Race Recap: Spartan Military Sprint - Colorado

A little nod to my own military
aircraft maintenance background.
C/W = Complied With

Race Date: Saturday, May 4, 2013Race 

Location: Fort Carson Army Base, Colorado Springs, CO

Race Day -1: Travel Day

Thankfully, this was one of the closer races to home...only a mere 6½ hours away. I was able to drop my long haired fur kids off to be groomed (their daddy picked them up) and leave town mid-morning rather than before dawn. This was a route that I had taken many times in the past 20+ years so there was little chance of getting lost. Aside from getting caught behind a semi towing a double wide house on a two lane road that went up and down hills and had no way to pass which extended the trip by about 30 minutes just outside of Logan, New Mexico the trip was rather uneventful. There were more deer along the drive between Logan and Springer than I had ever seen in the past.

We (myself and my race partner, Jeff) arrived in Colorado Springs at about 4pm and found our way to the hotel. When we went to check in the clerk couldn't find my reservation and I ended up having to call their toll free number to find out what was going on. While I was on the phone the clerk did find my reservation, but I had made it for April rather than May...my bad! I first tried to call the USAF Academy to see if they had any temporary lodging facilities (TLF) open where we could have a full kitchen, but they didn't. Luckily the Super 8 where I thought I had made reservations had rooms open and the clerk gave it to us at the price I had made the original reservation for.

We drove around to find our way to the two entrances to Ft. Carson (somewhere I had been back in 1985 on our way to New York to drop our car off at Bayonne and fly out of JFK to our new duty station in England). Unfortunately my navigation program was no help to find the main gate and I knew that Gate 20 was a ways down the road. Listening to my navigation set to "Fort Carson Gate 1" ended us up at the Colorado Springs airport! I finally figured out how to get to the main gate and estimated the travel time needed to get there at 6am on a Saturday morning to be about 10 minutes.

Now that we knew where we were going we made a trip to the mall so I could get a warmer shirt for the race (Underarmor mock turtle neck long sleeve) and then headed to dinner at Famous Dave's. We just hung out in the room for the rest of the night since we needed to get up at 5am to go grab some breakfast and then head over to the venue to volunteer at 6am the next morning.

Race Day:

I woke up bright and early, even before my alarm and got ready to allow Jeff  time to sleep in a little before waking him up. I have to say that I wasn't quite sure of what to expect for this race as I hadn't even looked at the previous year's video, so I was just a tad nervous. I also didn't know what to expect for volunteering all I really knew was that I'd be racing for free for half a day of work. We headed to breakfast at a nearby Denny's where the chicks sitting in back of us were talking so loudly that I was able to discern that they were both exotic dancers, one had a kid, the other hated one of the dancers at the club for thinking she was better than everyone else, etc., etc., etc. I mean  really, the few people in the restaurant probably knew these girls life stories since they had been there before us! lol!

We made our way to the base and checked in at the volunteer tent. We ended up in our stations at the registration tents. I was going to bail a little early to go run with the Weeple Army at 10:30, but the Army ended up being spread out throughout the day so I just opted to finish my half day and run the last volunteer heat at 4pm instead. The weather was a bit cold in the early morning, but the job I had at the volunteer registration table was pretty low key and we were next to the gas area heater so that made life better.

Spartan Race volunteer t-shirt - Front.

Spartan Race volunteer t-shirt - Back

We finished our shift at 1:30 (I think) and left the venue to go grab some lunch and a nap prior to our 4pm heat. We planned on heading back to the venue at 3pm which ended up being a good thing because when we did return at 3:20pm we found out that the last heat was at 3:30 instead. Talk about not being psyched up!! We rushed to check our bags and get to the start. I forgot to take off my sunglasses and to grab my gloves out of my bag. We literally got to the start and had about 30 seconds before the heat took off! From here I'll go thru the race (~4 miles, 28 obstacles) obstacle by obstacle:

1. Moats - A series of 3 muddy pits one of which was wide enough to jump over (for those with legs longer than mine) and the other 2 pretty much requiring one to settle in and hopefully be able to climb out. A lot of people needed to help each other out of a couple of these moats, Jeff and I included. The water was cold and was pretty much a shocker at the beginning of the race. This obstacle took a toll really early on some of us. I heard later that a chick had broken her ankle trying to jump across the moats. If you're not positive that you can make it take the safe route and suck up the wetness and the mud...heck, that's why your doing a Spartan Race right? To get muddy?

