Utah: 

  • Coming hot off a win at Big Bear but also off of an injury before Broken Arrow Skyrace, I knew what I was capable of but had doubts about whether my body would cooperate with me.
  • Once again, I knew this course suited me very well-a long climb up and an even longer descent. My game plan was to be within sixty seconds of the leader at the top and push the pace hard on the down. 
  • Right out the gate, I found myself weirdly crippled with anxiety and fear by variables I could not control, like anger regarding a fast start, fear of my ankle rolling and fear of racing with the top guys. These battles with myself made for a slow sandbag carry which put the leaders about thirty seconds ahead of me. After about 10 minutes of self negotiation, I was finally able to focus on the present moment and put my foot down on the gas. I made it to the top 9 seconds behind the leaders and pushed hard on the flats and downs, leading to a victory! 
  • Lesson learned: Focus only on what you can control. Careful what wolf you feed, this meaning in the early stages I was giving my fears more attention than they deserved. This allowed them to grow and become apart of me for moments of the race. Next time I will focus on the positive thoughts such as the opportunity to race, my health, my fathers support at the start line and the exciting challenge ahead of me. Positivity brings positivity.

 

All-in-all, I am very happy I decided to commit to the Spartan Race National Series because it exposed me in ways I otherwise never would have. It forced me to embrace flat running, which is something I love and will continue to work on every week. I also learned that every course has its own set of unique obstacles both mental and physical. Most importantly, it taught me to embrace and learn from the positive moments and how to take frustration and transform it into positive energy.