 female runners through the day. I feel pretty good being in the top 25%... especially considering how defeated I was feeling by about 1/3 of the race

They have announced next year's date: August 17, 2013. My goal will be a top 3 female finish in my heat, and a top 25 overall... I am hoping to do a Tough Mudder sometime around May/June to change things up and test my preparedness and then ramp it up from there...Anyone care to join me in the future for a little mud and inspiration ... (GYMBRAT where are you?)

anyone ever told you that you may or may not be more than a little bit CRAZY?

 

[zeebs]

anyone ever told you that you may or may not be more than a little bit CRAZY?

I dont call her crazy as much as i call her inspired, driven, and determined.

Sent while not working too hard

 

[Highfly]

Good for you!!! Had a friend do the challenge this year. Said his feet felt like they weighed 50 lbs with all the mud on them. I told him try Vibram five fingers next year!



If you do, work into them slowly to prevent injury (you are basically running bare foot). I was at Marathon distance when I bought and wore mine. It felt like I had never ran before with how sore my calves and feet were. I eventually got up to a 10k distance in them. They changed my running gate (for the better) I'm a much smoother runner now. They are not for everyone but I sure love mine.

Again way to go! The emotions you went through ring a bell to me. My first marathon was the same way. I am not ashamed to admit I was in tears (of joy) when I crossed that finish line. I was physically and emotionally spent. I did it and will NEVER forget that moment or the battle I fought that day.

Good luck to you next year!!!!

 

[SledMamma]

Good for you!!! Had a friend do the challenge this year. Said his feet felt like they weighed 50 lbs with all the mud on them. I told him try Vibram five fingers next year!



If you do, work into them slowly to prevent injury (you are basically running bare foot). I was at Marathon distance when I bought and wore mine. It felt like I had never ran before with how sore my calves and feet were. I eventually got up to a 10k distance in them. They changed my running gate (for the better) I'm a much smoother runner now. They are not for everyone but I sure love mine.

Again way to go! The emotions you went through ring a bell to me. My first marathon was the same way. I am not ashamed to admit I was in tears (of joy) when I crossed that finish line. I was physically and emotionally spent. I did it and will NEVER forget that moment or the battle I fought that day.

Good luck to you next year!!!!

I have been running barefoot since 2010- and I definitely feel like its the way to go! It was painful and hard to get used to at first, but much like you, it changed my gait and power immensely. Last year Vibram went into business with Merrell and I switched from the Five Finger style to a closed toe shoe with the barefoot sole. I had alot of trouble with blisters on my toes with the Five Fingers because my toes are too narrow for the shoe, so there was alot of friction there. This has been eliminated for me now with the more conventional minimalist design- they are awesome and less freakish looking and my investment in moleskin has been significantly reduced.

I actually considered using the Five Fingers for the race bcz I didn't want to wreck my new shoes (they are quite a bit more expensive since Merrell got involved) In the end I backed out bcz of the blister issue I have with them and bcz I was worried they would be too slippery. A girl who was in front of me (until she biffed it in the creek crossing!) was wearing a pair and she said they were working great for her. Definitely the way to go, in my opinion.

It's been ten years since I ran a race where the adrenaline was pumping so hard at the start that my mouth was completely dry. It was actually very distracting at the start and I had to force the thought out of my mind and pray for a water station to be near! The emotional part of the race is a bit hard to describe to non runners/racers. I didnt warn my husband at all and I think he was very surprised at the gamut of emotions you run... It's part of the addiction for sure. In fact, he is so addicted he wants to tackle the SuperSpartan in Squamish on Sept. 22nd. It's more than twice as long... Yikes. I am on the fence for sure the crazy in me wants to do it, the practical knows I am not ready!!

 

[Highfly]

The emotional part of the race is a bit hard to describe to non runners/racers.

So true!
I enjoyed reading your post. Are you sure we aren't soul mates, get it LOL.

the gamut of emotions you run... It's part of the addiction for sure

Absolutely. I'm going to miss it :-( My body has decided running is not for me. Cortisoneone shot does help but I am hearing its hard on the joint and I'm not in pain during normal activity. I'm worried if I continue to use cortisoneone that it will damage the joint further and I'll be in pain during normal activity. I'm completly debilitatedted when I flare up. I need to got back to the Doc. and get more information to look at my options. In the mean time I've cut my distance way back. Sticking around the 10k mark.

I am on the fence for sure the crazy in me wants to do it, the practical knows I am not ready!!

That is exactly how endeded up training for my Marathon. I went from never running to completing my first marathon in one years time. I wasn't ready at all but was pushing hard. My goal was to complete a marathon before I was 40. I did it by two days
Some things we can control, like the drive we have. Other things we cant, like what life has in store for us and also things like injuries. If you want it bad enough it will be yours! But you can forget about life right now as you know it You will be eating and sleeping training.