2. U-O-U-O-U-O (Under-Over series): Simple obstacle to go under some hanging mesh and over a short 4' wall three times.

3. O-U-T (Over-Under-Thru): Go over a 6' wall (couldn't use the side braces for support), under a wall and through a square hole in a wall about 3' high.

4. Monkey Bars: This is always such an epic fail for me when I try by myself that I just opted to do the burpees right away when I found out that no partnering would be allowed. I regret that decision. I mean, I was already the last one in the heat so I may as well at least have tried. lol!

After this we had to slog our way under a wet, slimy, stale smelling underpass and a little mud...I was still in last place and was walking and talking with the elite runner who was doing the route to let the officials know as each obstacle was clear of racers.

5. Hobie Hop: This was a little different from the hay bale jumping at Super. This time you still had to put the narrow exercise band on both legs above the ankles and below the knes but instead of hay bales, we had to jump over wires or duck under them on an uphill mini course. This was quite a bit easier than the bales IMHO.

6. Weaver: Basically a tall A-frame ladder build with cross beams about 3' apart. Climb up, over and back down.

Back under that soggy overpass..

7. 6' Wall (if you're running alone and need help, don't be afraid to ask for it!)

8. 7' Wall

9. 8' Wall

10. Atlas Lift: Carry a concrete weight across to a marked point (maybe 50' away) do 5 burpees and return the weight back to the start.

11. Log Hop: Logs on end, spread out at varying widths/heights. Step over them without losing your balance from one end to the other. I've seen some fairly nasty falls on this and I have terrible balance...you bet I accepted a spotter when offered!

12. Barb Wire Crawl: This one was fairly low...keep your butt down!

13. Spearman: Yet again another epic fail, but probably the closest that I've gotten the spear to actually hitting the target so far.

14. Traverse Wall: A longitudinal climbing wall with wooden blocks instead of climbing holds. Always an epic fail for me, but I did at least try. The blocks were covered with piles of mud and footing (at least for me) was impossible. As usual, couldn't even get on the damned wall! 30 burpees for 60 total so far.

15. Trenches: Water filled trenches with the occasional netting above. Easy peasy.

16. Slip Wall: A frame wall with a slick, muddy uphill slant and ropes with knots and cross beams on the back side to climb down. OMG!! I swear I did not think I'd get over this. Luckily the volunteers were helping almost everyone. This was the slickest slip wall so far...and I thought the one at NV Super was bad! The mud at the base had to be about 6-8" deep of clay mud and even with bungee laces my shoes almost came off many times. A volunteer was kind enough to support the rope in such a way that with a lot of work and coaxing I could push myself up with my left leg then pull up until I could get my foot to the next knot. I really felt like giving up on this obstacle but stuck it out and eventually got over. By the time I got off this one, my feet were covered in that heavy mud making even walking difficult.

Start mile 2...

17. Herc Hoist: One of my favorite obstacles! Pull a concrete weight attached to a rope/pulley about 20' high and slowly lower it. Just dig in, plop your butt on the ground and pull. Easy peasy.

18. Tire Drag: Pull a tractor tire out to the end of a rope and then drag it back to the start. The tires were smaller than at Super where I couldn't even budge the stupid thing. Part of it may be because we didn't have the deep sand in Colorado and the surface dirt was fairly even but I was able to do this unassisted.

19. Tractor Pull: Pull a concrete weight (deck pier) on a chain up a steep hill and back down. This was also easier than Super because the terrain was fairly smooth (even on an uphill) compared to the rocky terrain in Nevada but it was a hell of a hill!

Start mile 3...

20. Sandbag Carry: Sand filled "pancake" to carry up the other side of the steep hill and back down. Again a hell of a hill. By this time I had passed several people and was no longer the last in the heat.

21. Tire Flip: Just what it says...flipping tractor tires. Only 2 flips required which surprised me because at Super it was 3 if alone or 6 if partnered up. The tires seemed smaller here as well and I didn't have any problem doing this myself.

22. Rucksack Carry: Pack a weighted ruck up a very steep hill and come back down. The downward trip was much easier. This just about killed my back as I didn't stop to take the time to adjust the ruck. My least favorite, but doable obstacle.

23. 5' Wall

Start mile 4...

