Montana Spartan Beast – Open Heat
Dates: 5/2/22 – 5/8/22
Training Week: 22
Miles: 31.2 miles
Commentary: It’s been a while since I’ve posted, but I’ve finally gotten the itch to write! Instead of doing daily journal entries, I’ve decided to do them weekly for now. I figure it’s better to write something than write nothing, and once a week is probably about all I can handle. Although I’ll be writing quite a bit this week and next to get caught up!

Anywho, the previous week I got in just over ten miles, so I wasn’t feeling super confident. I spent a good amount of time on the treadmill, and by the time we left for Montana I felt ready for the Spartan. On the way to Montana we stopped on the side of the road for me to take my last final of the semester. Come to find out it was three super easy questions and only took me five minutes, so I could have knocked it out any time. Oh well!

Let me tell you what, running in the open heat is so much better than running in the age division. Getting help from other folks made the super hard obstacles not only doable (thanks Ken!), but much more enjoyable. Not a single person yelled at me for my crappy burpees or for not doing all the burpees I was supposed to.

The only part of the race that sucked was the weather. When I started it was in the mid-40s. On top of the ridge the wind was howling, and it started raining. At one point I regretted my decision to run because I was so fucking cold. Luckily I was able to warm up when I came off the ridge.

Even with the hiking, running, freezing, and obstacles, I still felt great at the end. My husband was waiting for me near the finish line, and when I saw him I picked up the pace and jumped on him. Even he was surprised by how spunky I was.

Last year my friend insisted we get a hotel because I would want a shower afterwards. Hardly! After the race I rinsed off in the cold water “showers” they provided, and that was that. We found a great place to call home for the night, and the cat and I went for a little walk together.

Although I enjoyed myself a lot more this year, I don’t think I have no intentions of doing another Spartan anytime soon. If I really feel the urge to do an obstacle course I’ll fly my ass to Charleston for the Bull Dog Challenge!

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