Where to begin. I’ve already recapped the course build so I will stick to the races. First up was the Beast, 12.2 miles of HILLS, sand, dirt and hell on Sat, Jan 17. We used our volunteer credit for this race and were put in the 8:15am heat which I was thrilled about since I knew we would take it slow and wanted as much time as possible. Luckily by the time we got there, walked the mile or so from parking to the festival, checked our bag and hopped into the corral it was start time. Neither Kev or I had much time to dwell which was a good thing. One note that threw us for a loop was the new bag check procedure. We were handed a clear plastic bag similar to runDisney. I wouldn’t have minded if I knew ahead of time but I had packed my Pen Swim bag full of clothes and towels and liquids so I had to quick rethink everything. They said it was for security and to save space which I understand but a heads up email would have been nice as I would have packed differently.
Pre Beast
Pre Super
Pre Sprint
Pre Sprint
Within the the first 200 yards you are already jumping into ice cold water/mud pits which I love. There were a few shorter walls which I was able to hop over myself (yay) then the hills started. Up, and up, and UP! I didn’t really have time to process just how steep this was at the Beast. But I just kept climbing, I stayed to the right for both the Beast and Super which had more rocks and foot holds but both times got stuck behind slower climbers. For the Sprint I went to the left behind Kev which I did not like as it was much sandier but faster. Eventually I was able to grab the rope and pull myself up. Mile 1 done on all three races. I LOVE that they added mile marker signs, some people were complaining but if they bother you don’t look at them… I needed them to help decide when to eat and conserve energy.
The First Insane Hill with Ropes at Top
After climbing and climbing you head back down which is always a bit sad because you know you are going back up again. At this point the course was still the same for all three races. At the bottom was the inverse wall, not my favorite since I struggled with this at Calgary and ripped my shorts on it 🙂 Better luck this year, the Beast Kev helped me up and over easy. Probably the most motivating thing I saw between all the races was at this wall during the Beast. After I went over and came back around to help Kev up if needed. He and two other guys were helping a larger girl trying to get over. They got her most of the way up but I’m not sure if she was scared or just not quite strong enough but she couldn’t pull herself over. They offered to help her again and myself and the volunteer were offering words of encouragement. She politely declined the offer for help, thanked us all then dropped and started doing burpees. THAT is what Spartan races are about. This girl who had clearly just started her fitness journey was out there BY HERSELF pushing herself and not just doing a Sprint, she signed up for the BEAST. I’m sure she probably had to do more burpees than most combined but she was out there fighting her own battle. That girl is my hero. The Super we all got over this pretty easily and I’m happy to say that for the Sprint it had been knocked down by the wind. Some people were sad but I was secretly happy.
From here we moved onto obstacle island as I will call it. We blew through the obstacle we had set up, the plate drag, and then the Hercules Hoist. Next was the bucket brigade. Holy crap. I was wondering what those rocks were going to be for when we saw them dropped off on Tuesday. There was a rather loud volunteer barking instructions which some found annoying but I appreciated because I did not want to have to do this again. That bucket of rocks was heavy. We had to set ours down a few times but we made with the required number of rocks left. I was a little disappointed they were not really enforcing this obstacle at the Super or Sprint as there were people with hardly any rocks in there buckets because no one was checking. Next we hit the traverse wall which is now Z shaped… you bastards.
New and “Improved” Traverse Wall
Hercules Hoist
Because my shoulder was bothering me and I wasn’t able to do things as well I would have liked during the Beast I started to have a small meltdown. Kev tried to help me on the wall but I gave up and jumped off because I couldn’t reach around the corner. Some other girl helped Kev get thru the wall then we split my burpees. Then I missed the spear throw and it wasn’t even close which probably added more to my meltdown. Next we headed UP again. At the top of this next big climb was a big wall we both got over. Then came the monkey bars. I wasn’t paying attention, got past two rungs and jumped off. I walked over and started doing burpees. This is where my meltdown came as Kevin nicely told me I could have just jumped on his shoulders and he could have walked me across. As we headed off to the Beast only section I put myself in check. We went back down a hill and got through the hurdles which were terrible just because you have nothing to land on except the pointed top (although we did see a lady with a service dog who was doing the hurdles!). I think there was another wall and then the Atlas carry which I loved. Pick up giant rock, carry it, do 5 burpees, bring giant rock back. We nailed the tire flip and also helped each other across the log hop which I’m glad I problem solved but the faster you go the easier it was. Somewhere in here was a barbed wire crawl which was up and down some small mud hills that we both really enjoyed compared to the later crawl in the sand/rocks/shells. There were a few more big hills in here including a steep downhill with some rocks. Somewhere through this I thought it would be a good idea to take my gloves off and scraped my hand. Luckily there was an aid station right after the cliff climb and the medic gave me an antiseptic wipe and band aid and told me to keep my gloves on… yeah. We reached the almost halfway point at Mile 6 were we decided to stop and take a quick picnic break and we each ate a protein bar.
