Spartan Ultra Beast

Tahoe trip
October 2-5,2015

If this trip were a movie, I imagine it would start with various extreme contrasting flashbacks. Probably starting with the long, calm, quiet uncomfortable ride in and airplane seat or with the loud, blinding wind on the cold mountain top...

The trip to Tahoe was planned and settled back in January 2015. Pedro, in his obsession of Spartan obstacle course races, decided that he was going to take a stab at one of the most difficult Spartan races. I planned on attended but didn't purchase my entry into the race until June or July. (I'm not one to enjoy watching from the side lines and I've read too many motivational books about taking giant leaps outside your comfort zone.) In those 9-10 months, we tried preparing and training for the race through other races, gym classes, and beach runs (though I'm not sure if I've ever felt completely prepared for a race).

The race was on Sunday, so we flew into San Francisco the Thursday before race day to give time for acclimation. Friday, we drove around San Francisco with Pedro's family-- saw some main highlights and even got to stop by Tartine Bakery for a sample of the original classic sourdough bread! Additionally, we ate lunch at a mole restaurant. Can you believe it? An entire restaurant for MOLE?!!? (Here's a reference to my obsession with Mexican mole sauce.) 

 

After 6 hours of grueling traffic, we arrived in Tahoe Friday night for our stay in a yurt. I found this awesome place off AirBNB and have to say that it was a wonderful (glamping) experience.  Saturday was an antsy day.

 Sunday was race day. At 5:30am, we showed up to the starting line with layers of cold/wind/sweat-resistant clothes on, a head lamp, camel-pak of water, packets of energy bars and gels, and the wishful thinking that we were going to be part of the 50% in that crowd to actually finish the race.

About a half mile in, I decided that this was a bad idea. About 3 miles in, I found out that the race was not 26 miles... But 30 miles! From mile 6 to 8, we climbed straight uphill (the first 5 miles were uphill but nothing compared to the next 3). 

Once we reached the top of the mountain, my fingers and hands were swollen to twice their size, my left ear drum felt frozen, we were literally in the clouds, and the wind was preventing me from standing up straight. The downhill wasn't fun, but i figured it may make the situation better. Around mile 8, I tried convincing Pedro to continue without me-- rolling on the ground under barbed-wires for about 125 meters killed my spirits even more. He said he wasn't going to leave me and tried giving encouragements. 

We finished on lap (16 miles) and took a break to re-fill our packs with fuel. We continued on for the second lap (figuring that we wouldn't make the goal of under 12 hours but probably able to finish in the cut-off time of under 15 hours).  Neither of us truly believed in completing the 29 mile double-lap course, but we were stubborn. The second lap mostly consisted of walking. Knee pain started around mile 17.   
It got dark with about 5 miles from the finish line. We somehow finished the course with a time of 13hrs 56min. My entire body hurt worse than ever before. Every joint and muscle felt the need to punish me. A big race is a funny experience. There's very little celebration when you finish and you're even too tired yourself to celebrate. I think my favorite part of the day was snacking and enjoying the rush of energy after consuming calories. My racing partner was an extra bonus too.