So I was waiting until they posted my race pictures before I did this update, but since it’s taking forever I might as well tell you how it went.
I had trained for 3 months prior, lost 15 pounds and was able to run 10k (which was double the course length) in a reasonable amount of time. I thought I was fairly prepared, I was wrong.
What I didn’t anticipate was that the entire Warrior course was running up and down a series of giant hills in scorching heat. The obstacles were actually a welcome change from running. I made it through all of them fairly easily, the only one that took a piece of me was the super wet mountainside “Slip N’ Slide”. I flew down that one at turbo speed, hit the pile of gravel and straw at the end and somersaulted back to my feet. As I was running I noticed a giant gash on my arm, my first warrior scar! I later heard they shut that obstacle down for a few of the waves since everyone was getting hurt.
Victim of an overly slick "Slip N' Slide"
I’m proud that I didn’t stop running until the water station, which by that point I was a shell of my former self, parched and completely gassed. When they told me that was only the halfway point, part of my soul died. After that I had to walk up most of the hills, the heat and the fact I wasn’t really prepared for hill running totally broke my will. My wife, who I had left in the dust at the beginning, actually caught up to me and we ended up finishing the race together, diving into the mud pit hand in hand. Which was a pretty great way to end a grueling race.
My final stats:
Time: 44:40
MENS 30-34 Division Placement: 537 out of 927
Overall Placement: 4369 out of 9800
My goal was doing the whole thing in 45 minutes or under, I achieved that so I feel good. Overall it was a fun experience and I’ll definitely try it again next year.
Afterwards, we changed out of our muddy clothes and indulged in a few beverages. I think this video properly sums up the rest of the evening:
