Looking around at the race crowd, we almost didn't see any chewed-up or bruised-up legs, only the clean baby-soft skin of those who hadn't raced the Super the day before. Would this be an advantage or a disadvantage? As I was cheering my buddies off at their elite start, I noticed the pro racers sponsored by Kronobar toeing the line. There's supposed to be some extra prize if anyone beats them... we shall see...
I threw a bottle of Gatorade into my Camelbak this time and took a gel before the start. Did a lot of dynamic leg warm ups. My wave took off again around the lake, and knowing what I know about Mont Onontio, I started off in the same easy jog while all the suckers sprinted past me. Soon enough, a long line of trudging Spartans had formed on the upward trail, while I deftly hopped past them on the side all the way to the top. I even got asked if I was from the next wave, LOL.
The race proceeded similarly to the Super, except after the downhill, the course was obviously much shorter. Still, I seemed to remember all the deep mud, each log, each slippery rock - and continued slowly jogging my way through the field of competition. I even let myself get slowed down by them a few times to get my heart rate down, but then overtook a lot of people on the treacherous downhill.
The long wire crawl was still there, but I realized that because my legs were essentially one big bruise, I had a hard time being as fast and aggressive as the day before. I think one or two guys passed me. And one dude kicked me in the mouth (before I passed him!), which was hilarious because although we were almost completely covered in mud at that point, I guess no one else had a boot print right on their face.
At the end of the wire course, I decided to apply a triathlon swim-to-bike transition technique: don't run right after going from horizontal to vertical. I walked up to the two-by-sixes, calming my heart rate and breathing well. It would be 30 burpees today for falling off the planks, and I couldn't afford that. I got through the planks really slowly, stopping at each corner to regroup. Made it!
I was now at the site of my horrific crampy crash the day before. I'd taken a second gel at 30mins, and dutifully sucked back that Gatorade constantly. 45mins in, and no problems yet. I swam the river again and continued to the rope climbs. This time, it was "là pour les femmes," as the volunteer pointed to the rope ladder - the rope itself was reserved pour les hommes. Sweet! I'd promised ES and MK that I'd get to the top of that damn ladder this time. I tried a sideways technique to stabilize it, one foot on each side; I breathed through it and hit the top! Jumped up and over a small cargo net, and on to the main open field for the rest of the obstacles.
Nearly got the spear to stick this time, but finally took my first and last set of burpees. Ripped up the rock climb, grimaced with disappointment that the second wire crawl was blocked off on this course, and ran out onto the field to hear my friends running alongside me and cheering me on. I had a huge smile on my face this time, so they cheered even louder and took me through the course with commentary, LOL: "out of the way - badass coming through!"
I got to the wall climb, but they'd taken down one set of the girlie steps, and a long line had formed for the remaining set - the girl ahead of me decided to use the supports to pull herself up, so I did the same and flew over the wall. Had to make it look good for my friends! Ripped through all the tunnel crawls, over the cargo net, and got so excited about the rowing machine, that I fell off the seat after 5 reps, haha.
Still with my buds running along the course and ES screaming to keep my ass low to the ground on the last wire crawl, I found one narrow gap without people jammed up in it, and tore right through it in two seconds. I ran up the first small incline, and ES yelled, "you know what's next Goss!!" - I gave a theatrical yell at the top as I jumped off, took the next one, and then hit the top of the last big incline, tumbling over on the other side. I ran at the jousting guys laughing, having finished the perfect course in the best way I possibly could have.
--Distance: ~6-7km
--Duration: 1:20 (unofficial)
Best part? ES still beat MK on this course, although apparently by like 4 seconds, rolling down the last pyramid, come what may. And she earned 3rd place!
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| Team Trifecta - one more medal and we'll earn the name |
All three of us got out our blue medals from the day before to add to our red ones and realized there were only a handful of other people who could do the same. We spent the rest of the morning dancing, grinding, and lasciviously feeding each other grapes in the middle of the field while waiting for the elite medal ceremony. (That really is why we will drive out many hours and/or to other countries to race together!) Turned out that the Kronobar nearly dominated the podium again, but ES was the only non-pro to break through! Wooooooo!
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All along our way to and from camping to the race site or to eat in the town, there were m-dot logos on the sides of the road, and tons of triathletes testing out the Ironman race route. So exciting! The route is so breathtakingly beautiful, makes me wanna shoot for next year's 70.3...
Fun game I played on a restaurant patio: spot the Spartan, spot the Ironman. A bit of a different crowd. LOL
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