i felt a little under prepared for the race. as far as training i thought id be OK but i knew i had only really eaten FOR the race for 2 days, i didnt get to relax and go to bed early the night before. i ended up working, but im in grind mode because i want this damn surgery so if i am physically able to take the appointment, im taking it! i will take days off when i reach my goal! anyways, went to bed a little too late, was still sleepy this morning but did get some good stretching in. i had cashews and watermelon about 2 hours before the race and then some quinoa with bee pollen right before i left. drank 24oz of water before i left and another 16 on the road. definitely wanted to be hydrated.
they encourage dressing up as a superhero at this event. I have a cape from Super Saturday but i decided not to wear it. instead i wrote I LOST 142LBS on the ass of the pants i would be wearing. THAT is my superhero costume. i lost 142lbs with blood, sweat, and tears. i am a super hero every damn day. my BODY is my super hero costume! so i wore it PROUD. the sign also made me not feel insecure about any jiggle or my stretchmarks, even though i wore really tight compression pants that come up super high, so mostly everything crazy looking was covered. but the sign feels like a disclaimer so i know when people see me they think "wow! she looks great!" rather than them not knowing and thinking "wow! that bitch really came out here with her stretch marks all showing!" i know i shouldnt care what other people think. but it hurts to feel judged and i didnt want my vibe to be messed up! it also serves as a great conversation piece lol i met TONS of new people thanks to my pants. one woman literally full on ass grabbed me LOL more about that later.
it was at quiet waters park up in delray. i had never been to that park but it was awesome, i actually want to go back to check it out! they had awesome mountain bike trails (that we ran) and even a mechanical pully that makes you water ski without a boat on one of the lakes! really cool place. my wave was supposed to be at 10 so i planned to get there by 8:45 since i missed packed pick up and still needed my chip and bib. the parking was horrrrrrrible!! i arrived at like 8:35 and did not park my car until 9:45. i had to pee SO BAD i was looking for old bottles in my car and unfortunately had none. the line was gigantic and i was literally dancing around to keep myself from peeing. finally someone told me that if i showed my ID to the guard she would let me in to pee and theyd save my place in line. i ran faster than i think i ever have in life! lol literally, never felt so close to peeing my pants in LIFE- besides when i was 10 and playing hide and seek and had to pee while hiding and DID pee myself :-P
fortunately since parking was a mess my wave was delayed to 10:25 and i made it on time. anxiety attack over, bladder empty, i could start enjoying myself. the "pit" that you wait in for your wave was only accessible by climbing over like an 8' wall, so that was a great way to start the day. i had to skip walls that high in my last race, so i was nervous and kind of thinking i couldnt do it, but i did it! great way to start the day!
now, i dont know that ill remember all the obstacles, and i know i definitely wont remember the order, but ill tell you about them anyways lol. the beginning was pretty easy obstacles, barricades to climb over were a big one. i knew the 4' one i was able to just hop up over with my upperbody but last time i couldnt get over the 8' ones (these heights are all estimates based on my height or what i overheard other people say). this time i am proud to say i got over the 8'!! every time! there were also things to crawl thru and under. had i tried that when i was 284 i wouldnt have even fit in the holes provided! but today it was pretty easy! well, i wouldnt say "easy" but i was able to do it on my first try.
the first obstacle i had to do burpees at was the tarzan swing. it was ropes with circles handles that you had to do like swinging monkey bars from. upper body is my weakness, so i sucked and had to do 20 burpees. unfortunately, this race was using the honor system and there werent many honest people. i watched about 10 skip and i was the only one doing burpees! oh well, better workout for me lol after the first couple obstacles it was just the longest trail run ever, or so it felt. we dont have "hills" in florida. the hills are man made, like these were. they are actually mountain bike trails, so youre not even usually allowed to run on them! we dont get much practice with that stuff, so it was brutal. up and down up and down. winding. there were some cool ramps we had to run up and down, though. a lot of it was single file. in a race like this i never anticipate running from start to finish. 1- you get too exhausted from the obstacles (well, the winners who are in like olympic shape and lead the pack, i am sure run the whole thing but most do not) 2- your clothes are muddy and wet and weighing you down 3- there are sometimes lines at the obstacles 4- sometimes the trail is so narrow u cannot pass the slower people in front of you without hitting a tree or falling in water.
