2015 Spartan Sprint : Hellmecula 2.0 Continued...

The day after the Beast, I went back to run the Sprint (~5 miles) with a co-worker that is new to the Spartan races. Took my camera this time to help document her first Spartan experience!

We spent months discussing back and forth on gear and techniques for the obstacles, so it was really fun re-experiencing the first-time Spartan jitters through her. I think sheer fun is the best way to describe it.

Stopped to capture the scenic view of the race course/venue.

Sled drag.

Sandbag carry. Have to carry a weighted sandbag up and down the hill.

See the line of people on the hill? You carry the sandbag up the hill (right of the photo), around the peak of the hill, and then back down (left of the photo).

Very crowded and slippery mud pits and hills. The Sprint races tend to be more overcrowded.. lines for the obstacles, hard to run fast or pass people, esp on the steep, narrow trails. Not the best for racing for time, but definitely more so about team work and having fun on the obstacles.

A-Frame wall climb in the background.

One of my favorite obstacles cause it's easy for rock climbers, the Z-Wall traverse.

Bucket brigade. Same idea as the sandbag carry --> up and down a hill.

Spear throw. Even though Ryan has this obstacle in our yard for me to practice on, it doesn't matter. I fail this obstacle, every single time. I am 0-5.



Another failed obstacle.. the rig. I was so close, but the 2nd day of racing and my arms had no mo' strength.



At least I got the rope climb.



Nailed the fire jump pose like a boss!

2015 Spartan Beast : Hellmecula 2.0

Ryan and I ran the Spartan Beast (13 miles, 30 obstacles) again recently. Harsh conditions again this year, and the race was informally dubbed as Hellmecula 2.0. This was our make-up run from last year's cancellation race. Both of us had started to get back into training mode mid-June, but work, kids, schedules, and unexpectedness of life hindered consistent training. So even with sporadic training, we were able to manage completing another Spartan Beast, in 90+ degree temps.

I am super proud of Ryan on his finish! He placed top 3% overall out of 3,402 racers, top 5% out of all 2,243 male racers, and 6th place for his age group. I can just imagine how he would do if he REALLY trained for this race.

I did not prepare well for this race, with ~two weeks of consistent training after taking most of August rehabbing a rotator cuff injury. I went into this race with low endurance and strength and fully expected to place poorly in all categories. So, all in all, I'm happy with my results, placing in the 25% for women and 28% for my age group, but 50% for overall.

I was planning to retire from doing Spartan races, but I feel I can do better, so maybe one more Beast before I retire. I did back-to-back races again this time, running the Sprint (5 miles) on Sunday for fun with a co-worker. This weekend completed my first Spartan Trifecta for 2015.

The kids unfortunately did not get to run the kids race again because they got sick! So.. looks like our family is not quite yet done with Spartan. We'll have one more hoorah!!

Pre-race photo at entrance to the start line.

Post-race photo at the finish line.

Sandbag carry up and down a hill.

Barb wire crawl.

Fire jump finish!

Roadtrippin' - Part 1 : World Superbike

We went on a road trip up to the Bay Area. First stop, was a few days at Laguna Seca once again. This time we were there for the 2015 Superbike World Championship as headliner events, and MotoAmerica Superbike/Superstock races.

The drive up was the usual, lots of stop and go traffic.. slow and a tedious test of patience. The up side was that the kids found different ways to entertain themselves. A quick stop at McDs where we picked up a couple of Happy Meal Minions provided comic relief to our little minions.

A cardboard box can have multiple fun factor uses...

Emilia not phased by Liam's minion antics. She was busy color Melissa & Doug's On-the-Go Magic Color Blast. These travel color books are awesome with lots of colors and details that can keep the kiddos occupied for quite a while. We have gotten other brands, but they are not as good as these.

Walking into the race track area near the starting line.

Checking out the yellow Ducati while strolling around Ducati Island.

Kid cuteness factor scored them some red balloons from the Ducati girls.



And later on, their cuteness factor would also get them a much needed awesome umbrella for sunshade from a Suzuki vendor. See the arm above Liam's head? And a little portion of the black/red umbrella? Yup. That's Ryan holding up shade for the kiddies.