24. Rolling Mud and Balance Beam: A long barb wire crawl with steep hills and areas that were really close to the ground. A lot of water involved including getting sprayed over and over with the fire hose. I ended up getting caught up a couple of times and ended up with a nice hole in my new $50  UA shirt...at least I was expecting that as a possibility when I bought it so no worries. At the end of this was a moat where you could either go over a balance beam or just slide in and climb out. I love the barb wire crawl, but this one was long and tiring. I can't roll for too long because I just get too dizzy, but that's the way to go especially when things get really low.

Here's mud in your eye!
Contacts & mud don't mix.
I'm bringing swim goggles to Beast!

25. Rope Climb: 20' rope climb with knots. I so suck at this and by the time I saw how muddy and slick the ropes were I decided just to go straight for the burpees. When I finished the race Jeff told me that most people had done the same. 30 burpee penalty = 90 burpees for the day.

26. Cargo Bridge: This is becoming one of my favorite obstacles. Climb up and down a 20' high cargo net on either end and cross another 20' net at the top. A crab crawl using the net to sit on and crawl sideways works for me.

27. Fire Jump: I was tired, but nowhere near as tired as when I did the Arizona Sprint.

28. Gladiator Pit to the Finish: I think they took it easy on us back of the packers. ;)

I didn't finish last...not that that would be a bad thing just as long as I finished. Got my medal and headed to the "showers" (just hoses on platforms with sprayers). The water was fiercely cold and it was already just a bit cool out as well but at least the changing tent was heated...yay! I ended up talking to another girl there who had moved to Colorado from Sacramento...talk about a small world (I'm originally a NorCal girl).

Considering that I wasn't quite ready to start the race so quickly after we arrived on site I'm pretty happy with my 2:28:55 time. After returning to the hotel and taking a real shower we ended up eating dinner and doing our laundry before turning in early (or at least trying to) for a full day of volunteering the next day.

Sorry, between the sun flare and wiping the lens
with a muddy finger this came out terrible.
The muddiest I've been after a Spartan Race.

Military Sprint - Fort Carson, CO medal mud and all!

Race Day + 1: Volunteering for a Free Race

Again we were up at the crack of dawn. No race to worry about on this day, but a full 12+ hour shift of volunteering instead. We had breakfast at the Village Inn before heading back to the base to check in. The weather was significantly colder and windier than it had been on Saturday. I ended up getting a Spartan Race hoodie (using a $50 gift card for volunteering a full day) and wearing that plus a thermal UA mock turtle neck, a volunteer t-shirt and occasionally a sweater that I had brought. The wind was blowing things around and I was glad that I was assigned to the spectators registration table right next to the table with the gas powered heater.

I really felt sorry for the folks that were running on Sunday. I mean, I thought it was cold at the Arizona Sprint, but I think this one actually got colder than that one. I had heard that there were people being pulled off the course or just not finishing due to hypothermia. We had many more participants stopping by our heater just to warm up than there had been the day before.

With the weather turning bad, it was a pleasant surprise to find out that we'd be getting off early. After packing up the registration area we were sent down to the volunteer area to help unload a truck and then we were cut loose. We ended up getting off at about 3pm instead of 6 or 7pm as we had anticipated. It had been so dusty out that we had to take another shower before heading out to On the Border for a late Mexican lunch to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. We got back to the room and just chilled and packed until it was time for a late dinner at Arby's. The plan was to leave by 10am for the drive back home.

Race Day + 2: Travel Day

No major problems after leaving Colorado Springs at about 10:30am after breakfast at Denny's. It was a smooth cruise home and the delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) wasn't as bad as I had expected it to be. We managed to make it home by about 5pm and I was basically a vegetable the rest of the night.

All in all it was a good trip. When we started out I was feeling a bit travel weary and really wasn't "feeling" the trip but by the end I had had a good time and enjoyed the volunteer experience. I really recommend that if you can volunteer for a race in exchange for a free race to do it! I mean it literally saved me nearly $300 and I was able to race the Military Sprint and will be running the Utah Beast next month for a day and a half of volunteering.

What did I like about this race?

This is what most Spartans would consider a runner's race. Most of the obstacles were spaced fairly far apart with only a few exceptions...usually after obstacles that were expected to wear you out. The trails were pretty tame compared to the whole of the Arizona Sprint and some areas of the Nevada Super. The hills for the obstacles were the killers.

What did I not like about this race?

