I’ve been bad, I’m sitting on a plane on the way to the Hawaii Trifecta Weekend writing about a race I raced last month. So busy… Last race was at a new venue Spartan Race wants to call San Francisco. It’s not uncommon for companies to choose more recognizable names, (Seattle is in Snohomish, Monterey is in Salinas, Sacramento is in Rancho Murieta, and so on) but this is rediculous. First of all the venue was Diablo Canyon, more specifically Patterson, CA. That’s a good 90-100 miles away depending on the route you take. Hell, you might as well call it San Jose or even Modesto. I don’t know why I keep complaining about this…
Anyway, it’s been about a month from my last Spartan Race and I’ve been keeping up with my training. However, I managed to sprain my wrist a week before race day playing hockey… I really need to stop playing at least two weeks before a race or just “retire” altogether. I love playing ice hockey, but I’m getting older and more susceptible to injuries. But I wouldn’t say slower… However, I have to remember I’m not the same weight I used to be so when I take a hit I WILL fly.
Back to the race. An overall good experience on the course, good sights to be seen… But those hills… Hills for days. We go up a really steep hill only to look up and ahead to find another long steep hill to climb. The inclines were no joke. Another thing, there was very little cover and I could have used it in the heat of inland central California. But to my surprise it wasn’t as hot as I was expecting. I consider myself either lucky that day or I’ve been accustomed to the heat from my training (or cheapness from not using my central air). Did I mention steep hills?
While I had a good experience on the course, it was an fairly frustrating race for me. Halfway through the course I hit a wall, figuratively. Though there were many literal walls. No, my break point was the Hercules Hoist. My new unfavorite obstacle, second to only the spear throw. The sand bag via hoist was near impossible for me to raise alone. It had to weigh more than me. I always say this but this time I just couldn’t pull the weight up. I managed to rip my hand in three different places. Another racer came to my rescue and helped me raise the sand bag. Right after that was the rope climb, one of my favorite obstacles to show off my upper body strength, but I just opted for burpees as my hands were already blistered and/or bleeding. Just after that was yet another rope obstacle, the plate drag. At this point I skipped another obstacle since my hands were just in pain. No medic or med tent in sight I trucked on in pain.
I got to a water station and was helped by a kind voulenteer with a bandaid. This small gesture helped me have the confidence to finish the race. Now before you say, “Hey, it’s just a bandaid.” Or “hey SpartanTFU and finish the race.” I was distracted by the blood, pain, and dirty water to think about continuing on. Let me say, for whatever reason, the pressure and the ability to cover an open wound helped me get through and avoid going back to base camp to find a med tent sacrificing time and a possible DQ. I’m not elite racer but I do like seeing my placing at the end of each race.
This is the first time there was a Memory Wall and not corresponding Memory Test. Such a waste because like every other race I memorized my numbers, Golf 057-3627. Oh well. Speaking of disappointments, I find myself 0-4 for the Spear Throw. 0-6 in the ’15-’16 season. Not a great spot to be in halfway into the year.
Well, time to carb up and prepare fo the Trifecta Weekend…