Atlas Race Temecula Recap

“Winning isn't about finishing in first place. It isn't about beating the others. It is about overcoming yourself. Overcoming your body, your limitations, and your fears. Winning means surpassing yourself and turning your dreams into reality.”
― Kilian Jornet, Córrer o Morir

ATLAS Temecula Sprint recap - Feb 2014

It's easy to get caught up in the "winning" part of racing and forget that our journey is more about what we can prove to ourselves - what limits we can overcome.  At the Atlas race last weekend, our teammate was devastated as she crossed the finish line because she felt like she had failed our team.  I hope she remembers that our results are not always indicative of our effort.  She had done an amazing job, and had struggled where others had struggled.  Finishing with our head held high, knowing we did our best, is so much more important than a medal around our neck or a place on the podium.  She had given what she had that day.  I hope she knows that makes her a winner in my book.

It was quite an incredible experience this weekend.  The prize money and team competition of the Atlas Race had brought out many of the top OCR competitors - The starting line was brimming with talent on both the men and women's side. 

 

Pictured here - April Luu, Chikorita De Lego, Irene call, Maggie Thorne, Ella Kociuba, Tiffanie Novakavich, Rose Wetzel. Lauren Ho, Amelia Boone, Cassidy Watton, TyAnn Clark, Kk Stewart

 And the guys - Chad Trammel, Matt Murphy, Hobie Call, Hunter Mcintyre, Max King, Cody Moat, Brakken Kraker, and many more!

Team Spartan knew we had our work cut out for us, and that we were going to have to each pull our weight in order to pull this off.  The talent seemed to be evenly distributed between the teams, which was going to make for an interesting and unpredictable finish.

I woke up surprisingly refreshed (thank you April for the Tylenol pm:)) and ready to go.  At the race location, the sun was coming up and starting to warm up the morning in the beautiful Vail Lake Resort.  There weren't many obstacles to view from the festival area, but it was packed with things that are great to have post race - a massage tent, food, a free bag check.  There were many friends and familiar faces there who are quickly becoming like family to me.

At this race, there was money for top teams, as well as for individuals. I really wanted to do well in both, especially since my last races were less than stellar.  There were a couple aspects of my racing I was planning on tweaking, and was going to risk it to hopefully come away higher on the podium.

I had originally done the Atlas Race in Oregon and was very impressed with their organizers Lance and Scott, as well as the course.  They had some refreshing new obstacles that had made the race last Nov really fun and challenging. 

My husband, Jim, said that he knew I was going to have a good race - apparently he can tell these things.  Maybe I was more relaxed?  In better shape? 

After our sendoff, the pace was set (fast!) by KK, Rose, and April.  But I hung back slightly, preferring to speed up more gradually.  Most people die off. 

This time I was rooting for April to be up with me instead of behind me since she was on my team. That was a little weird.

The first obstacle was a spider web type thing with bungees that you have to weed your way through.  We all decided to go under.  I was right behind Ella, and got a nice bungee smack in the face as her foot struggled free of one.   That was nice.

Next we had a nice climb up the hill.  Thankfully I had prepared for these and was able to run the whole thing.  By the time we had scaled a couple walls at the top, I was snugly behind Rose. 

At around 2 miles, we were back at the bottom flipping tires  - a lot!  20 times or so?  But it gave us a chance to see where everyone was. Close.  Amelia was just slightly behind me, and I finished not long after Rose. 

We went over more hills and cargos (yay, I had finally learned to roll down them) and were back at the festival area.  It was now Rose, me, Lauren, and then Amelia. 

The intensity of the hills thus far had really pushed us, but we then had to struggle through burpee broad jumps - ugh. 

At this point, we were all struggling.  2 miles left to go, it seemed like I just needed to hang on behind rose and then out-kick her through obstacles at the end.  I was able to stay ahead of Lauren and was gaining on rose.  Until...

The Game Changer

The podium may have looked drastically different if this one obstacle hadn't been included.  We arrived at a 60 lb sandbag carry that was to proceed straight up a rather steep hill.  Visions of Killington flashed through my head as we attempted the painfully slow ascent.  Fortunately my "slow" was faster than Rose's and I ended up passing her halfway up.  We crested the top just in time to see that we weren't actually at the top yet!  So we pressed on.  As I started to descend the other side (with my lungs in my throat) I notice that there is no noise behind me (I didn't want to look) and I tried to go faster down the hill.  It was sandy and slippery and took everything I could to stay upright.  The thought that I could possibly pull off a win creeped into my head and I was elated!

 

Until I saw Amelia Boone shuffle by me. 

 

 

She looked effortless carrying that sandbag, and I just couldn't keep up.  We  got to the bottom, and still were required to carry the bag with us, dropping it only to go over walls.  The entire carry lasted a mile, and I was about a minute behind Amelia before we got to drop it.  As I dropped my sandbag, I saw April Luu coming in with hers!  She had come out of nowhere into 3rd place.  Our team had a great shot at winning!.
 

With .70 left to go I took off, willing my pace to drop below 6 min.  I could see Amelia, but didn't think I'd have enough time to get her. The finish had a nice combination of obstacles.  The barbed wire crawl was separated into lanes so that no one could roll and had to crawl.  There were several walls, tubes to crawl through, and mud to run through.  I finished strong over the last 8 ft wall. 

 I was disappointed that after all my effort, first place had evaded me, but was also ecstatic that I had just beat some athletes that I had yet to beat this season  I came in 50 sec after Amelia in 2nd place. 