at about mile 5 we got to the "leap of faith" i think it was called, aka the water obstacle. u climb a rope ladder to a platform 22 feet above a fresh water lake and then JUMP IN, followed by prob just over a quarter mile swim. they warn you not to do it if youre not a good swimmer because its harder than it looks. i am no michael phelps, but ive always liked to swim so that was the least of my worries. my real worry was what lives in the water. i am so scared of alligators and snakes. the water is clear, but because of all the muck on the bottom of the lake it looks completely black, so you cant see SHIT. once it was my turn and i was standing on the edge i got scared of the height. i didnt realize i had a fear of heights until then! there was a woman fire fighter volunteer and i asked her for a hug before i jumped because i was scared and shamless LOL i finally took the "leap" and i do not remember if i screamed, but i definitely blocked my nose! LOL we had been advised to take our shoes off because they make swimming harder, so i had my laces tied together and they were over my shoulder. the water was cold! but refreshing. all was good until i got about half way. i was breathing really heavy and inhaled a lung of water. everytime i tried to breath id feel more and more water going from my nose to the back of my throat and i almost had a moment of panic there. i was like omg, im going to drown! i hoipe someone notices, i cant breath so i cant scream! this guy i had been talking to earlier was on the side of me, and he mustve noticed because he was like "hey float on your back for a little while, its easier backwards" so i tried it, and it helped some. i didnt prefer it (needed to be on gator look out LOL) so once i caught my breath i flipped back over. there were lifeguards there on surfboards but i didnt want to HAVE to be saved. fortunately i made it all the way across and then climbed the muddy bank to get out. at this point was when the obstacles picked up and people started to really hurt. after the swim it was like i was seeing people on the sides on the trail stretching and throwing up every mile. it was brutal.
next was the balance beam. it was betwee 2-3" wide and about 20' long. It was windy and everytime a big gust came, people would fall. i watched a guy hurt his leg pretty bad in the shallow water below, so i knew i wasnt even going to try that. the next option was to do like a sideways bear crawl using two of the beams. that seemed better, but i didnt know if i would get scared looking down, and theres not really a way to get out of that position but to fall if its not working out for you. so, i went with the pussy method, which was to scoot across. lots of people were doing it, i didnt really want to because it looked like the "easy" way out. well, i was WRONG. it may not have required a ton of balance but it was HARD. it was a wooden beam, so its not at all slippery, so theres no sliding. i was facing the beam and had one thigh over with my knee bent, and my other leg was hanging straight on the other side with my quad against the beam. i would move my bent leg an inch or so, and scoot the left. it took a lot of upper body and thats why i was so slow. but fortunately someone i had been running near was after me and encouraging me to keep going. i made it across! and i am pretty sure my inner thighs will be bruised tomorrow to prove it! LOL
there were 2 or 3 rock walls! i credit my rock climbing experience with my friend alycia for that success lol. we went for her birthday last year and i loved it. this time, i wasnt attached to a harness but i only had to go like 12'. in my previous races this is something i couldnt do! but the lesson alycia and i got at least helped me to know what technique to attempt. next we had to grab a chain with a cinder block on the end and drag it for part of the run. the grass was all torn up and your block would get caught in a hole and drag all kinds of earth with it. i was good at this though and just kept dragging and walking. we also had to take like a big 10 gallon bucket from home depot and walk down to the water, fill it up, and then carry it back. the best part of that was pouring the water all over yourself! next stop! sacks weighted with gravel! i will estimate 30lbs. there were no handles, so over the shoulder it went. i was exhausted and walking. this nice gentleman who was running with his wife came up behind me and said something along the lines of "Show us how you lost that weight, 142!!!" (everyone was calling me either RED or 142 because of my hair and red "i lost 142lbs" writing on my pants) i replied with "jesus christ!" i didnt think i had it in me! he responded "jesus christ didnt lose that weight! YOU DID! come on!" he was damn right. so i started jogging and i jogged beside him with a 30lb weight over my shoulder for the duration of that obstacle! i thanked him for the push when we finished.
next up! the rope climb! unfortunately, i was stuck doing burpees again LOL i cant climb a rope, but i will some day! i got the the 2nd knot, which was nothing, but its further than the NOWHERE i got the last time i tried! then we had to climb a super high rope net on to a huge storage unit and then crawl or roll across the net that went over the top, to the storage unit on the other side, and climb down the net on the other side.