The race itself was fine. I was just a little concerned that our volunteer heat was at 3:30pm instead of the 4pm that had been noted on our volunteer emails. It would have sucked not to be able to do the Military Sprint because there is not another one close enough for us to do. Luckily we got back just in the nick of time!

Would I do this race again?

YES!! From what I've heard there were more obstacles last year including a grenade throw (fake grenades) and I think a shooting obstacle as well. I'd love to do those! Jeff wasn't able to purchase a Military Sprint shirt so we'll probably head up here again next year.

Race Recap: Princess HM Weekend, Race Days

5K Race Day: Saturday, February 23, 2013 @ 6:30am
Half Marathon: Sunday , February 24, 2013 @ 5:45am
Location: Walt Disney World Resort, Lake Buena Vista, FL

HM Race Day - 1/5K Race Day): Saturday, February 23, 2013

Royal Family 5K Course Map

Gear/outfit for the Royal Family 5K.

I knew that this day was going to be a bit of a busy one going in between the 5K, volunteering at the SparkeSkirts booth, taping up a new friend's knee and a Tink HM reunion...all before 3pm. Since we had to be on the bus no later than 5:45am we managed to get up and out the door by about 4:30am if I remember correctly. The shuttle was running about 15 minutes late but we still managed to get on the second bus and made it to the start of the 5K in plenty of time. Once we got our bearings we found our way to our corral and looked for one of our Tink HM friends, Jessica. We finally found her and we all planned to just walk the race since it wasn't being timed.

TinkerBell HM sisters reunited at the Royal Family 5K.

 Corral D start...

As the race finally started and we were on our way at probably close to 7:15 due to our corral placement. We had jogged a little off and on when I looked at my phone and noticed that it was nearly 8am...really, you can't ever go too fast at a Disney race because it's so crowded especially in Epcot where the 5K was run. It dawned on my that if I didn't hurry up I'd be late for my shirt at the expo so we decided to go on and run/walk the rest of the race. I have to say that that run was a bit brutal between the heat and humidity...something I've been without since a vacation at WDW in 2004! I really have no idea of our time, but we finally finished around 8:30 or so. I had texted Leah at the booth to let her know that I was running late (was supposed to be there 8:30) and that I'd get there as soon as possible. Dianne had to pick up her gear bag and I went ahead and caught the first bus I could (about a 20 minute wait) to get back to the resort to shower, change and catch the bus to the expo. Later that day I would finally see Dianne's funny tweet of:

"The Royal 5K finished! The 1st person to complete the 5K came in about 17 minutes. Beth & I hadn't even started the race yet in corral D! LMAO!!"

Fellow Tink HM sister, Sandra, did the 5K in this reception dress...heat, humidity and all!

I got back to the room and immediately took a quick shower and got ready to go work the expo. Leah, the owner of Sparkle Skirts, had come up with an idea to have the volunteers dress up and we were only told to wear a black shirt, black tights or capris and black/neutral shoes. We had no idea of what she had in mind. Because of all my tats (23 total) and the Disney policy of not showing tattoos, I ended up in a long sleeve black shirt and black leggings...talk about hot in 80°F and  high humidity!! OMG!! I got on the shuttle to the expo and arrived just after 9am to a line, literally almost a mile long! I ran up (sweating) to the door and begged to be let in since I was late for my shift...thankfully I didn't get the runaround like I did at the TinkerBell Expo and they let me right in...it may have helped that I was wearing an old SparkleSkirts name tag from the Wine & Dine expo...

The booth was already pretty much hopping with activity. I got my costume (a page) and started to work. I have to say that I really love working the SparkleSkirts booths...I believe in this product so much that I'd literally work for them free full time!! I own about 10 of their SparkleTech skorts and a pair of MuddBuster capris. Love them all!! :D 

The only pic I have in the page costume for the SparkleSkirts booth.
Thanks Mel!

After working until about 1:20pm I headed over to one of the the Laguna Bar at Coronado Springs (the resort where the expo was held due to spring training at ESPN World of Sports) for the Tink HM reunion. It only turned out being Jessica and I but we had some lunch and caught up on things since Tink before heading  in our own directions. I headed back to the expo to meet Laura, a member of the Disney's Princess HM Facebook group, who I was going to tape/show her how to tape her knees with KT Tape. Having gotten that done I headed back to the resort to rest up for a couple of hours before heading back out to Downtown Disney to finally get my fish and chips at Cooke's of Dublin and my brownie hot fudge (Treasure Island) sundae at Ghiradelli.

