BattleFrog Atlanta Elite Wave May 16, 2015 Full Race (2 laps)

The Wolfpack

It all started with a race that would not happen. OCR100 was its name, and it was supposed to be a tough challenge with one hundred obstacles in 2.5 miles. But from the start, it didn't feel right. There were some of us who thought this race was shady and wouldn't happen. Ed Lorenzo, owner of Fit Lorenzo, an amazing place to train for OCR's and American Ninja Warrior, started a group thread to voice his concerns. Included in the thread were Ashley Overcast and Vivien Henderson, two fierce competitors in OCR, as well as myself. We were out to find answers to whether this OCR100 would come through or disappear. But then something happened.

I am the type of person to make sarcastic and goofy comments, and often get strange looks or reactions.  Honestly, that's why I make them sometimes. But in this group, I wasn't the only one making these jokes. We all had the same off, slightly twisted sense of humor. This ongoing conversation quickly became a highlight for me, making me laugh throughout my days. It wasn't all about the comedy though. We all shared some common core values that brought us closer together. We believed in working hard to get what you want. And not just working hard, but pushing yourself to your limits to become better and stronger. I knew that these were the people I needed to surround myself with because they would make me better. Not just as an athlete, but as a person. As we became closer, we became the Wolfpack.

Ed is very involved with American Ninja Warrior and it was about to take a lot of time out of his schedule. To prevent him from having to deal with reading hundreds of messages in our thread each day, we three created our own thread. Although he was busy with his ANW and not part of our every day conversation, Ed is still very much part of our Wolfpack and will definitely be welcome back in the daily conversation when he has the time.

Ashley, Vivien, and I kicked our OCR season into high gear and had some very successful events. I got much better, and I know it is due to them. I cannot stress enough how amazing it is to have a close knit group of friends to support you. OCR people are the best, and these two women are the best of the best. They lift me when I'm down. Sometimes they don't even know I'm down, but talking to them lifts me up all the same. They inspire me. These are the strongest women people you will ever meet, and I'm not just talking about bench presses and dead lifts. They push themselves to be their very best, but at the same time are selfless to a fault. If they know there is something they can do to help you, they will. No hesitation. As a single father who has raised a daughter just about to become an adult, I often worry about how good of a job I have done. I want her to be the best person she can be. I want her to be like the women in the Wolfpack.

We all like to be independent and do things on our own. But if you can find a small group of people whose motives and drives line up with yours, whatever they may be, hold on to them. Use them to lift yourself to greater heights, and do your part to lift them too. As a unit, you will be capable of so many incredible things. For me, I need to laugh and to make others laugh. I need to stay accountable with my workouts and keep pushing to get better. I need somebody to tell me to rest my injury, but understands why they still see me at the next race anyways. I need to have conversations that can switch back and forth from intelligent to inappropriate. I need to see the inspiring examples of what a person is able to accomplish, despite all types of adversity, all the while keeping a smile on their faces. I need the Wolfpack.

Warrior Dash 2015

OK, OCR season is officially underway for the year!  I did run a small race last week, The P.I.G. Race, which stands for Perseverance, Integrity, and Grit, a 12k where I picked up my first overall win!  But this was the first big race where there would be people coming from all over to run.  The top 25 people in each of the competitive waves qualify for the Warrior Dash World Championships, and that was my goal.  I missed out on this last year, but have worked very hard in the last 52 weeks to get better.

The weather was in the 40's, very cold for us in Florida, and my wave began at 8 am.  I tried to will the sun to rise faster to heat up the course, but it didn't work.  This was going to be a cold race.  Within the first mile, after a pretty good start for me, I hit the water for an obstacle and realized I couldn't touch.  Looked like I was going to have to swim to the obstacle.  Swimming is a major weakness for me.  I can survive in the water, but I am not going to travel very fast.  Not good when it's cold.  I get to the obstacle, basically a floating cargo net.  When I go to jump off to get back into the water, I sunk pretty deep over my head.  For a moment, I wondered if I was ever going to come back to the surface.  I did, and SLOWLY trudged my way to shore, frustrated as person after person passed by.  When I got out of the water, my body did not want to run, but I had to.  I still had more than 2 miles to go!  Finally I shook it off, and started trying to regain some ground.

