The Spartan Beast

When I signed up for the Spartan Beast, I knew it would be difficult, but I had no idea what I was actually in for. The website said the race was 12+ miles and I thought no big deal; I've run 50 miles before. It also said 25+ obstacles and again I thought no big deal; I've done obstacle races before. However, the Spartan Race makes those other obstacle races look like a walk in the park. I cannot even describe how incredibly insane this race is! It was a day of pure torture! We had to drive 2 hours to get to Killington, Vermont. I was literally holding down vomit when we arrived because I get car sick. All I ate was a banana and a mini muffin for breakfast because I felt so sick. Then we had to take the shuttle bus to the start and they squeezed us in like sardines, which didn't help my upset stomach. It was freezing cold and extremely windy and I of course was wearing a tank top. Our wave time was 11:30, but we tried to sneak into an earlier wave. Unfortunately, they were checking wristbands at the start so we had to wait. Then we find out that the race is actually 15 miles, but I still feel pretty confident. The race starts and we head straight up the mountain. I am relieved to see a water station at the top, but I can't believe my eyes when I see the 1 mile sign. Holy shit, that was only 1 mile?!?! As the race goes on, I start to really regret not wearing my hydration vest because there are very few water stations and there is no food. That's about when I started thinking what a dumb ass I am for not reading the email about what to bring with me the day of the race. So I was starving, dehydrated, tired, and freezing. I had nothing fueling my body! The course makes you go up the mountain repeatedly and it goes through trails filled with thick mud and slippery rocks. The obstacles involved carrying heavy shit up the mountain like sandbags, logs, boulders, and my personal favorite: the large bucket of rocks. There were also high walls and cargo nets to climb over and jumping from post to post that were way too far apart for my short legs so I fell in the water. And of course every time you mess up, you have to do 30 burpees, which are their own special kind of hell. Crawling under the barbed wire didn't seem that bad until I was basically lying in ice cold mud and kept hitting knees on rocks. My knees had already taken a beating from all the downhill sections. I felt like an 80 year old with severe arthritis, but I kept going. Every time I thought I had reached the top, there was further to go. Then we would go back down, just to go up again. The mile markers seemed to be 5 miles apart. I got about halfway through the course when I made the difficult decision to throw in the towel. I was shaking uncontrollably and throwing up and I just knew I couldn't make it the rest of the way. I have no one to blame, but myself for my piss poor planning. The shame of walking down that mountain by myself and accepting my first ever DNF (did not finish) was incredibly difficult and humbling. I am not a quitter! But Saturday that's exactly what I was. I was unprepared on an extremely difficult course and I paid the price for it. To add to my pain, I had to sit on a bench shivering in my dirty, wet clothes while strangers repeatedly asked me if I finished the race, forcing me to keep saying what a failure I am.  Now it is 2 days later and I have had time to reflect on my mistakes and decided that I will come back to Killington next year stronger and more prepared and I will bring home that medal!