Why jump in a murky muddy pond full of ice cold water with the goal to swim under a wall so you can crawl up a wall of mud to simply get out on the other side to run to a second pool of mud? Why carry a 40 pound bucket of rocks or an equally heavy sandbag down a rugged and steep hill simply so you can turn around and bring it right back up the hill and return it to the very place you found them? Why jump over an open flame and risk face planting in front of a crowd or burning your legs simply to reach the finish line? Why roll under barbed wire through a field of cacti and risk gshredding the full length of your body, when you could simply lay out by the swimming pool and lather on the lotion? Why flip a 200 pound tire in one direction, only to flip it back to its original location? Why climb over an inverted wall when you could simply walk under it? More importantly why drive two hours and spend $150 on an entry fee attempt a total 27 obstacles of similar magnitude? These are all very good questions and ones that I asked myself just 20 minutes into what turned out to be a 3 hour and 47 minute race.
The answer is plane and simple…we are all kids at heart. It is fun to go out and play in the mud and dirt. Our bodies were not designed to sit at a dest all day or perform one dimensional sports. This was a grueling race but I have to say I had the time of my life and I found myself laughing at both myself and others every step of the way. I have found the key to finding joy is in those rare moments when I push myself beyond what I originally deemed possible. It is in those moments that I feel as though I have really accomplished something.
Prior to going to this event, I was told Fort Carson hosted one of the toughest Spartan courses due to the hilly terrain and tough line up of obstacles. Perhaps I should have started with the Spartan Sprint (3 miles) verses the Spartan Super (9 miles). Heck why climb a hill, when you can climb a mountain? I knew I signed up for trouble but I was excited for the challenge. It was not my best performance but I am pleased that I finished the course. A Spartan race highlights your strengths but at the same time it exposes your weaknesses. Let’s go with the bad news first: I finished 422 out of 436 racers in the Spartan Super Competitive Category. I finished 86 out of 94 females in this same category. Here is the best part, I finished 7 out of 7 females in my respective age category (50+). It does not get worse than that! I got my !@#$%^ handed to me. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done. Now for the good news! I know exactly what I have to do to trim an hour off my time and kill the course. Lookout Fort Carson. I will be back!
Good Job Tonya! Just finishing sounds like a major accomplishment. You should. be proud and knowing you, you will shave off more than an hour next time! Look out Fort Carson is right!!