Here comes 2015! I am ready for a big year, starting with Hoverboards and flying cars. That's supposed to happen, right?? Well, either way, I want to take a few minutes to reflect on 2014 before I get ready for the new year.
This was the year that the sport of obstacle course racing jumped from being a love to becoming an obsession. When I take a day off of work now or I tell people I am going to travel somewhere, the first question I get is, "What race is this for?" The Wolfpack was born in 2014. These are simply the greatest people in the world. We share not only a passion for OCR, but for striving for excellence in all we do, and doing it the right way, with honor and class. No shortcuts. They are an amazing support system that lifts me up when I'm struggling with those days in between races.
OCR Police was born in 2014, too. Along with my GoPro, I can't do a race without my OCR badge. It's a symbol to challenge yourself and do what is right instead of taking the easy path. Especially during a race, because you never know who is watching! So many of us have seen people climb the shorter wall, use assistance they shouldn't, or skip penalties, in order to gain some advantage. It's one thing to do this if you are running the race for fun, but in a competitive wave, how can you really be proud of "finishing" the race when you really didn't complete the same race as your peers? But, I can go on and on forever on that subject. Let me get back on track and talk about the races themselves.
Overall, I ran in 23 OCR's in 2014, including SEVEN Mud Endeavors and 3 Spartans (got my Trifecta!!). With my last OCR of the year coming back in November at BattleFrog Miami, I filled my schedule with some road races to finish the year off. Altogether, I ran 30 races, and am currently on a streak of 13 weeks with at least one race!
Aside from the numbers (which I love because I am a math nerd), I saw some really big changes in my races throughout the year. I named this blog the MediOCR runner because that's how I saw myself. I did alright in the races, but I was nowhere near the top. Fastest of the slow people or slowest of the fast people. That's how I always described myself. Why? Because most of my races I was alone. The top people would be way ahead of me, but I would be ahead of the next group of people.
I kept working. On Saturdays when I didn't have a race, I would head down to Fit Lorenzo for their obstacle course training class. Then, something started to happen. My races changed. I started keeping up with some of the fast people. They helped me be better because we would battle each other, passing back and forth trying to inch our way up the standings. This made OCR even more exciting for me.
I ended the year doing so much better than I could have hoped, especially considering I was the old man in my age group (for most of the OCR's age groups are in 10 year increments, so I was in the 30-39 year old group going against children haha). I ran seven OCR's in October and November to finish off the season. One of those was the 13 mile Carolina Spartan Beast, which kicked my butt. In the other six, I did not finish lower than 4th in my age group (where getting top 10 used to make me happy), won 3 age group awards, and finished in the top ten OVERALL three times as well! I am not saying all of this to brag. If I can do it, anybody can. I remember doing a LOT of walking in races before. But I kept working hard to get better. There were times when I didn't believe that I could get any faster, and if I didn't love OCR like I do, or have a great support system there to encourage me, I probably would have quit. But I didn't, and I can't wait to see what 2015 has in store for me. It's going to be huge!
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Mud Endeavor V
The first time I ran at this site near Brooksville, FL was in May 2014 for Mud Endeavor 4. I loved the layout of the course because most of it was visual to spectators, which can't be said for most OCR's. As usual, I had a great time with great people. But afterwards, I didn't go home, pig out, and crash like I usually do. I have some family in the area, so I decided I would go visit them since I don't see them as much as I would like. I envisioned going to see my cousin and her family, my uncle, and my aunt, but everybody was out of town except my aunt. So, it was just the two of us.
Even if I could say I had more than one fan, then my Aunt Connie would still be my biggest one. When my family moved down to Florida, we didn't have anything, but she took us in and let us stay with her. Any time I saw her, she would have such a huge grin and shower me with compliments. Every time I posted a picture from a race on Facebook, you could count on her commenting something like, "There's my hero!" We hung out for a while after the race and we had a great time just talking to each other. I didn't know that it would be the last time I would ever see her.
