all that isn't, plus more

So; it is about time I post about last weekend.

On Saturday morning I drove to Calabogie Peaks to run in the Sprint (5km) Spartan Race being held there. What was odd about the registration was that there was no machine; a guy wrote down my name, number and recording chip number. Now; when I look at the results on-line, I cannot find my race time. This is a little disappointing, but no matter, I did finish the race, get the medal and t-shirt and was quite happy with how I performed. The first third of the course was to go up and down, and the last two-thirds was mostly flat; so even though during that first ascent I was starting to wear out a little, I pushed hard as I knew that following it would be a descent and the rest flat. I managed to complete all obstacles and even got the spear throw to stick, so that was good. I think I got a really good time as I managed to run through most of the course.

After the race I drove back to Arnprior where I stayed at the Knight's Inn, a motel that also offers free wifi and a very simple continental breakfast. Once I got into my room and showered I had a nap, then went to A&W for supper, then went for a walk in the cute little town of Arnprior.

Sunday morning I awoke early, had that simple breakfast at 7AM, and then drove back to Calabogie Peaks for the Super (13km) Spartan Race. Registration was normal this time, they scanned the barcode that denotes my registration. This course had two steep ascents, one steep descent, and one not steep ascent with two not steep descents, followed by the same flat section as the Sprint had. So, with three up-and-downs of the mountain, I also knew I could push pretty hard, especially given that there were only two steep ascents. About two-sevenths of the way through the course I found someone who was more or less matching pace with me; and by the three-sevenths mark I engaged in conversation with this person. I never got her name, but found she is originally from France (we spoke French and her accent was clear), is 30 years old, and this was her 8th or 9th Spartan Race and she hadn't done the Sprint the previous day as I had. She was quicker in the downhill sections and I was quicker in the uphill sections, so a few times we would separate, but then catch up with each other again. There were two obstacles that she missed that I didn't; and she did the burpees that you are supposed to do. This also made it so that she would catch up later as I had started to flag. Once she caught up, I was able to pick up my pace again.

I finished in the top 5% of all racers, top 8% of male racers and top 7% of the M45-49 group. This is the best finish I've ever had. Part of it was that Calabogie Peaks (232m vertical) is smaller than Owl's Head (540m vertical) and another part was having a partner through more than half the race that help to push me along.

Following the race, I went back to my car to retrieve my Sprint and Beast medals, and then returned to the race site and found someone to take my photo with all three medals. Finally, I drove home, uneventfully.

I had been saying that in the future I would not do the Beast (21km) race again and that I would only stick with the Sprint race, with co-workers, going to the race as a group; and, that during the race, instead of going my own pace, I would pair up, or group up with other people. However, I really enjoyed doing the Calabogie Super; not just because I partnered with someone, but that it was a more pleasant course compared to Owl's Head. So, for next year, maybe I'll consider doing the Calabogie Super in addition to the Sprint locally with coworkers.