Terrain Race SLC, 12 May 2018

Sandwiched between Spartan races was a little brother to them, right down the road from our house.  We tried to get a bunch of friends to do it with us.  Broken collarbone, a wedding to attend, on vacation, etc, were some of the excuses we got!   When the weather forecast looked awful,  a few more caved.  Jim's mom was visiting us that weekend, so even Jim had a handy excuse for not racing (he had to carry her umbrella).  

Anyway, Brett and Kristina were still game, and the three of us had a fun journey around the 5k that is the Terrain Race.   All of the obstacles were just a little smaller and less well-built than the Spartan, but it was fun, even if the weather was cold and rainy.   When we got to the dunk wall, I realized for the first time that I wasn't racing this and I could skip the obstacle if I wanted.  I did!   I SO didn't want to get wet.   Brett jumped right in and swam in the mud (and manure of course, since it was dug in the middle of an equestrian arena!).  He said later he spent extra time cleaning out his ears.

I did eventually get my legs wet on some mud humps but thankfully no swimming.  Even the monkey bars-over-pool obstacle was shut down because they didn't have a proper filter in the water.  Ha.  As if that mattered before jumping into the manure lake a mile later.


It was kind of fun to run a race without going too hard.  The obstacles were kind of different from Spartan, and there was no burpee pit in sight!  (At this race you have to complete each obstacle, multiple attempts ok, to be competitive, or you are moved to the "fun" un-timed category).

Colorado Springs Spartan Super/Sprint, May 5-6, 2018

Second Spartan weekend of the year for us, and I'd been training hard on upper body strength.   I had also topped up my iron stores after testing a little anemic after the last Spartan.  But Ft. Carson, CO was at 6000 feet of elevation so perhaps those two factors would cancel out?  

The race was on the Army Base, which I hadn't been on since my own Army days.  Luckily getting on base was fairly painless aside from a military dog sniffing my bag as I checked into the race.  The weather was again perfect for racing, cool but not cold, and warm enough by the midway of the race to get soaked under the dunk wall and feel good about it.  Except for the mud and rocks now stuck in my shoes....perhaps gaiters next time?  

The course looked rather flat on the map.  I guess they always do.  In reality, we went up and down a rocky plateau into a gully about 6 or 7 times.  It was only 100 feet or so, but I started to dread those accents.   The only good this was that I could pace myself and not rest, and pass a few people here and there.  

The course was absolutely sans trail, and we plowed our own new trails, through tall grass and cactus, on what was probably Ft. Carson's shooting range.  We passed shot-up tanks, mock Iraqi villages, and other detritus.    I couldn't believe how many cactus got stepped on, and was hoping my shoes were up to the challenge of keeping out the spines.   No barefoot shoes for racers today I hoped!   Even the obstacles had cactus in the area, and I pulled spines out of my hands after the barbed wire crawl, and again after doing the mandatory 5 burpees at the Atlas carry.  Ouch.  

The steep short hills continue until the end, with the course sometimes taking us up to the plateau and then straight back down again.   After the dunk wall, we climbed the hill again, and tackled the Twister, which I almost skipped and went straight to the burpees.  But I thought, eh, I'll try it.  To my amazement, this time it was easy!   As easy as the Twister can get, anyway.   

Right after the Twister was the Olympus Wall, which seemed rather diabolical.   I was so excited not to be doing burpees that my mind blanked out for a bit.  I did get some burpees at the Spear Throw, darn that thing.    I got more spines in my hands as punishment, but the race was almost over by then, so the tweezers at the hotel came in handy.  

After racing Elite last time in Las Vegas, and realizing I was out of my depth, I moved to Age Group category.   Very happy to find out I had finished 2nd in my Age Group, which got me a spot on the podium and qualified me to go to West Virginia for the US National Championship in August.  

On Sunday Jim joined me and we raced again, a Sprint this time which always seems nice and short after a Super.   The course cut off many needless trips up and down that plateau, but that just meant the dunk wall, now deeper and muddier, arrived sooner.    

Oh happy day!  When I hit the spear I knew I would have my first BURPEE-FREE race!    That felt really nice.   Now to go home and do more ring swings and spear throws so I can do that more often :)

Checking out the newest anti-bomb transport for troops in the desert

Horses led us out at the starting gun of the race

Spot was not impressed with the award ceremony

Amasa Back Run 25k, April 28, 2018

I probably won't ever be good enough to ride my bike on the trails in the Amasa Back trail system near Moab, UT.   But it is really fun to hike and run on them!  In the weeks leading up to the race, Jim and I were able to recce almost all of the course.  This helped us not get lost on the Rockstacker trail coming back to the finish.

The weather in Moab always seems to get really HOT just for the day we have a race planned.   Sure enough, highs in the 80s were forecasted, and only a few clouds across the sun saved me from the heat.

From the Colorado River, the trail took us up the Amasa Back jeep trail, then down Jackson's Ladder (no jeeps can make it down this steep rocky hiking trail!), and then around Jackson's Hole, a 4 mile sandy track back down at river level.  Climbing back up Jackson's Ladder seemed harder than going down, and it was getting hotter too.   From there we went along the Pothole Arch trail, back around on Rockstacker, and then finally a 2 mile stretch on Jackson's Trail down to the river and the finish.   Wow, I came 3rd woman today!!!  

Neither Jim or I took any photos today...guess we were too busy running!  Here's a couple of the area, perhaps not exactly this trail....

Buffalo Run 25k, 10 Mar 2018

I was moderately surprised by how beautiful Antelope Island was, everyone kept saying it was cool, but this was finally a chance to come see it for myself.   I was moderately surprised to see an Antelope out grazing in a meadow, it took a few minutes for my brain to make the connection.  Finally..."Antelope" Island, duh!     Of course, there were some namesake Buffalo too.   The island immediately felt homey to me, reminding me of the Isle of Skye in Scotland, with the Great Salt Lake surrounding the island with wild views in all directions.  

The weather was perfect too.  Cool but not cold, clear skies, no rain or wind, and really lovely trails.  I don't know why I haven't been here before in the winter, when the trails near home are snowed in, often here they are still clear.   They are also wide, runnable, and scenic.  

The race went really well,  I did about 16 miles in 3 hours a few minutes faster than planned on, probably because the terrain was more runnable than I had thought.   My fastest miles were the last couple downhill to the finish.   No buffalo were chasing me but a lady in a pink skirt might have been.   I will definitely try to do this race again!

http://www.buffalorunadventures.com/buffalo-run/