Fish n Chips (extra filet) at Cooke's of Dublin in Downtown Disney - WDW.
The meal I live for when I go to WDW!

Treasure Island (warm brownie hot fudge) sundae.
The desert I live for whenever I can get to a Ghiradelli  Ice Cream shop!

After dinner I pretty much called it a night and headed back to the resort to get all my gear ready for the half marathon the next morning. I literally was so full that I was waddling like Donald Duck back to the room! lol!

Once I got back to the resort and checked the transportation times I was kind of irked that there was only a one hour window to catch the shuttle between 3 and 4am!! Joy! I headed back to the room and layed out all my gear, got my gear bag ready to go aside from the items that needed refrigeration and taped up my knees. I think I pretty much died at that point and was planning on waking up just before 2am (I'm one of those runners who has to take a pre-race shower just to wake up). 

HM Race Day: Sunday, February 23, 2013

My internal body clock apparently had different ideas and I ended up waking up at around 12:40am so I just played on the internet for a while before finally getting up to shower and get ready for the race. Dianne and I got to the first bus at 3am still half asleep, I think. Since Dianne had purchased entry into the VIP tent I just headed out to see who I could or couldn't find and ended up just chilling behind the water table until it was time to head out to the corrals. Dianne and I had planned to meet up again because we were both in Corral C...or so I thought. Somehow Dianne missed Jessica, who I had met up with, and I as she walked towards the corrals. Jessica and I split up because she was looking for her mom and I went to catch up with Diann. It was then that I realized, after finally looking at my bib, that I was actually in Corral D and not C. At that point I was on my own again...no biggie since I run most of my races solo anyway...and just waited for the start and did some warming up.

Gear and outfit for 2013 Princess HM.

Corral A start at the 2013 Princess HM. Total race of over 26K runners/walkers.
 (Photo courtesy of runDisney)

As each corral was released and given the 5 minute wait in between each corral I finally hit the ground walking around 6:15am or so. As usual at any runDisney half marathon the first 5K was crowded as all get out and should always be approached as a simple warm up...at least in my eyes. I was finally able to set started using the Galloway 30/30 (30 sec run/30 sec walk) interval that I had wanted to try due to my ongoing issues with injuries. As I've said before, I'm not a Disney fanatic or anything...I simply enjoy the Disney races and the chance to hit up the parks so I  don't tend to take pics during the races. I did stop for one pic outside the castle but for the rest of the time I just pretty much kept going. The heat and humidity was brutal for this (now) desert living girl. By the halfway point, if not before I was pouring water on my head and all over my body at each water stop (roughly every 1.5 miles) just to keep cool and comfortable. As long as I was soaking wet I was pretty much comfortable...when I dried out is when the humidity started taking it's toll.  The course itself was fairly nice with the occasional bottle necks like in Sleeping Beauty's castle and certain areas within the parks but for the most part was pretty wide open otherwise. 

2013 Princess HM Course Map

As I hit mile 10 I was going to do the Chicken Dance at the mile marker for "official" induction into the Pacebook Running Club Facebook Group, but as I switched my phone on it died. Oh well, no Chicken Dance for me until Tink HM 2013 I guess! I don't remember the hills/off ramps/overpasses being as dreadful during Wine & Dine HM in November but it may have also been the heat and humidity affecting my thought process as well. I swear between an off ramp and overpass and some gently, low rolling hill after that towards the end of the race I forgot that I was in Florida at sea level  where I shouldn't be feeling quite as worn out as I was. It almost felt like being back at the A2A (Arbuckle to Ardmore) HM in Oklahoma with all the hills!! 

I finally finished at 3:10 and some change...not my best, but also not my worst. I was hoping for under 3 hours but between the heat and humidity I'll take the just finishing factor. All in all I felt pretty good, but when I had to turn off my phone to conserve battery power I lost my interval timer so I think I pushed a bit too much and wore myself out sooner than needed. I had some minor cramping during the race but nothing to write home about. As I crossed the finish line I broke out with my other two medals (Tink, Royal Family 5K) and picked up my PHM and second Coast to Coast medal and took a finish line pic with all four...that I still have yet to order!

Princess HM Medal Haul:  Royal Family 5K medallion,
Coast to Coast 2013 and PHM 5th Anniversary  medals.

