Atlanta Spartan Sprint 2017

First off let me say how sorry that I am that it has taken me three days to post this blog about my first, hopefully not last, Spartan Sprint experience. So let me jump right in to it.

About the Spartan Races

According to Google... 

Spartan Race is a series of obstacle races of varying distance and difficulty ranging from 3 miles to marathon distances. They are held in US and have been franchised to 14 countries including Canada, South Korea, Australia and several European countries. The series include the Spartan Sprint, the Super Spartan, the Spartan Beast, and the Ultra Beast. 

Spartan Sprint (3+ miles of obstacle racing, 20+ obstacles), the Spartan Super (8+ miles, 25+ obstacles), the Spartan Beast (13+ miles, 30+ obstacles), and the Ultra Beast (26+ miles, 60+ obstacles – one of two marathon obstacle courses along with Mudderthon).^[10] The obstacles themselves also vary from race to race. Frequently presented obstacles can include a fire jump, climbing under barbed wire, wall climbing, mud crawling,^[11] the "over-under-through" (a series of obstacles in which runners must first climb over a wall, then under a wall, then through a square hole placed in a wall),^[12] spear throw, rope climb,^[13] heavy object carries,^[14] 

Failure to fully complete any obstacles results in a 30 Burpee penalty in which runners complete before continuing their race.^[19] A participant can obtain a Trifecta medal after completing a Spartan Sprint, Spartan Super and a Spartan Beast in one calendar year.^[10] As of the 2016 season, the finisher medal includes both the traditional circular medal and a "pie piece" – one third of a larger Trifecta medal.^[20] 

Now that you are caught up on what a Spartan does, let this Spartan (me) tell you about her personal experience. 

How it all started

You know back in January I started going to the gym. I started falling in love with waking up early and going to workout and I loved watching my body transform. Doing a 5k, marathon, or a Spartan was never in my view or goals. I just wanted to be healthy and strong. 

There was some small talk about some of the girls/women signing up to do a Spartan Sprint. After talking to some of them and then thinking about it, July 7th, 2017 I joined the team. Then the training started.

Now let me clear something up. I trained, but I didn't put my all into it. The Sprint is the baby in the Spartan Trifecta, if you're planning on doing one, TRAIN!!!!!!! I was not ready and it showed, mentally and physically.  

October 22nd, 2017

October 22nd arrives and I wake up feeling sick and thinking I may have to tell them I will be in the crowd cheering them on because I have allowed my nerves to get the better of me. After taking a quick shower (because I have to have shaved legs), I sit on the bed and have that pep talk about it with myself and all I want to do is jump over that fire pit and grab my medal. 

7:30 am

We have to get there at 7:30 am to register and get our numbers. As you see in the picture below, I am 545. This will always be my favorite number and I think you know why!  

We have to do what?!

By this time it is already sinking in that I am fixing to run my first Spartan and I am pretty excited about it. After checking our bags in and having someone hold our phones, we are told it is time to make our way to the start line. My excitement is quickly fading when we are told we are going to have to jump this 5ft wall (I say its 5ft because I was taller than this wall 😆). I may have been taller than that wall, but I could not get over without some help from my team members. Note to self, I need to work my upper body more. 

Now that I am over that mountain high wall, I am standing with my team talking and waiting. 

The Spartan Speech

The DJ makes a few announcements and then gives us a speech about the Spartans and how we are fixing to embark on a Spartan race that is 5+ miles with 23 obstacles. When we cross the finish line, we will be Spartans. Aroo Aroo Aroo!!!! (Aroo is Spartan lingo) 

He yells go and we take off...... 

The race is on......

Everything you see in blue and red, is what the Super's had to do the day before. You also see the Obstacle Guide, that is all the obstacles they had to do as well. Thank the Lord I was running the Sprint and that is all in the red, and the obstacles have the red dot by them. 

We are off and started slowing down to walking. I am NOT a runner and I am grateful for this. Keep in mind this Spartan Sprint race took place on Lake Lanier. We not only had 5+ miles and 23 obstacles to get past, we had hills, high inclines trails with roots, holes, and trees. So not even a mile in and I have a panic attack. I start crying, my heart is racing, my back is hurting, and my legs are on fire. I want to quit and give up. I am NOT the fighter, the pusher, the you can't hold me back girl I thought I was. At least that  is what's running through my head. After a moment of standing and having my small group telling me I am fine and I WILL cross the fire jump, I push on. 

I know some don't believe in this, but I know I heard my momma's sweet voice telling me that I am strong and I am not a quitter and that she was proud of me. That alone pushed me into gear and to finish this! 

The miles, the obstacles, the inclines, and the dunk wall

Obstacles 1-8, 10-13, and 19-29 (the Sprints didn't have to do 9 and 14-18)

1.) Over Walls....we had two walls to get over. 

2.) Vertical cargo....we had to crawl up a cargo net and over. Thank God I do not have a fear of heights.

3.) Water Crossing....I think this one the one we had to cross over to one of the islands. 

