The Double Trifecta that Never Was...

SO. As many of you know I had planned for 2014 to be a double Spartan Race Trifecta. I had planned to do the Beast and Super at the Ohio Trifecta weekend two weeks ago. Unfortunately, due to a case of near hyperthermia, I (and my team) was unable to complete the Super course. I achieved my trifecta with the completion of the Beast, but without the Super I would not be able to complete my double. Due to this thought, I gave up on the thought of completing the Carolina Beast, which was supposed to happen this weekend.

Even though I got my trifecta, the way the weekend ended (an angry, cold, shivering, sore body) made me both angry and disappointed. I also got physically sick and my work, studies, and work-out schedule were affected. I was also mentally and emotionally exhausted from the whole endeavor. So instead of getting frustrated with a work-out schedule (especially with my sore legs) or running in the rain, I started climbing more. I invested in my own gear and decided to get more serious about my climbing. Then my coworkers/friends from Drexel's rock wall convinced me to try a climbing competition.

So, tomorrow afternoon, for the first time, I am entering a bouldering competition at Penn. Ironically, this competition is the same time as the Carolina Beast, which is where I would have earned my Double Spartan Race Trifecta.

For a while I was very upset by my "loss", but now I am seeing it as a new opportunity, it has helped me realize my goals, strengths, and weaknesses. Even though I didn't get to race, I kept my unused race headband from my Ohio Super to use during hard workouts and to push towards goals in my future. To strive to be something better than I was, it is only appropriate that I wear it at my climbing competition tomorrow.

This was not a loss, this was a chance for new adventures, new skills, and new experiences. #3927 will be a victory, just not in the sense I had originally planned. Let's climb. AROO!

Has anyone else entered climbing competitions? I could use some tips, tricks and words of encouragement.