What will I know at the finish line?
In March of 2012 I saw this: www.spartrace.com I decided to investigate beyond the drama and theater of the opening inspirational testosterone filled video. I had seen the movie 300 about the Spartans and remember vividly the scene where the king asks his men what their profession is. What a great scene filled with the stuff that over caffeinated testosterone filled teenage boys love. Here is the scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gI6sARmxEuc..
Now strip away all of that nonsense and calm down.It's marketing and imagination.What I needed to know was what was this Spartan Racing thing about and was it for me. If you follow my blog and or Twitter feed at @MasterofOne73 you understand that I am a fully recovered "alcoholic". Alcoholism is not a disease . It is a habit that anyone can break. Any person who has not done permanent physical damage tot heir internal organs can eliminate all emotional, mental, and physical signs of the supposed disease once they are medically detoxed. If you choose to live your life going to AA and going through 12 step and becoming dependent on those things for your sobriety than you have subscribed to the myth of "alcoholism " being a disease and you will always be in "recovery" . I chose not to live that life based on the scientific facts of the habit as opposed to the lie of the disease myth. The disease myth is a lie and I am living proof. One of my most recent blog posts was about a trip to a new doctor who had no understanding of my "alcoholism" until I told him, even after blood tests.
On the other hand , I am also a type 2 Diabetic. That is truly a disease and is not going anywhere. However a proper diet and exercise regiment will decrease the need for drugs and or insulin when dealing with the progression and treatment of the disease.I did this to myself through alcoholism so I thought i would handle it standing on my own two feet without drugs and insulin if I could.
Reversing Diabetes: http://drhyman.com/blog/2010/05/20/5-steps-to-reversing-type-2-diabetes-and-insulin-resistance/#close
Stop drinking and break the habit of Alcoholism without 12 step or AA: http://www.wikihow.com/Quit-Drinking-without-Alcoholics-Anonymous
This is Sparta!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qR0Uke2XNI
Now that we have the basics down let's shift back to March of 2012. I began subscribing to the Workout of the Day (WOD) to the letter of the law as written by the PHD level Spartan Trainers. I met with the head trainer for Spratan racing because I happen to be a tenacious salesperson and I sought him out. I spoke to and shook the hand of the creator of the Spartan Race who is an incredible man with a kind soul. I was introduced to training experts and marketing people from the Spartan organization and they all seemed to have the same lighting rod firing through their core. I decided that I was going to train and try and run the 8 mile Spartan Sprint which was coming in August in the area I grew up in as a little boy! The irony!
Spartan racing begins at the 3 mile level and moves to an 8 mile level and then a 13 mile level. Beyond that are 26 mile races and a "Death Race covering days of physical, emotional, and mental endurance. In March of 2012, I decided to start training. I received no special instruction or personal attention from anyone at Spartan Racing, I just subscribed to the workout of the day training regimen and tailored it to my own thresholds of physical strength, endurance, and mental toughness. I received words of encouragement and fed off of their energy and tips. They kept telling me it was not about winning. Not about winning? I didn't have to be Hobie Call: The World's number one Spartan Racing competitor?. I just had to be a better me. A different me. I had to train to try and finish a race. If I didn't finish than I could always try again. Wow?
I had not run a single mile since I was a teenager. I just turned 40 this past Spring. I had to try and run now but I had to run up hills, not only did I have to run up hills but I had to run up mountains. I had to lift too. However, I had to stop lifting weights.What? Instead, I had to lift 50 pound sandbags and carry them up hills and then run and then immediately drop and do burpees. What's a burpee? A burpee is important because the Spartan Race obstacle course is filled with obstacles and if you cannot successfully negotiate an obstacle you have to do 30 burpees.
The burpee: http://www.spartanracehq.com/the-burpee/
My race was coming in August. I was going back to my childhood home as a truly changed man. In March I ran my first mile in over 12 minutes. I had no running ability at all. I fell down after my first attempt at a mile. I could barely do one burpee never mind 30 and I was met with defeat every time I tired to perform a workout of the day. I then realized why the mantra of the Spartan Race was not to win but to finish. My training was focused on being competitive my first time out because of all my life's missteps.In the end all I needed to do was finish.
Four and half months of training harder than I ever trained before was allowing me to reflect on my life, on my sobriety, and on my diabetes. It allowed me to focus on my diet, my job, structure my time, and feel alive. I had a goal, a purpose, and I was determined to finish.What will I know at the finish line?
