Race #1 completed for 2013. This race was getting me ready for my race to come in September. I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and try something that I have never even thought about trying before.
So I joined the new fad of obstacle course racing. On Saturday I raced the Survival Race in Columbus, Ohio. I didn't know what to expect but I knew I could run the distance. 3.1 miles... a 5k easy.... right?
Well read on.
Weather: Snowing and about 30 degrees I would guess.
Gear: Under Armour Compression Shorts, Cheap Nylon Shorts, Under Armour cold gear long sleeve shirt, cheap long sleeve shirt, Black Socks, old Solomon trail shoes, work gloves for some warmth and grip.
Breakfast: Bulletproof Coffee
Prerace: 5 MAP, 3 Extreme Endurance
Packet pick-up was day of the race only which always scares me to make sure I get register, get ready, check my bag (I was flying solo), and then get to the starting line warmed up. Consequently my fear of getting everything done, not knowing my wave time (somewhere between 9AM-2PM), and first race jitters got me to the course early, 7:30 AM. Sadly when they say "try to arrive at 8", really means "we don't open until 8 so you are going to have to sit around in the cold until we are ready". So I waited. I checked in, which was a very confusing process as well. I went to the line marked "C-F", and I guess they are vaguely marked so I had to shift over to the next line down.
Eventually 9 AM comes around and we start. The course is marked with very small orange flags which at times were hard to read the layout up ahead. I am in the tied for lead with another younger racer a nice guy who I briefly spoke to at the start line. Just about a half of a mile in is the first obstacle. I do not remember all of them but I will go through a list of some that I remember (I do not have any clue what the real names are)...
- Run over tires
- Wall Climb
- Wood Hurdles
- Bungee Webs
- Cargo Net (~10 foot A Frame)
- A Frame Wall
- Over and Unders
- Army Crawl
- Steep Hill Climb
- Tossed Muddy Balls (One person was about 3 feet away from me and still didn't hit me... sad becuase I didn't dodge any on purpose)
- Tube Crawl
- Fire Jump (very wimpy, one log that I took in stride)
- Muddy Hills (a lot of these, these were my personal bottle neck)
About halfway through I determined that I choose the wrong shoe. These were very heavy and holding me back. This was about the time my legs were burning and I started to think to myself I have ran under two miles where last week I ran 10 easy. Shoes? Course? Weight lifting legs on Thursday? Probably a combination of them all, but this 5k was more difficult than I had planned. The up and down smaller hills were making my quads hurt pretty bad. I think squats and lunges are in my future.
I counted 4 people total passing me including the guy I was running with at first. I finished up, got handed my finisher medal/dog tag, grabbed a banana, which was way too raw. Skipped all of the high sugar drinks. Then the surprise of the race happened, the Terminator himself Arnold Schwarzenegger was there to send off the second wave. That was kind of cool!
"Get in the choppa'"
After I picked up my bag and put on some warm clothing I checked the live results they had on computers there. (I liked this.) I was sitting at 8th overall and 3rd in my age group. I knew that wouldn't stand with waves going all day. In the end I was 58th overall, 53rd male, 5th M35-39. Not too bad at all with a 28.07.
Coconut juice in the car.
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