After this we linked back up to where the Super/Sprint course was with the sandbag carry. I grabbed the women’s pancake which felt light after the bucket brigade. All I heard was one guy say was it was a blast after the bend. It just looked like a simple uphill and downhill. Nope. This is Sparta. You start walking, get around the bend only to see the entire thing is about 800 meters total including a steep uphill on rocks. Joy.
Beast Carry
Beast Carry
Amy and I during the Super
We made it through this to the A Frame Cargo climb which I loved, I seem to be pretty good at the climbing ones. Then downhill. All three races we blew through the Stairway to Sparta which is a wall climb into a Jacob’s ladder. Then came some rolling mud pits/hills which the trail shoes allowed me up and over with ease. At the Super Gandalf was working this obstacle letting people know you have to go under the dunk wall. Obviously going under a wall in water doesn’t bother me but some people were having some issues with it. Then came the slip wall, I had no issues at the beast, a little trouble on the super just at the top then Kev stayed on the top during the Sprint because I was a mess.
Slippery Wall
I tried the rope climb all three races, I got up a few feet during the Super but ultimately couldn’t do it. They took the knots out… Then came the joy that was the endless barbed wire crawl. I did not enjoy this any of the three days because it was so sandy and full of rocks. I’ll take the muddy mess any day. Next was the bridge which was all cargo nets and I loved it. From here for the sprint you went up the hills for a few more climbs, down the hill into the mud, tarzan swing and done. The Super and Beast you headed off to either the beach or the woods, courses reversed.
Beast Crawl
Beast Crawl
Beast Bridge
Short version for the Beast you went to the woods first. I enjoyed the woods as it was fairly flat and shaded. Nice relief from the climbs (and wind during the Super). There was a weird part with some ropes and no one was manning during the Beast but during the Super it was apparently supposed to be a bear crawl section. Then we hit the Weaver. The volunteer suggested I go head first while Kev helped keep me supported from bar to bar, I finally got to the end and hit the frame. Memory challenge. I had seen this on the sheet but no clue what it was. Giant board with 100 sequences to go with the last two numbers of your bib. For the Beast I was 79, and my code was Bravo 923 0261. You had to remember this for MILES. That one was easy because my mom watches Bravo and 923 is the day after my birthday so I just had to remember 0261.
Spartan Sled, the second obstacle we had helped set up. It looked like a war zone now. I went to the first sled and had no issues. Then Kevin’s issues started on the next hill. He started getting cramps in his legs so it was slow going but people were awesome about asking if he needed help or salt tabs/mustard. We got through that hill, over the obstacle then came Sand Hill or Hell Hill. First was an insane steep climb in sand. This hill never ended. I just kept going at my pace and made a few new friends. After what felt like forever I got to the top and waited about 5 minutes for Kev. We slowly walked to short part on the top which had amazing views. Then came the downhill which was a 42% grade downhill. I went slow, sliding on my butt a few parts but we were close to mile 11 by now and the light was at the end of the tunnel. At the bottom of the hill was the muti-rig obstacle which is basically monkey bars on steroids with a swinging pipe, three ropes and another pipe. We used the shoulder method here and blew through that. Then came the beach which was mostly flat. The water volunteers said there were no more big hills. Somewhere on the beach we had to recite our memory codes, get over another 7 foot wall and more beach/mud. Finally I saw the mile 12 sign and almost cried, I could see the festival area approaching. We ran under the bridge obstacle and felt bad for those poor souls that were only at the bridge. We headed up the small grass hill for two more climbing obstacles aka Thermopylae which I blew through.