So, yesterday, I made the trip back to Brooksville to race Mud Endeavor V. I told myself I would run for my Aunt. I wore a black sleeve on my arm with her initials "CW" and promised I would attack the obstacles more aggressively than usual. I didn't share this with anybody. It was very personal to me.
When the race started, the wave all took off at a good pace. We rounded a corner, jumped a couple of small mud hills, and came to a couple of logs we had to go under into some muddy water. As I dipped my head under water, I got kicked and instinctively said, "ouch" which was not smart when you are under water. So, I swallowed some nasty water right off the bat, which caused me to gag at times during the race. But, even though I wanted to stop a couple times and throw up, I couldn't. I wouldn't.
I finished in the top 15 overall, top 10 male overall, and placed 3rd in my age group. It was my first time winning an OCR award, and it couldn't have come at a better time. Aunt Connie, this medal is for you. I am going to keep striving to get better and really earn the title of your hero!
Monday, September 22, 2014
Here comes OCRtober!
The summer is a sad time because there aren't very many OCR's out there unless you head north. Now that September is here, I've been able to get back into my natural habitat and run a couple races. But that is just a sneak preview for the main event, OCR-TOBER! I am thrilled and a little nervous about October, because it is going to be the most challenging stretch that I've ever faced since starting my OCR life.
It all starts October 4th with Mud Endeavor V in Brooksville. I've run this venue before and love the layout. You can see most of the course so the excitement level is that much higher. Plus, there's a fun factor because there are a couple water slides! Originally, this date was supposed to be reserved for OCR 100, a mythical race with 100 obstacles. But, apparently, the first obstacle was existing, and they did not pass it.
The second week of OCRtober brings me to Monster Challenges. They've got a great race and greater medals! I've done this race twice and it's loads of fun, with snow, a slide, and a zip line at the end. But I need to exorcise a couple demons in this race. I got my foot stuck in an obstacle last time, which was pretty embarrassing, so I can't let that happen again. Also, they have a large quarter pipe ramp known as the Curved Creature. There are different heights to this beast for you to climb and I have yet to make it up the highest height. I WILL this time!
It is at this point in the month where the fun turns into fear. On October 18th, I'll be doing Tactical Titan. I just ran the last Mud Titan a couple weeks ago, and boy did they step up their upper body obstacles. My hands and forearms were worthless after that race, and I'm afraid it will be kicked up a notch for this one. No mud, just obstacles. I hope they have people watching over each one. If you fail an obstacle in a normal race, you usually fall into mud or water and have to climb out, which does slow you down. I really hope it's not just grass where people will basically just hop off an obstacle and start running while us non-cheaters try to finish each one...
The grand finale in OCRtober takes me on a trip to South Carolina for the Spartan Beast, a 13 mile race in the mountains. This will be my third Spartan Race. I finished the Sprint in Tampa and the Super in Miami. This one will give me my trifecta! I am extremely excited and worried about this race. For one, I live in Florida, where speed bumps are the only hills we have. Also, I heard last year this race started at about 30 degrees. Oh by the way, it will be the longest race I have ever done, so this will be a humongous challenge. But hey, I don't do these races because they are easy.
I love OCR because they let you know what your made of. I should learn a lot about myself in October. I say I'm scared or worried about some of these races, but that is what makes it exciting for me. What doesn't challenge us doesn't change us. Bring it on!
It all starts October 4th with Mud Endeavor V in Brooksville. I've run this venue before and love the layout. You can see most of the course so the excitement level is that much higher. Plus, there's a fun factor because there are a couple water slides! Originally, this date was supposed to be reserved for OCR 100, a mythical race with 100 obstacles. But, apparently, the first obstacle was existing, and they did not pass it.
The second week of OCRtober brings me to Monster Challenges. They've got a great race and greater medals! I've done this race twice and it's loads of fun, with snow, a slide, and a zip line at the end. But I need to exorcise a couple demons in this race. I got my foot stuck in an obstacle last time, which was pretty embarrassing, so I can't let that happen again. Also, they have a large quarter pipe ramp known as the Curved Creature. There are different heights to this beast for you to climb and I have yet to make it up the highest height. I WILL this time!