 

 

April was able to hold her position and amazing come back in 3rd place. Our team score depended on a 3rd member of our team, and so we anxiously awaited either Jenny or Chikorita's appearance.  We got nervous as  all 3 members of the other 2 top teams finished before we saw our girls.  When we spotted Jenny Tobin, but decided to go out and give her a some "light encouragement" - She needed a good time for us to take first.  We yelled at her in more ways than one over the final portion of her race.  I'm sure she wanted to kill us, but I'm sure it helped:)
 

 At the end of the day, we had done it!  We squeaked by into first place!

The sandbag carry had changed things up dramatically, and had destroyed many.  I was happy that I had kept up with the runners, but could also hang with the tough girls. 
               
                                 TEAM  SPARTAN - Jenny Tobin, April Luu, TyAnn Clark, Chikorita De Lego. 
   

I loved the atmostphere at this race, and the friendliness and positivity of the race directors.  I also think they had some unique obstacles at their first race in Oregon that they need to bring back for their next race in Texas.  I would love to see the high dive back, as well as the log cross and hop.  I also love how they had bales of hay to drag, as well as multiple logs/ walls in a row to jump over (it was really taxing). The festival area was packed with obstacles and made for a good show.  Hopefully these can be back for the next race in Texas and then Vegas.

 On a side note, I love racing in gold.   If gold shoes can make Michael Johnson run faster, maybe he was on to something.  Now to find more gold accessories...gold compression socks anyone?

Even if I hadn't been on that podium, I was very happy with my performance.  I feel like I'm learning how to push my body harder and smarter with every race, and that I broke through mental barriers with this one.  So with that I must post again.

“Winning isn't about finishing in first place. It isn't about beating the others. It is about overcoming yourself. Overcoming your body, your limitations, and your fears. Winning means surpassing yourself and turning your dreams into reality.”
― Kilian Jornet, Córrer o Morir

Spartan race course preview

                      A Case for a Course Preview

The Sunday race - An interesting phenomenon within the obstacle racing community.  This race is typically preceded by a Saturday race on the same course.  One would think that after an intense race on the first day, the athlete's time on the second day would be much slower.  It is typically faster!  Some are just a minute or so, but others post over 5 min time difference. 

Why?

The athlete has had a preview of the course - they know what is coming.  That little advantage allows them to pace themselves, run with strategy, and know when to kick in.  Fatigue from the previous day does not overpower this knowledge.

I'm making a case that this could be a good thing - Not only to the racers but to the race directors. 

Just think of what you would do if you had a course map in hand the day before.  If you were allowed to go and view the obstacles, how differently would you run the race?  My guess is much differently.

Personally I would be memorizing where I would be making moves, where I would be maintaining.  Visualization is a key component to success in racing.  This is very hard to do when you have no idea what your course looks like, or even how far you are going to be running. Is it going to be 3.5 miles this time, or closer to 5?

I know that some people actually do love the surprise aspect of obstacle racing, and I would probably put Joe DeSena, a founder of Spartan race, at the top of that list.  He originally started with the Death Race - a race that has no set ending or apparent pattern that can exceed 48 hours.  The racers go in not knowing anything about what is in store for them except hours of pain.I think those are the most mentally strong people you will ever meet in your life.  I get it - I do.  Having the ability to keep a smile on your face while enduring through the crap that is handed to you is quite a gift.  When I was running down the last mountain in Temecula in my first Spartan race, the feeling of accomplishment was greater because I had conquered obstacles that I had never faced before! 

But as we are pushing this sport to be included in the Olympics, we should be observing the elements of it that will showcase true athleticism.   If the course will allow people to run it faster and harder, won't that add to the excitement, the entertainment, of the race?   If people run the course with strategy, won't the actual competitive nature increase?  These are all for the good of the racing company.  Without viewers, fans, and supporters, this sport will go nowhere.

At this years Spartan Championship race in Vermont, I raced almost the entire thing behind Jenny Tobin - She in 4th place and I in 5th.  It was such a long race but I was waiting to make a move on her when we got near the end.  We are both endurance runners, and know to go at things evenly, trying to expend the littlest amount of energy possible while maintaining a good pace.   I was planning on giving it everything I had left at the start of the last mile.  Well my gps watch said that we had hit 12 miles, so I tried to make my move.  I gave what I had left.  But we weren't heading back down the mountain?  We were still climbing.  Eventually we passed the 13 mile sign (still going up).  I had wasted the precious little energy I had and I did not see the finish line yet.  It turns out the course was over 14 miles, and when I did catch up to her, I had nothing left to pass her with.  

There are numerous times I've got to the end and wondered if I could've kicked in sooner if I had known we were that close. 

Maybe this is just my personal experience and maybe this will always be an element of obstacle racing.  I am the former marathon runner that would go and run the course at least 3 times in the months before the race, and would have the mile times I wanted taped to my hand. 

For heavens sakes I have an obstacle course in my backyard - If anyone enjoys knowledge and preparedness, it is I. 

I know there are others out there though - there are many that try to get glimpses of what's to come the day before.  Though not allowed on the course,  the actual view of the festival area puts them at ease and helps them to strategize. 
Getting lost on the course has also been proven to be a problem.  The brain is hyper-focused on other things and frequently misses direction signs.  Some have this problem more than others :)  Though I'm sure it's near impossible to have everything marked (people get lost in road races),  this could help with the problem.

Extreme Nation allowed participants on their course before the race.  Is this a trend that is likely to continue?  Either way, I'll race and I'll love it.  Even if it takes me way out of my comfort zone.