Tahoe Spartan October 2015

It's been so long since I've posted here, and so much has happened, I don't even know where to start.  After having a great summer full of family adventures, Cash passed away in August.  I've been writing that story on his blog, cashwallacebingham.blogspot.com  You can go there to read the whole story.  Since then, we've been trying to do the best we can to get along with life.  There have been good days, and lonely ones.  It's been something we've all had to work through in our own way, but we've been doing it together and at our own pace.

TAHOE SPARTAN OCTOBER 2015

At the begining of October Stewart and I did the Tahoe Spartan Beast.  It was the World Championship race, and totally the toughest physical race I've ever done.  The weather was cold and windy, and it even snowed on us right after we got out of the mountain lake swim! There were several times throughout that race that I seriously considered throwing in the towel.  When I was climbing straight up a mountain, trying to keep up with my teammates, I remember trying to keep in the tears.  I remember the thoughts of "I can't" and "why even try" running through my mind. Everything seemed so easy for my teammates (and even when I thought I'd be waiting for Stewart, he was right on my heels). Throughout that race I had to muster up more mental toughness than ever before, and honestly Cash helped me do that.  Whenever I thought things were too tough to keep going, or that I wasn't worth finishing all I could do was to think of that little boy who went through so much on this earth.  The fact that he could have such a positive attitude while enduring such trying trials reassured me that I could do anything; including climbing a mountain for 15 miles, because this was nothing compared to what he'd been through in his short 20 months of life).

At the point of the hail storm, our team was at a dilemma.  It was freezing cold, hailing, we had four miles left, and we just happened to be close to a gondola station.  Ultimately the majority of us decided it was time to call it quits.  A few of our team members started toward the gondola station, and at the last minute Jaime just said, "heck no- I'm just going to finish it".  She was probably the "least dressed"  of all of us (we all had ripped cotton t-shirts, but I had thought to pack a thermal too) and Steve just looked at us and shrugged like, "I can't just let her go freezing by herself!"  So then he ran after her.  Ben and Tara took off too and I just looked at Stewart and told him I was going to finish.  He decided he was going to ride the gondola down.  The last four miles of the race was pretty much down hill, so I just sprinted it out (even though my legs were KILLING me!)  I eventually caught up to Steve, Jaime, Ben and Tara.  We endured the last of the grueling obstacles together, and "felt our way" through the end of the trails into the ever darkening night.  We borrowed light from people around us who had thought to bring headlamps, and finally trudged to the final obstacles (of which I had to burpee for ALL of them because it was so dark, wet, cold and slippery).  By the time we crossed the finish line we were beyond happy, excited and proud.  As I looked around expecting Stewart to be there waiting for me, I couldn't see him.  Maybe he was still changing, or inside somewhere.  We boogied over to the bag check station and everyone else changed into their dry warm clothes.  Still no Stewart!  I borrowed Jaime's blanket and we started to look for Stewart.  He wasn't in the medical tent, the van, or any of the little shops inside the buildings.  We went back to bag check and sure enough our bag was still there.  Since Stewart had our bag bracelet I wasn't supposed to be able to claim our bag, but since I could describe all of the things inside (and I was a frozen popsicle) (and it was one of the last 20 bags there) they let me have it.  As I changed in the corner of a dark tent, I heard Ben yelling that Stewart was finishing the race!  He was about to cross the finish line!!!  WHAT?!?  I seriously had never been so proud of him in my life!  Turns out when he went to the gondola station they were just shutting it down due to the weather.  They were taking people down on ATV's (two at a time), and taking the hypothermia (for real!) and injured people down first.  They told Stewart he could either finish the race (4 miles) or cut straight down the mountain to the lodge (about 3 miles).  He decided just to finish.  It took him about an hour longer than us, and I'm amazed he didn't get pulled off the mountain because he didn't have a headlamp.  He said he just blended in with a group that all had headlamps and followed them through the dark.

Tahoe was such a tough race, but I'm seriously itching to go back.  We overcame so much there, both Stewart and I.  I felt so many emotions, and mustered up so much determination and will power.  There's nothing quite like being so low and down, then crushing that feeling and replacing it with power and strength!  I also saw Stewart step up and do something he wouldn't normally be prone to do.  I love him so much, and sometimes I think he sells himself short.  He's a powerful guy, and it's not very often he does things he doesn't really want to do, so to see him cross that finish line was exhilarating for me, and him.

Our Pre-Race game faces

 Our Post-Race exhausted faces

Tumbling & Suples Fit

Last year before our Spartan race, we found this gym in Wendell called Fitness Elite.  It features a wrestling room and wrestling equipment (for wrestlers), but they offer fit classes for .... not wrestlers.  Before my spartan last year I knew that Suples had helped me SO much, but I had no idea what it was about to do for me within the following year! Just take a look at the difference.  Spartan in June-Picture taken around August.  

 My kids love goofing around in the gym after the adult fit classes too!

 This facility also offers tumbling classes taught by an Olympic Gymnast Silvia Ivanov.  She's so great with the girls and Addison absolutely LOVES tumbling!  In fact when we had to skip the other day for pictures, I had to tell her that class was canceled because she was so distraught at the thought of missing class!  HA!

 Jaime is an instructor there, which makes it all the better!

 I love all the people I've met through this gym, and the little community we have.  Everyone is so supportive and works their tails off (And expects you to do the same!)

 Love being Suples Strong!

Not only that- but I've lost a ton of weight, and am in so much better shape! 

Spartan Beast

This last weekend we did our Spartan race!  It was a lot of fun, and a great workout.  We hiked (straight up and down several mountains) for 12+ miles, completing obstacles along the way.  I felt pretty good at all the obstacles (the girls were much less difficult than the guys'), but was glad Helaman and Candace Bingham waited up for us after the first huge mountain.  They really helped Stewart and I through some tough obstacles, and it was nice to be able to split up burpee penalties on some of the obstacles.  The only obstacles I didn't complete were the spear throw (Stew got his!) the cargo net "monkey bars" and the two rope climbs.  I did a total of 120 burpees (give or take).  It was a fun day, and fun to do something like this with Stewart.


rolling under barb wire (for what seemed like forever!)

Stew rolled

Almost finished!

Stewart ended up just running up this wall and grabbing the top.  I "climbed" up two different ropes using the knots.

Jumping over fire together

Finally finished!  Took us about 7 hours.  We walked the whole thing, but that's okay- we did it!

Suples Strong

I've been training for my spartan race at an Awesome gym in Wendell-Suples.  Mitko Georgiev, a Bulgarian wrestler who trains the elite youth wrestlers in the Magic Valley, trained us using the Suples tools.  The first month I went to this gym once a week.  The second month I went 3 times a week.  I loved using all the different tools, working my body in different ways, and feeling like an athlete again!  The class ended up growing (We're missing 2 people in this picture) and it was fun to work out with such awesome ladies. My favorite things to do were dummy throws, slamming the ball, pulling the rope, the Hertz bands, somersaults over dummies, and starting to learn how to do head flips (I felt like just as I was getting it, our time was up).  Mitko has to go back to Bulgaria, but hopefully when he comes back next year we can train with him some more.

It  might sound silly, but Suples was an important part of my life at this point.  I was struggling (looking back it was more than I realized) with post-par tum depression and having someone push and encourage me, and having a team with me really pulled me out of that.  It's something I was trying to do on my own, but was not succeeding at.  I appreciate good people- like those in this picture- who can lift you up and make you feel like you're an Amazing person.  The workouts were SOO great, and prepared me for my spartan, but the experience saved me and brought me back to who I am.  I'm really going to miss it!