So, it’s been almost two weeks since I ran the Spartan Sprint Fenway Park 2013. It was one of my first races I did last year – and I have completely fallen in love with all of the Spartan Races.
I actually signed up to volunteer in the morning – which allows you to race for free later on in the day. It was by far the best experience.
But let me re-wind and talk about the bumpy road that lead me to ultimately have one of the best races ever.
I had signed up to volunteer with my former running buddy. The same one who backed out of running the B.A.A. Half. We signed up to volunteer in February, and had been talking about this race for most of the year. As we got closer to the race, she started not answering my texts about the race. My boyfriend and I had a small hunch that she was going to back out again. Turns out, hunches are right and she told me 24 hours before the race that she wasn’t going to be there. Good thing I had my One Run For Boston people to lean on – I not only got a place to say in the city for a night, but also a running partner that helped me shave 45 minutes off my time from last year. It’s safe to say, I will most likely never run another run with her – mainly because I hate flakey and selfish people.
Anyways, back to the race.
Race day started at 4:45am. I woke up at my friends apartment near Boston College, started getting ready and called a cab to be at Fenway by 5:30am. After heading into the Champions Club to check in as a volunteer, I grabbed a shirt, some snacks and a coffee and hung out while I waited to head to my assigned spot. I managed the Ball Slam obstacle for the first half of they day. About 20 minutes before the start of the Elite Heats, we headed to our posts. Mine was located right under the Budweiser Sign on the Pavilion.
This was my view for the first half of the day. I even got to see the sun rise!
I stayed there, yelling “30 Ball Slams”, until 1PM. My One Run For Boston running buddies, Fiona and Danny, let me know that they were by registration. I had to pick up my packet, changed my race time and change out of my cold gear into my race gear (at 5:30am it was like 30F… by the time I raced, it was almost 60F).
Fenway was just as awesome as I remembered, if not even more awesome because the World Series had been won right there just two weeks before.
I failed the rowing machine again, along with the traverse wall, rope climb and the spear throw. But over the past year, my overall fitness had improved so much, that busting out 120 burpees didn’t seem that awful. One of the the obstacles was doing pushups in the LOCKER ROOM. I think it might have been the only time I actually enjoyed doing 20 pushups.
I actually ran up and down all the stair… faster than I thought I could. I was passing people. On the sandbag carry, I passed people. Last year, I was wheezing my self up and down. This year I felt unstoppable.
I had a finishing time of 1:02. I felt so good about the run, I wanted to get back into the corral and run it again. When I crossed the line, I’m pretty sure that no one could wipe the smile off my face. They even took a picture of us when we came down the ramp right after we got our medal.
It’s funny, because I was so upset that my plans had been messed up because someone decided to change their minds. Because, if it wasn’t for her I would never have gotten the opportunity to run with some of the best people ever. Plus, I really showed myself that I don’t need anyone – if I want to do something, I will do it.
That drive is really pushing my goals for next year. My main goal? Run my first marathon in July. But more on that later.
Enjoy some of the pictures they took of me!