After the race I headed back to the resort to shower, change and I had originally planned to head out to the Disney Studios (specifically just to ride Tower of Terror) but I was so tired that I just opted to stay in and do some laundry and just relax and begin packing since I had to catch the Magical Express to the airport at 3:45am! I got everything done and even tossed my tech clothes into the dryer (I usually let them air dry) to be sure they were dry before I packed. I think I turned in pretty early and pretty much died...

What did I like about this race?
It was an okay course and meeting up with friends was probably the best part. Working at the SparkleSkirts booth is always a pleasure as well!

What did I not like about this race?
The Expo was nuts!! Not well organized in my opinion compared to the 2 TinkerBell  and the Wine & Dine HM's expos. Packet pickup was pretty smooth though! Way too many people...26K+ total runners (inluding men, who aren't counted officially). Just too big of a field for some of the bottleneck areas. Just felt like we were being packed in like sardines...

Would I do this race again?
Probably not. Firstly because it's expensive to do 2 Disney races a year on opposite coasts, but also I have no great urge to. My only goal with the runDisney races is to run each race once (except for Tink and any new HMs or fulls that they start) so that I can get a Coast to Coast medal for each different race. 

Race Recap: TinkerBell HM 2013, Part 2: Race Day & Beyond

So...where did I leave off...oh yes, we're moving into race day.
Second part of a two part post. See Part 1 here.

Race Day (Sunday, January 20, 2013)

Minnie themed race outfit.

The day started much as any race day would...except with four women in a room! lol! Woke up early, showered, dressed and made sure everything I needed was in my gear check bag. We made our way over to the corrals I think a little after 4:30am. Settled everything that we needed to like checking our bags, last minute nature breaks, etc. then headed to our assigned corrals. We made our way into the corrals and looked for others that we knew. Then came the waiting. I wasn't quite as excited as last year, but still the energy was there. I ended up moving a little further away from the group since I decided that I would just go my own pace rather than stay with a pacer. I think it's just because I've done so many of my races alone that it's just instinct for me now to do my own thing. As the start drew near I made sure my music was on and that I was as warmed up as I was ever going to get. Finally our corral was moved to the starting line and then...GO!!

I tried to start out slow, but the energy caught up with me and I was going at a faster pace than I should have. The first 5K or so wasn't bad as we ran through the parks first off compared to finishing in the parks last year. I was feeling pretty good but early at some point the "plague" of runners hit me...not bad, but bad enough to cause me several stops in the ladies room before we even left the parks. Thankfully, things seemed to settle down a bit although I did notice that my footing wasn't very sure and I stumbled several times luckily being able to catch myself on a fence or wall without going down to the ground. I just ignored it and kept going doing my run/walk/run, standing totally upright and smiling (or trying to) for the photographers on the course.

Proofs I used to demonstrate to doc the nearly
7-10° lean that eventually developed.
 First pic early in the race and totally upright;
2nd pic towards finish trying to remind myself to stand upright (FAIL)
and finally coming across the finish at full lean.

As I neared the 10K mark, I noticed that my upper body was leaning to the left. Not a muscular based leaning over...it was just I could not stand up straight to save my life! By the time I actually hit the 10K mark I couldn't stand upright at all without really working on doing so. I also noticed a slight headache that came and went plus more stumbling. The panic started to set in...was I having a TIA (more commonly referred to as a mini-stroke)?? I texted to the group I was with at the start to see where they were because at this point I had become afraid to complete the race by myself. As luck would have it, they weren't too far behind me so I waited until they reached me. By that time I was near, if not in, tears from the sheer anxiety...but still I refused to stop. One of my Tink friends, Kat, stopped her race to walk the remainder of the race with me to make sure nothing happened and so that I'd have a safety net. For the next approximately 6.5 miles she encouraged me, listened to my panic and fears, whining and tears! It was slow going and she made sure I was aware of any changes in the road so that I wouldn't stumble/trip over them.

As we passed medical tents and photographers I did my best to stand up straight and used my left hand to remind me to try to get upright. By the last few miles of the race I had pretty much given up on doing that...it just wasn't working. Once we crossed the finish and got our medals Kat ushered me into the medical tent where they started a neurological evaluation and eventually transported me to a nearby emergency room. Thanks to Kat she was able to get my gear bag and get it to my roomies who had long since finished the race.

My hardest earned medal so far,
harder even than Spartan Sprint!
Not even a picture of my own medal...no finisher pic this year.