It is at this point in the month where the fun turns into fear. On October 18th, I'll be doing Tactical Titan. I just ran the last Mud Titan a couple weeks ago, and boy did they step up their upper body obstacles. My hands and forearms were worthless after that race, and I'm afraid it will be kicked up a notch for this one. No mud, just obstacles. I hope they have people watching over each one. If you fail an obstacle in a normal race, you usually fall into mud or water and have to climb out, which does slow you down. I really hope it's not just grass where people will basically just hop off an obstacle and start running while us non-cheaters try to finish each one...
The grand finale in OCRtober takes me on a trip to South Carolina for the Spartan Beast, a 13 mile race in the mountains. This will be my third Spartan Race. I finished the Sprint in Tampa and the Super in Miami. This one will give me my trifecta! I am extremely excited and worried about this race. For one, I live in Florida, where speed bumps are the only hills we have. Also, I heard last year this race started at about 30 degrees. Oh by the way, it will be the longest race I have ever done, so this will be a humongous challenge. But hey, I don't do these races because they are easy.
I love OCR because they let you know what your made of. I should learn a lot about myself in October. I say I'm scared or worried about some of these races, but that is what makes it exciting for me. What doesn't challenge us doesn't change us. Bring it on!
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Am I An Athlete?
If you asked me if I consider myself an athlete, I would probably answer, "No." But, for the first time in my life, I was recently called an athlete by a friend. I laughed it off at the time, but I started to ask myself, "Am I an athlete?"
Growing up, I was short and skinny, and pretty much a nerd. I was more than a mathlete than an athlete, that's for sure. However, I did love to play sports. I wasn't necessarily great at them, but I still loved to play. Here's how great I was: Once in high school, I went to play basketball in the neighborhood, as I did often after school. There were 11 of us, and when teams were picked, I was the only one not to get picked. But here's the catch. Who was the last person picked on a team? Well, he was actually a great athlete. But, he had a broken leg at the time. A BROKEN LEG. That was definitely kick to the ol' ego.
When I did actually get to play anything, be it football, basketball, or whatever, I would give it my all. I wasn't the fastest or the most athletic, but nobody worked harder than me out there. I would often dive for loose balls and scrape myself up. People would comment that I wasn't getting paid, so why was I doing that? I didn't get it. How could you not give it your all?
That's why I fell in love with obstacle course racing (OCR). You really find out who you are on those courses. They really kick your butt. You have to dig deep and push yourself to be successful in these races, and I love it. Best of all, I have met others who share the need to get outside of your comfort zone and see where it takes you. What an incredible group of positive, supportive people!
We are all on a journey, just at different places. My journey in OCR is nowhere near the finish line, as long as I can help it. But I am going to keep moving forward, working hard, and getting better. After all, I am an athlete.
Growing up, I was short and skinny, and pretty much a nerd. I was more than a mathlete than an athlete, that's for sure. However, I did love to play sports. I wasn't necessarily great at them, but I still loved to play. Here's how great I was: Once in high school, I went to play basketball in the neighborhood, as I did often after school. There were 11 of us, and when teams were picked, I was the only one not to get picked. But here's the catch. Who was the last person picked on a team? Well, he was actually a great athlete. But, he had a broken leg at the time. A BROKEN LEG. That was definitely kick to the ol' ego.
When I did actually get to play anything, be it football, basketball, or whatever, I would give it my all. I wasn't the fastest or the most athletic, but nobody worked harder than me out there. I would often dive for loose balls and scrape myself up. People would comment that I wasn't getting paid, so why was I doing that? I didn't get it. How could you not give it your all?
That's why I fell in love with obstacle course racing (OCR). You really find out who you are on those courses. They really kick your butt. You have to dig deep and push yourself to be successful in these races, and I love it. Best of all, I have met others who share the need to get outside of your comfort zone and see where it takes you. What an incredible group of positive, supportive people!
We are all on a journey, just at different places. My journey in OCR is nowhere near the finish line, as long as I can help it. But I am going to keep moving forward, working hard, and getting better. After all, I am an athlete.
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