I won't do a play-by-play of the entire course since I have attached a link to my GoPro video footage, but I was able to finish 11th place male in my wave and qualify for Warrior Dash World Championships!  I wish I would have been able to keep something that said I qualified, or smart enough to hold the card we got up to my GoPro before I handed it in to the people reporting the results.  Oh well, at that point, I just wanted to warm up!

With any race, there are ups and downs.  I wish there would have been more challenging upper body obstacles.  There were monkey bars and rings in the festival area, but none on the course!  The obstacles in the race mainly consisted of crawling or climbing over things.  I get that Warrior Dash in geared more towards beginners, but there were monkey bars on last year's course.  Other than that, it was a great time.  The OCR community is such an amazing one, and I was very happy to see so many people that share in my love for the sport.  It was also exciting to root friends on and see them qualify for the Warrior Dash World Championships too!

Overall, I had a blast because I was around some of the best people I know.  OCR brings so much out of us.  Maybe it is because the races take so much out of us.  It is strange how much of a reaction I get when it comes to other people and their success.  I am so happy when I see a friend do well, and so upset when they just missed out on where they hoped to be.  I struggled to watch one of the most fierce competitors  I have ever met forced to be a spectator because of an injury.  But I also know that the people I surround myself with are fighters and, though this may not have been their day, they will be back stronger, faster, and ready to conquer whatever is put in front of them.  I can't wait to be there to watch it happen!

Below is the full race, with the running parts sped up so you can see how the entire course was laid out.
Click here for my full run from Warrior Dash

OCR Withdrawal

It has now been 69 days since I last ran in an obstacle course race.  SIXTY-NINE LONG DAYS.  Yes, I have run races every week since then, but there have been no obstacles, no mud, and so much less fun.  Is there anybody out there that struggles with OCR withdrawal like I do?  Have you run in a 5k through a trail, wondering why we don't go into the woods?  Have you gone for a bridge run to practice hills, only to end up running while balancing on the concrete barriers that are there to protect you from traffic?  Do you find yourself extremely excited when you come across a playground because there are monkey bars to practice on, even though you look strange because you have no kids with you?  If so, you may be suffering from OCR withdrawal like me.

I understand why there are no OCR's this time of year.  It is winter.  It is supposed to be cold, so nobody wants to jump in water or mud when it is freezing out.  But I think it is harder for me to deal with it because I live in Florida and it has been in the 60's and 70's the last couple weeks.  If I looked out of my window and could just see snow, maybe I would cope with the reality a little better.  But when it is beautiful out, there is nothing more I would rather do than to push myself beyond exhaustion running, climbing, jumping, crawling, sliding, and swinging through an obstacle course.  That, in itself,
makes some people think I'm crazy.  The fact that I am sad when I haven't done one in a while probably makes them think I am even crazier.  That's OK. They are the ones missing out on these amazing experiences.

The good news?  My withdrawal comes to an end soon!  I am about to relapse and binge on OCR very soon.  I don't need an intervention or rehab.  I am going to get my OCR fix and I can't wait!  Tomorrow, in fact, I run a race called the P.I.G. Race.  It doesn't sound like much.  We shall see.  I hope to be pleasantly surprised.  But at this point, I am road raced out.  I need some obstacles in my life and I'll take what I can get.  In the next couple months, I can look forward to Warrior Dash, Spartan, BattleFrog(s), Mud Endeavor(s), Dirty Foot, Savage Race, and Monster Challenges!  Who else out there is so ready to end this OCR drought and get ready to see what you are made of?  Watch out 2015!  It is time to get dirty!

2014 Year in Review

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!

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!

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!