As a nurse you'd think I could take this medical situation in stride. I was able to give a summary of what had happened and then I totally lost it. How stupid I felt.  Twenty two plus years as a nurse...I shouldn't be panicking like this! They finally got me to the ER by ambulance where I stayed for nearly 6 hours. They did a CT scan without IV contrast, a slew of labs, repeated neuro evaluations with the continued mild, intermittent headache, slightly blurred vision during these headaches and an ever so slight continuing leaning of my upper body even when laying back on the gurney.

After nearly 6 hours the labs and CT had all come back clean. The ER doc wanted to be admitted for 1-2 days for observation, but being the obstinant nurse/person that I am I signed out AMA (against medical advice) to arrange a flight home the next day instead of flying home on Tuesday. Partly because I didn't want to be hospitalized away from home, secondly because the cost of hospitalization even with TriCare benefits would have wiped us out!! No joke!!

By the time I got back to the room around 5pm or 6pm I ordered a pizza (hadn't eaten since 3:30am) and packed everything up. I also got on the phone and was able to arrange an early flight home the next morning. I think I actually only ate 2 pieces of the pizza once it arrived and I was probably asleep by 9pm.

Race Day +1

I awoke really early at around 4am to get ready to head out. It's still kind of a blur. I think I showered but I know I went to turn my key in and make sure all the costs were taken care of only to find that the desk clerk I had called the night before to let her know that we would be leaving a day early had actually checked us out the night before. Really not what I needed that early in the morning especially the way I was emotionally. After finally getting that straightened out, I waited for the Disneyland Resort Express to pick me up and take me to LAX.

I wasn't having any real issues other than being extremely fatigued with the occasional short, mild headache and accompanying blurred vision. Because of this I didn't trust myself walking around the terminal so I had arranged for a wheelchair at each stop. I felt a little stupid doing that but I just felt that it would be better to be safe than sorry.

The trip home was uneventful, but I did worry about the 1 1/2+ hour drive home. Luckily everything went smoothly and after I arrived home I pretty much walked up to my husband and began crying uncontrollably. I was so tired the next couple of days that I didn't finally make copies of my hospital paperwork to drop off at the VA clinic until Thursday or Friday after I got home. Luckily by then some of the proofs for the race pics were already online and I was able to include some of those to demonstrate the physical appearance of symptoms during the race.

The Aftermath

It's taken weeks to get a doctor's appointment which I finally had last Friday. I was cleared to begin running/exercising again (something that I had pretty much put a stop to myself with the exception of Spartan Sprint). I also have an MRI of the brain and lumbar spine scheduled tomorrow morning. So I'm only partially out of the woods right now. In talking with the doc there's a possibility of a labrynthitis (improper functioning of the balance mechanism in the ear)/Meinier's Disease probably the most viable diagnosis to be ruled out, an actual TIA, a mass or a multitude of other things. I probably won't know the final result of the MRI until Friday at which time I'll already be in Florida for the Princess Half Marathon at Walt Disney World. So as far as I'm concerned I'm finishing the Princess HM...it may be walking most if not all of it, but I will finish. And this time around I'm hitting as many of the parks as I can as well!!

So, until I find out the results of the MRIs and any limitations that they may place on me I consider myself somewhat ready to go and do what I need to do for my second Coast to Coast medal and 4th race of the year! :D  I will update the blog once I know the final results of the MRIs! :)

What I liked about this race:
The fact that I actually finished for one, but even more grateful for running friends like Kat who expressed concern, caring and encouragement during and after the race (there were several of you out there on the course asking if I was OK...I don't remember who you were but I'm thankful for your support) and in the days that have followed. I have a wonderful group of online running friends!! :D

What I did not like about this race:
The fact that this medical issue even happened. There was no warning...it just happened. I hate the fact that I slowed Kat down, even though I know she didn't mind. I tried to get her to leave me behind, but she wouldn't! Big, huge hugs Kat!! I hate the fact that it took nearly 4 hours to finish!! OMG!! But other than that...it was a great time before all the medical stuff started happening. I wouldn't change a thing.

Would I do this race again?
Hello?? Can you say 5 year legacy runner?!?! LOL!! I would have stopped if I didn't plan to do it again!! ;) So, as far as I'm concerned I'm in for 2014, 2015 and 2016!!

Official Time: 3:53:16
Gender: 10370/10553
Age Group: 960/985
Overall: 11729/11937

So much for being middle of the pack last year!! LOL!!