"If you want something, you'll find a way to get it. If you don't, you'll find an excuse." "Does food poisoning count?"

    In order to attend the Mid-Atlantic Super this past Saturday, I volunteered virtually every day this summer at a camp in Piedmont Park and did my best to spend as little money as possible(having said that, the opportunity to race was almost taken from me due to an odd and inexplicable case of food poisoning that came on earlier last week). During the summer, I spent most of my free time training.
    I had this beautiful picture in my head of crossing the finish line within minutes of any of the elite athletes that I've been admiring online--not in a creepy way--for the past few months. Unfortunately, that did not happen. It did not come close to happening. I had a false sense of hope when the race was still in it's beginning stages because I could still see some of the elites. Those who could be seen were at least 10 minutes in front of me; my heart sank every time they turned a corner, and I got excited when I turned the same corner a few minutes later and could see them once again. This lasted until the first aid-station. Two miles in and I'd kept up with my OCR idols, not too shabby. And that's when my stomach decided to be a jerk. The 8 miles the proceeded that water station were by far my slowest miles to date. I ended up walking the majority of the race due to the fact that every time I managed to pick up some speed, I also managed to pick up the taste of whatever I'd eaten for breakfast two days earlier. It was a good time. Go try running 8 miles next time you're sick.
   That's enough of that.
   I finished the race--an hour after I wanted to--and was still standing, which is important because I walked my ass over to the MC's tent and took what was rightfully mine: a trifecta medal. In a span of less than 6 months, I'd not only started obstacle racing but had completed a SR Sprint, Super, and Beast. This is extra cool because I am the youngest woman in SR history to earn a trifecta. And I get more cool points because Spartan Races are held in multiple countries, which means that by getting a trifecta I broke an international record. No big. I'm just awesome.