The races are always a blast. The kids watch every time the racers go by. They even watch when it's non-race time and there are safety cars just driving the track. Turns out one of the racers of Superstock 600 is someone we know from our climbing gym! So it was double neat to see him ride. We didn't know it at the time, but Ryan heard his name from the announcer. Later on during the weekend, we bumped into him and this was his first time ever qualifying for the race.



The kiddos walked around all day, checking out vendors, going to different parts of the track to watch the races, etc. But they were troopers and lasted all day. At the end of the day, in less than 5 minutes in their carseats, they were passed out.

The races are always an experience. This may be our last year since the fate of motorcycle races at Laguna Seca is unknown. It is suppose to be sold to a NASCAR family, so we'll see what happens next year!

15 Miler Training Run

Here on out, we rotate taking turns on doing our long distance training run. While he's out for his 15 miler hill/distance/elevation training run, the kiddos and I hang out somewhere and chill. Found a nice shady faux-grassy spot for the kiddos to color and run around.

Running is not fun. It's physically hard work and mentally challenging to have your mind dictate over a tired, dehydrated body. But, no one can dispute the high that comes towards the end of a run, hitting the target goal whatever that may be. These last few minutes, especially seeing the kiddos cheering, are the best!



And then consuming massive amounts of food and water that tastes like the best meal you've ever eaten!! We are so proud of Ryan even though it's not race day yet.

Back in Training!

Kids coloring and having a brunch date with me while we wait for Ryan to finish his run.

Ryan and I are officially in training season since the beginning of June. We both have separate races coming up in a few months time, and we both have our own training regimen and program. So even though it is summer, our schedules are again a fine juggling act. But well worth it! It feels great to be back in training mode. Of course, seeing Ryan train motivates me even more to train!

Our conversation goes something like this:
C: How many miles are you going to run for your long run this week?
R: 14 miles.
C: Oh. Well, I'm going to do 12 miles (even though I planned for 10 miles, and am only capable of 6 miles).
R: I'm running ----- Mountain (the steepest local mountain with the highest elevation gain).
C: (thinking to myself.. I can't do that, so I'll do an alternative)
C: Okay, I'm going to do 12 miles on some kind of terrain, then another 5 miles the next day, and throw in some ninja obstacle training on top of that. Yeah.
R: (sighs. and rolls his eyes.) The kids and I want to come and watch.

So what did we do? I found a local mountain and did my 12 miles Friday, and then obstacle course training with additional running on Saturday. And Ryan followed it up on Sunday, with 14+ miles of THAT mountain.

Yup. That's just our way. It's how we do things.

Here is Ryan, at the end of his 14+ mile run, at the base of the mountain where kids and I were waiting for his return after our brunch.



We're back in the groove of training!

Spartan Indoctrinated!

We are now a Spartan family! Yup, that's right, the kiddos ran their very first race, a Spartan Jr 0.5 mile obstacle course, and they were AWESOME. Proud parent moment! Big thanks to Ryan for making this happen.

Original plan was for both Ryan and I to race, but the latest bouts of being sick sidelined Ryan. After my race on Saturday, the kids wanted to come watch mama run on Sunday. (Yes.. I did 2 races on back-to-back consecutive days.) Ryan made the effort to bring the kids to spectate. My race time was early enough that I could finish in time before the kids race, so last-minute we gave the kiddies a choice if they also wanted to run, and they did!

Attempt at a pre-race photo... can't get all of them looking at the same time.

Pre-race stretching.

Mulling around.. waiting for the race to start..



10...9...8... ...3...2...1.. GO!!!


Run! Run! Run!


Liam & Ryan, climbing over the wall.

Emilia doing the Under-Over wall obstacle.

Liam's "barb wire" crawl.


Emilia going over haystacks.

Go! Go! Go! Yes. I am THAT mom.



Waiting for her turn at the kiddie "spear throw". Kids have a 5 burpee penalty for not hitting the target.

Emilia doing burpees in the back and Liam's "spear throw" attempt. =)


The Finish line!

Post-race outfit --> Emilia tried the muddy water obstacle but did not like the freezing waters. We did not bring a change of clothing for her, so she had to sport a fashionable towel look.