we were getting close to the end so there were a lot of obstacles back to back. more barricades to climb over and then "hell freezes over". i literally had to get a running start and JUMP OVER A PIT OF FIRE into freezing water. i was deff scared id fall short, but i didnt! then they had these ditches they dug, about 6, and all the dirt from the holes was in between. so it was climb a dirt mountain, run down one into a ditch, climb mountain, run into ditch, over and over and overrrrrrr LOL by the last 2 i was like HOW MANY OF THESE ARE THERE?!! lol
next was the ice pit. it was literally a pool of ice. best part was the barrier in the middle that forced you to go UNDERWATER to cross it. i was so numb when i got out. that must be what hypothermia feels like! the cold water felt good, but the ice was too much for me! next was another rope climb- that i failed at. it was actually against a wall and the same as the one i did SUCCESSFULLY on my birthday (ARMAGEDDON AMBUSH). but on my birthday there was a mob of people just helping people over. it was AMAZING. there was no mob today and i knew damn well it wasnt happening so i wasnt too disappointed i had to use the ladder. climb all the way to the top and OMG. i realize again im a little scared of heights lol this other woman mustve been able to tell, and was too, because she asked if i wanted to do it together. i said YES! we held hands and sat down and counted to 3. and we both screamed bloody murder LOL it was STEEP. practically vertical. i felt my head slam against it on the way down, and started to panic that i would drown when i hit the water LOL i was a worry wart this race. i do NOT want to get hurt and mess up my training!! fortunately, although i lost my sunglasses, i just had a headache and didnt lose consciousness or anything lol. when u get out of the water theres a mud pit waiting for you with knock off barbed wire (i prefer the real stuff or the electric fence! i like a challenge!) so i had to army crawl under that. only got a couple scrapes on the fore arms and elbows. as soon as u get out its a slime slide. same deal but slime instead of mud. i dont know if it was green colored apple sauce or the material diapers are made from- u know when a baby goes in a pool with a normal diaper how it blows up into this gushy moosh? it was like that, but green. once u got out of there, there were guys waiting to slam you will a big punching bag, like thing, and knock you over. typically, they take it easy because im a girl but these guys slammed me! i appreciated it! LOL as soon as u pass them you get your medal and tshirt. WOOHOOO!!!
jackie evans said at the biggest loser race "racing is the most social alone thing you can do" SO true. i went alone. you typically run alone if you and your friends have differnet paces, but you make friends with the people around you. i mean, it helps that i wear a sign anouncing my weight loss, because its a coversation starter. i cant even count how many people, like at the half marathon, just pass me and say "good job red!!" or "keep going, 142!" so many high 5's from strangers. one woman straight of smacked and GRABBED my ass and told me "great job!!!!" LOL it was awesome, another woman said "your ass is so motivational!!" and then when she passed me in her little shorts and i saw HERS i said " YOURS IS TOO!" LOL. i met a really nice couple named tom and mary. well, idk if theyre a couple but they were running together and we chatted often. there was a super cool lady dressed as "super dorothy" with her blue and white dress and ruby red sneakers lol. i met a woman who lost 70lbs. a man who lost 100 (and videotaped the whole race- hoping i can find him on the internet!!)now, if i didnt have a sign on my ass that says i lost weight, those people wouldve never came up beside me and talked to me! so its a great way to connect with certain people while motivating everyone else!! so many people told me "YOU LOOK GREAT!" and it made me so happy because i was in a bra and compression pants. one woman said she just wishes she had the confidence to run in a bra and capris! i told her that i had made the sign as a disclaimer, she told me i didnt need it! i LOVED all the support today, so to everyone who showed me love, thank you!!! please know youve played a part in building my self esteem to accept my body and being proud of how far ive come. i talked to so many people today and really, truly, enjoyed myself. i was supposed to run the race with a friend from home, but unfortunately he didnt end up coming to FL, but i had already registered. its almost good i went alone, because if i had a friend i dont think i wouldve bee quite so social.
at the little after party thing afterward, this woman came up and told me she was a trained and wanted to know if she could take a pic of her with my booty to show her clients who want to lose a lot of weight and think its impossible. of course i agreed! YES, i am in the fitness industry and i make money with it. however, even if i had all the money in the world i would still need to serve my greater purpose- and that is to inspire others and lead by example that ANYTHING is possible with enough discipline and hard work! i didnt ask her to write me a check for taking my pic! i simply asked her to show her clients and let me know how they do, because i WANT to know of their successes! that womans name was Susan, by the way, and she was an absolute peach. and i happen to love the pic myself lol.
i had packed Shakeoloy in a lunch box, so i sucked that down to refuel real quick after the race. i came home and took a long, hot, shower. found i only had a few minor cuts, bruises and blisters, no broken nails or anything. very much a success! then i had to hurry over to the salon to take care of a client, you know, cuz im on no days off, grind mode trying to get this surgery!!
i am sure i am forgetting some things ill want to share and will prob edit this later, but i am SOOOOOO tired right now that i need my bed asap. just know, my day was fucking amazing and i did SO MUCH that i physically never could have done before. your life can be anything you can dream of, you just have to be brave enough to do the work thats required to get there! xo