So this past Saturday I ran the course in Cumberland Rhode Island, at diamond hill park. Great Park, awesome trails, I honestly wish I lived closer to this park, it is pretty cool. This was FIT Challenge's 4th challenge, I ran all but the first, and can honestly say I do not ever want to miss one of these events. They really do take the feed back and try to get better, and he has made improvements from race to race. This is the second time this race has been at this venue, and it was better and harder than the October race. The day was awesome, and as in typical fashion, I did not really notice the vendors much, hell I missed saying hello to a bunch of my friends that day, but I set a goal for myself, FIT Challenge posted that they were giving put placards fro finishing 5 laps, and I told the RD in October that my goal was 5. I only did 2, I did not prepare for the laps like I should have, I did not figure out payment beforehand, and the rain prevented me from doing too many laps. So by the time I had payment figured out, I had cooled down it had been an hour and before I knew it, my body said no, too cold to warm up. So this time around I was determined to get those laps! It was longer and harder than before, and I got my 5 and my placard!
This course proved something, It proved that OCR united can work, I saw OCR world championships there, they gave out their shirts, FIT Challenge is a qualifying event. I saw ABF Mud Run, they put up a rig in the short course area. The rig was: a rope climb, to monkey bars, to traverse rings, to rope ladder, monkey bars, to traverse pipe. Right after that there was over under walls, and double up bars. followed up by the crossfit section, which was great! it started out with burpee broad jumps, then to an atlas carry, and overhead press push with a 35lb bar. 50 reps for elite, 30 for open, and let me tell you I was ecstatic that the number dropped after elite, it was a long hard day. those were all in the last mile! the course was set up so that the spectators got to see everything, the only thing that they could not see was trail runs, It was a nice set up. There was a backup at the rig because it was 2 at a time, amidst the other obstacles in the short course area, that was a hard section, so it is understandable, just hope that it could be expanded in the future. Also the wreck bag carry up the hill, they ran out of 25lb bags during mid day, also after the mile trail run at the start there was a back up, it was a giant wall. All minor grips, and did not effect my pleasure with the day.
Registration was great, it was next to start/finish, which made it easy to get to and the two women i talked with between each lap were wonderful! It was painless getting new bibs and matching them to the waiver was easy, the had me fill them out before I started my first lap, smart!I did have an issue with matching my bibs to my times, my names was spelled a few different ways
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| This is how I felt mid way through the last lap |
So as to how I felt running that day, well it was great! the elite wave I pushed, and did decent 55ish min (out in data if i can find it), then with 3 laps just over an hour, and my last around 1:30 to complete. I felt strong going into elite, and good going into the other laps (except the last) The first lap i ran on my own, for the next 2 I ran with my buddy, Then the fourth i ran mostly on my own. I saw a few friends going for the 5 laps as well, through the day. The last lap was hard, another friend I saw I had bring a drink and 2 snacks, to the reg table, i gabbed them just in time to make the cut for the last lap to start! That is when I started to question weather i could finish the last lap, I had on several starts cramps in my legs (quads, and hamstrings). But on the last lap, the cramps were as big as a baseball! luckily they faded away after the first 1/4 mile. And to make matters better, the same guys that were going on for the 5th lap saw me struggling, waited for me and gave me some mustard. It all helped, and was great! so my last lap was pretty slow for me, but with great company, and I achieved my goal!
Now for: Rest, Rehab, Training, and Prep for the New Jersey BEAST!
So until next time
Dont give up, and keep training
Stephen
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