Connie's Super and Sprint Summary Recap:

For the 9+ mile Super, the conditions were completely opposite from the last time I did this. There was severe winds blowing sand and dust, making it hard to see and breathe.

(photo curtesy from random facebooker in the Spartan group)

(video curtesy from random facebooker in the Spartan group)

The obstacles felt harder this time around, with a few more upper body centric ones. Even the traverse wall was a challenge. Here's a view of the Z-traverse wall with people doing the 30 burpees penalty for failing it.. And in the background is the bucket carry. One fills their bucket with small rocks and have to carry it up and down the hill in the further back.

My Super time was pretty dismal.. 4:16 (~90%). Grandmas and grandpas beat my time. However, I did go into it with no training (haven't ran more than 2-3 easy miles since last October) and lingering muscle strains. But, I did it anyways. It was more a mental game as I was not confident about any obstacles that require dynamic movement with the possibility of jumping or falling (aka rehash of the ACL injury). I failed 5 obstacles (monkey bars, Spear Throw, Thermophalea, Z-Wall, and Tarzan Swing), so that meant I spent a lot of time doing 150 burpees!

Okay, so the Super results were not good and very humbling. I was tempted to postpone the Sprint the next day, but I decided to Spartan it up! I already knew what to expect, and I had the extra motivation to finish faster so I could make it in time to watch the kiddos. The first 0.5 to 1 mile was hard running on tired legs, but surprisingly, the body learns and adapts. After the first mile, I felt great. I knew what to expect and it felt comfortable. I ran the course faster, did the obstacles faster, felt more confident. I did take assistance on the monkey bars, so less burpees there, but I added burpees by choosing to burpee out of doing the bucket carry because that obstacle aggravates my low back muscle strain. Z-Wall was not an issue this time. Still failed the Spear throw and Tarzan Swing, so did a total of 90 burpees. My time was 1:51 which places me in the 20-30% for age/female/overall categories. Much better results.

We achieved 4 medals, 2 from the kiddies for the Spartan Jr race, and 2 from mama... these medals were definitely 100% earned!

Super proud of the kiddos and Ryan! And motivated to train again! I do not recommend running these races without training, but it is doable. I just can't walk for the next few days... =P

November?? Already?!!

October was good. I felt on top of all the events going on and we had a good amount of birthday celebrations and Halloween fun for the kiddies. BUT November??! Already??!

I was so busy planning October, I did not adequately prepare for November. I had to change my entry for a local, women only, half-marathon race to a 5K due to inadequate preparation and a nagging hamstring. The flip side of it was that I rarely run 5Ks, so it felt quick and fast.. just enough to break a sweat, but not enough to have major impact on my strained hamstring.

Yessir.. I am a total race poser!

I took it easy by stopping and chatting at the 3 water stations (that's a lot for a 3 mile race... you're lucky if you even get 1 water station for a 3 miler), and focused more on my running form versus speed. All in all, my time was okay. Definitely not my best, but since it was a local race, I did end up placing 3rd in my age division. (Ignore the fact that two 60 year-olds and two 10/11 year-olds beat me among many others... but hey, they aren't in my age group!). I was in the 47% percentile overall.

Since running has been reduced temporarily, rock climbing and upper body training has bumped up in priority. It just so happens that there is a new gym opening in town which is geared towards ninja warrior training and OCRs (obstacle course racing). I am hoping they will install the Ultimate Cliffhanger, but a sneak peak shows a 14' Warp wall and Spider Climb/Rope climb.

I have been wanting to get the kids into activities as well, but way back when we tried swim lessons, we found it very time consuming and difficult to work into a regular routine. I clearly recognize though, that my kids have NO activities unlike many of their peers that are enrolled in gymnastics, soccer, dance, swim, etc. So, not to be too much of slacker parents, we are starting them off with rock climbing; It seems like a great choice for our family.

Em trying on her (and Liam's) new rock climbing shoes Ryan purchased for her.

Em trying out climbing back when we went to the grand opening of a local climbing gym a while back...

Ryan and I do have more Spartan Races coming up in January...so, on top of holidays, it is time to up the training again.