Race day: In august of 2012 I drove to the race. It took me 5 hours and I drove alone and raced alone. I was nervous as there was really fit jacked up guys and galls pumped and ready to go. I was a newbie and I was alone. I was a type 2 diabetic with chronic pancreatitis and a ten year bout with the habit of alcoholism. I walked to the starting gate and heard" Aroo Arooo" ( this is the chant of the Spartans in the movie 300). I was nervous as hell. The race began and I was running straight up a mountain with 300 other screaming people.
Suddenly the screaming stopped, the muscle heads had slowed to a crawl, the guys wearing spartan costumes were down with their hands on their knees, and I heard laughter. People were laughing! People were having fun. People were kids again. Groups of friends had decided to run together and help each other through the mud and beyond the obstacles. People were there to encourage each other and make sure that no one was left behind. There were husband and wife teams, friends, and even guys and gals in their 60s and 70s moving along and enjoying every moment of the event and scenery. People were talking to each other and encouraging each other along.People were handing out sips of their water and offering energy bars to strangers. Of course there were veteran racers that were tearing through the course with a look of feverish determination.
I was definitely on the side of feverish determination and I reached the finish line in pain because I pushed myself every second of the way to make sure I never stopped running.I was running against my own demons. It was a journey that had my mind, heart, body and soul screaming in pain and in joy because I knew why I was there. I knew that I had trained to the best of my ability. The best of my ability......The best of my ability!
I placed in the top 15% in my age group that day. Spartan marketing was true to form. They say you know when you are at the finish line. I knew and I collapsed. I laid there on the ground and I immediately reflected on my journey. They had extended the course to 11 miles without telling anyone until we stepped up to the starting line. I had just run 11 miles and gotten through all the obstacles except two. I never stopped moving.
The miracle of Spartan Racing is that simply deciding to go to train for a race is a miracle. Simply trying to take that first step out your front door to run even 1/2 a mile is a miracle for some. Carrying a sandbag, doing a burpee, running hiking trails, climbing a mountain, and becoming part of the Spartan Community is a miracle. You are forever changed by simply becoming part of the Spartan community. You will never be turned away!Nothing in life is easy. You have to be uncomfortable in order to make things different for yourself. To make a change for the better, you must endure some level of doubt, fear, and discomfort.
Spartan Racing is not about screaming warriors. It's about the miracle of the cure for what is troubling you physically,mentally, and emotionally. It's all interconnected. I lost 30 pounds just training for Spartan racing. I can run a 5K in under 25 minutes. I can run up a double black diamond ski trail. I can do 50 burpees in a row. Even if I never ran a Spartan Race, I won.
The people of Spartan Racing have developed a community that allows anyone of any fitness level to enjoy the miracle of facing fears, setting goals and accomplishing anything you want. There is a spartan group for women, for hard core runners, and for anyone everywhere.
I no longer use insulin to treat my diabetes, I remain sober and I managed to run three races last year and place in the top 25% in my age group in each race.I enjoy a successful career and am a husband and father.
If I had one wish, it would be that every alcoholic or addict I knew who subscribed to the lie of AA and 12 step programs could read this blog.. If you believe you are diseased and that you will be in recovery for the rest of your life than you are limiting yourself. Instead of a coin get a medal for finishing a Spartan Race.You maybe be alive but why not thrive! Instead of wasting hours in a room with codependent people who believe they are diseased, get out and train for a Spartan Race. You will know at the finish line!
If I could tell every diabetic that sits around complaining about their insulin pump and the need for a cure about training for a Spartan Race, I would. I'm not a doctor, a psychologist, or a certified fitness trainer. I'm a diabetic who eliminated the need for insulin or pills. I also have chronic pancreatitus and I don't take pain medication because pain is relative. I wish I could tell every diabetic to train for a race and that "You will know at the finish line!"
My 5 year old did his first race last year, I will be racing with him on the adult course when he is 14 years old. The Miracle of Spartan Racing is that the cure for the biggest problems associated with the habit of alcoholism and the disease of diabetes is the mental, emotional, and physical process one goes through simply training for a race and joining the Spartan Community.You 'll know at the finish line.
So what did I "know" at the finish line? I knew that I had to tell everyone that cared to listen that they need to "know" for themselves. See you in 2013 and beyond!
Thank you to every member of the Spartan racing team and to the entire Spartan Racing community!
Arooo!
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