4.) 6' Wall....again my little team of 5 helped each other over this wall which I am almost sure I left part of my boob behind.

5.) O-U-T....we had to go Over a wall, Under a wall, and Though a hole in a wall

6.) Barb Wire Crawl...now I get why my personal trainer made me do military crawls, I had to do some rolls as well

7.) Plate Drag....we had to pull this plate with a sandbag in it to us then had to turn around and take it back to the other end

8.) Multi-Rig....you had to grab a hold of the circles hanging then cross to the rope back to the circle thing.  If you could not do that, which I couldn't, then you had to go down and hill, walk around and come back up. That incline is a killer!!!! But in the picture below you will see me walking up to the Multi-Rig but they never took a picture of me hanging there, lol. I feel like God sent the team in front of me at the right time. I love their shirts and it pushed me harder. 

             (Don't Limit Your Challenges, Challenge Your Limits)

10.) Rolling Mud....you had to go up a mud bank and then slide down in muddy water, then go back up a mud bank and back down into some water. 

11.) Slip Wall....this is a wall that is at an incline and you have to use a rope to pull yourself up. I made it to the top and lost my grip. I fell hard on the wall and slid all the way back down into the mud. I just knew I broke a rib or two. I did knock the wind out of me, lol. Yay.

12.) Dunk Wall.... this one is by far my favorite. I slid down the mud bank into the water and fell. I hit my knee on a rock and that took my breath away. But I went under that muddy water and came out on the other side. 

I am still washing mud out of my hair! But the mermaid in me loved this one 😀

13.) Bucket Brigade.... you had buckets that you had to fill to a certain line and carry it down a trail. I got my bucket filled up and was fixing to follow behind one of my peeps when my back locked up. I ended up having to have a guy help me dump it and I was suppose to do 30 burpees but he told me not to worry about it and wait for my team. I did however do 30 squats. 

We go though more trails and with high inclines and I am having to pray to God that I don't fall and that my back will stop hurting. 

19.) Herc Hoist.... we have sand bags that we have to pull all the way to the top and let down slowly. Thank God for one of my teammates helping me because I have no upper body strength. Side note...MUST WORK ON THE UPPER BODY STRENGTH!

20.) A-Frame Cargo.... think of an A shape tower with cargo nets on both sides. Yep we had to crawl up one side and down the other. Another panic attack almost hit me up at the top and again one of my team members talked me though it. (Now I know why they made you purchase insurance.)

21.) Rope Climb.... we walked right on past it to the penalty area which was the barb wire crawl. I know I could not climb up that rope and RING THAT BELL!

22.) Twister.... it is a long bar with handles on it that twist every time you get to the next bar. Hello 30 burpees.

23.) 7' Wall.... I walked away from this one. I'm thinking after the 6' one and almost losing a boob to that one, I may want to keep what I have left. 

24.) Inverted Wall....you have to crawl over it from the back side that is leaning back. Yeah I knew I would not make it. 

25.) Spear Throw.... I tried and I almost had it but that dang spear wouldn't stick. So 30 burpees with my gals. 

26.) Sandbag Carry.... We had to carry a 40lb sandbag around the dock and up a hill. Hard yes. 

I don't know what was more breath taking, carrying that 40lb sandbag or the beautiful view. I think it was both 😎

      

27.) Olympus.... it is a wall with rocks and holes in it for you to climb across....I am NOT ashamed to say I walked right past it. 

28.) Monkey Bars.... you know what those are....yeah I did 15 burpees. 

Finally......

30.) Fire Jump.... this is where you complete the coarse and become a Spartan....yes you jump over fire!

Here are my ranks and time

No one will ever understand what this means to me. I never complete anything I start and I completed this! I busted my ass to make it to the fire jump so I could grab this medal. But, I couldn't have done it without the support of my little team they could have left me but didn't. They pushed me and held my feet to the fire (lol 😂). When I felt like giving up on myself, they made me believe in myself because they believed that I could do it. In my Elle Woods voice...... "WE DID IT!!!!!" 

Now going up those steep inclines, I said I would never do another Spartan again. I keep looking at my medal, shirt, and pictures and for next year, I want to get my Trifecta just so that I can say I did it. I know whats involved now and what hard work I'll have to put in to get there. We were told that you would either love it or hate it. With me, it is a love/hate type of thing. I love it because it pushed me, but I hate it because its hard. So get ready to see more medals from this girl because I am fixing to grab everyone that I can. 

I plan on getting these bad boys next year!

The picture says it all!

The Hot Spot Spartan Group......

Let me explain why it took me so long to post this blog. I still have that "I failed" feeling because I didn't run/jog or complete all the obstacles. I had a panic attack on the first mile in and I have never had one of those before. I had the feeling of "I didn't earn this" because of all that. I felt like people were only saying good things to me because it was the right thing to do. Trust me when I say.... this was not easy for me to say because I don't want people thinking I am weak. I am not and far from it. 

Now all that is down, 

Spartan 2018....get ready because I am coming and I will be conquering!!!!!

AROO!!!! AROO!!!! AROO!!!!