Thermopylae
Tarzan Swing
For the Beast we did get to do the slide or as the staff named it the wedgie maker. I can see why they took it down for next three races and I had no control at end and almost took out a guy who didn’t move. Rugged Maniac was able to figure this obstacle out so hopefully Spartan can. We hopped in the mud pit and off to rope swing. They told us at the Beast you can skip Tarzan with no burpee penalty. I skipped it, Kev did it and liked it.
We hopped over the fire and DONE! I have never been so happy to finish a race and that green medal is a huge sense of accomplishment. It took us a little over 7 hours and honestly it was an easy extra 1.5 due to Kev’s cramps which bothered him the last 4 miles and not pushing too hard since we had two more races next weekend. I cannot wait to do another Beast.
Jumping around a bit for the Super my coworker Amy and her husband Shoji joined me, Kev and Andrea who flew in from Canada. We all stayed together the first part of the course before getting separated at the barbed wire crawl. Andrea, Kev and I took off down the beach thinking they were ahead of us.
Andrea and I during Super Crawl
Shoji
Amy
We all got over the wall and got our new memory number, Kilo 289 7182. Easy again because I went to Crossfit Kilo in Iowa last Aug, Feb 89 was when we first went to Disney World (I think) so just had to remember last part. Andrea and I helped each other across multi rig, Kev skipped it so we each did 10 burpees. We started up the back side of Hell Hill which was walking up the steep part this time. Halfway up we saw Amy and Shoji at the bottom so Kev told Andrea and I to take off and he would wait for them. I think I liked the hill better the Beast way. I don’t like going downhill if its slippery and it took me forever to get down the backside in the sand. Andrea waited and we took off again blowing through all the obstacles and climbs. She pushed me just enough and we ran where we could We got through the woods, helped each other with the Tyrolean Traverse which I had an easier time with than I thought thanks to upper body strength. I annihilated the Spartan Sled, Andrea struggled a bit (I enjoyed a small rest) but she finished it. We got up and down the last big hill. I was a bit worried about the Weaver without Kev’s help. Andrea went first, this time we did it feet first which was a bit easier. I got to top, this time they added bells instead of just tapping the end frame. I couldn’t quite reach it and was too far up for Andrea to help. Thankfully two guys came to help me, they just said grip hard and kick and they would catch me. Done! We took off into the last sections of woods. Somewhere was Mile 8, race was 8.9 so the end was near. Andrea and I pushed hard and finally out of nowhere came that last grass hill. We both tried the Tarzan swing, I was a few inches short of yellow line, Andrea forgot to let go…. we counted it as a win and jumped over the fire!
Super Finish
Shoji, Amy and Kev finishing
My pic of them finishing
Post Super Happiness
For the Sprint both Kev and I were feeling pretty wrecked from the previous two races. Andrea decided she was going to go for broke with an all out effort. Kev and I decided to run where we could. My shoulder had felt great during the Super but started bothering me during the Sprint so we went as fast as we could.
Andrea took this of us at mud pit. HI!
Sprint Finish
I will note for the Super I JUST missed the spear throw by an inch, it was insanely windy the Super/Sprint weekend and the wind took my spear. At the Sprint I nailed it! As did Kev and Andrea. Probably the worst part of that whole weekend was the wind. There was nowhere to escape it! But we all survived. Andrea completed 2/3 of her trifecta and placed really well in the Sprint. Amy and Shoji survived their first Spartan race and Kev and I completed our first trifecta in 8 days, something not a lot of people can say. Huge thanks to all my Crossfit 310 people for the training and support.
Crossfit 310 pic with Coach Kris and Yoga Instructor Monica
We were all beat up but felt really accomplished. Someday I’d like to be able to complete a whole course running most of it and doing all the obstacles completely by myself. But for now I’m happy to try everything and take help where needed. The atmosphere at the races is amazing, especially the Beast and Super. It can get a bit weekend warrior-ish at the Sprint since EVERYONE signs up for them. We plan to finish two more trifectas this year with the Vegas Super, Monterey or Sacramento Super, Chicago Sprint, LA Sprint, Temecula Beast in Sept and the Tahoe Beast. Sorry this was epicly long, but it was an epic three races and a long two weeks! Aroo!
Andrea’s recap can be found at her fantastic blog: http://jemesouviens2004.com/2015/01/28/initial-thoughts-and-rambles-from-my-spartan-race-weekend-in-california/
2015 Resolution 1 Complete!
Aroo!
College Swimmer to Coach Potato to Crossfit/Runner 
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