F.I.T. Chllenge Do Epic fifth challenge

So for the fifth race from this company, another race at diamond hill park in RI. So as each race passes that they put on, the harder it gets, and in such a good way. All the hype leading up to this race is that it would be the hardest 5k ocr course you will do! This is highly possible, it certainly is the hardest 5k ocr I have done to date, so yes, it is true, at least until the next one that is.

So they have the typical walls through the course, of various kinds inverted, 3ft, and up, over/under, through. ect. But the exciting wall is the bran new to OCR Floating wall! so cool, and unique. I loved it, but it has work to be done to make it more secure. It was an incredibly windy day, and one of the supports came louse and was fixed before the day was over but still needs to be noted, I do not believe anybody got hurt, but it still needs to be tweaked. They also had atlas stone throws, bars to raise over head, wreck bag carries, rope climb, double ups, peg board, see saws.

They also had a hurc hoist, but as the day went on, maybe 1030 or 11 am, the buckets broke and had to be taken down, It seems that people had been letting the buckets slam, so just one thing to work on I guess.

One of the special additions to the race, something I had been looking forward to playing on for a wile now. The Destroyer! Yes the obstacle that was at OCRWC, and really cool, and really hard! For the elite wave they were not allowed the foot blocks, but after they went through the open waves were able to get the help.



Another notable thing is the rig that they created, you had 2 options. The left side, started off with rock grips, maybe 5 ft across, then monkey bars for another 5 ft, then Tarzan ropes, then 2 more bars, and then up and over a cargo net. The right side had just monkey bars to straight bars, on a chain to the cargo net. All that just before the end!!! after this, short sprint to a angled slatted wall, then the finish line.

The rig set up

The course was tweaked for this race, so the one hill, the highest point of the park, we went up maybe 4 times, I forget, it all blended together, but the course was almost exactly a 5k, my watch got 1/10th of a mile difference, and it is not 100% accurate, and elevation gain was said to be about 1000 ft per lap.

The fun about this race, is that you are encouraged to run as many times as you want to! untimed laps are free, but if you want timed laps, it is only 10 bucks per bib, (which is better than the big name race btw). Also, if you did 3, 4, or 5 laps then you got an award for it. and they were cool! I wanted to get 5 again, (I did in April) but 4 left me feeling just as bad as the 5 did from before, really rough course.

Those double ups can be hard,  good thing you can get help

Over shoulder stone throws

Awards for 3,4,and 5 laps

Also, for this race, there was mandatory obstacle completion for elite waves! I love that stuff, except with the destroyer, and the rig, I am so happy I ran this race open! So if you failed you had to do a penalty and then try again. For example, just before the rig, there was the stone throw (over your shoulder) and if you failed the rig you had to go back and throw the stone. The destroyer, it was immediately after the wreck bag carry, and if you failed you did the wreck bag again! (it was a steep hill). I only paid so much attention to the rules for elite as I knew I would not be running the wave, but you get the idea!

Also he has a great sense of humor!

So all in all, this is a blast, and easily harder than a spartan sprint, especially in the northeast region, and if you push for multi laps, then it is harder than supers, and some beasts, trust me on that! I felt worse after 4 this fall than I did after 5 in the spring, and worse than I felt after the NJ Beast, and certainly the spartan sprint/super in mass. Also remember, can't do an obstacle  no problem, want to get help, no problem, this course is hard as hell, but also oh so much fun! So why are you not doing this race, or #Racelocal yet????

So until next time
Stay active
Stephen

#DoEpicFit Challenge Recap

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

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