Obstacle Race, Complete

    I am a bit tired and sore today after a great day at my first Obstacle race yesterday. Six Miles, twenty Obstacles, brutal Hills. I admit, I would love to be home lazing about, making a humongous breakfast, drinking too much coffee, and allowing myself a day of dysfunction. The race went well, though maybe not as fast as I would have liked. I ran the event with a young friend from the fire department, an agile, healthy 24 year old that I felt sure would put me to shame. True, his upper body strength blew me out of the water, and his initial speed could have left me in the dust. But in the end, I had better endurance for the run. I had been careful with conditioning, nutrition and hydration in the days leading up to this, and especially in the 72 hours beforehand. He had not. He was dehydrated before we started, drank too much water at the aid stations, and hadn't eaten much the day before or for breakfast. I had been obsessive. The last few miles he was running on empty and had bonked. I was hungry, but felt well nourished, and though my muscles were fatigued I still felt like I had good energy. Maybe he was trying to take it easy on me, but I could have pushed myself a lot harder the last few miles. I did have to skip a few of the obstacles, out of respect for my delicate knees. And my upper body strength is not what it could be, since my training regiment has been focused on endurance, running and triathlon for the last six months or so. That will change this Autumn as I start to prep myself for the strain of Firefighter Academy.
    I plan on more obstacle races in my future, though still lean towards making Trail Running a main priority. I want to look into Adventure Racing next; more endurance, and natural obstacles to overcome instead of man-made. But that is for next season. Now, as the season winds down, I only have two major races left on the 2012 calender, both Trail Runs. To fill in the gaps I plan on adding Silvercreek Falls as a running trail a few times in the upcoming months. This has been an adventurous and epic Summer, as I have tested the waters in many a new endeavor, and added to my mental and physical fitness and endurance. I want more.