Post by walkswithblackflies on Mar 7, 2017 13:33:26 GMT -8
I've seen Spartan Races on TV, and although they piqued my interest, I never felt an overwhelming desire to participate. But the debut WINTER Spartan Race... and only 40 miles away… now they got my attention! So, like a fool, I signed up. I was even able to talk a friend into joining me.
Last year, I pretty much ran for exercise. In fact, I ran over 1,100 miles. But other than sporadic P90X workouts, I didn’t do much else other than run. My New Year’s Resolution for 2017 is to be more well-roundness fitness-wise. So this race fit perfectly with that goal. Training basically consisted of trail running, weights at the gym, and workouts at local playgrounds. A couple of times, my friend and I ran through the woods making up obstacles along the way, or went to a Frisbee golf course performing different exercises at each “hole”. I also purchased a 1.5” manila climbing rope, and googled a video on how to climb it.
Unfortunately, two weeks before the race, I strained my forearm/bicep tendons doing a rope workout. This mild tendonitis would stick with me until the race. I had also planned on losing around 10 pounds during my training. By race day, I had gained 2. Not cool.
We experienced unseasonably warm temperatures the week before the race. I was worried there wouldn’t be any snow for our winter race. Thankfully, although most of the snow melted, the ski trails were still covered. Then a couple days before the race we got a cold snap. A cold snap that just kept getting colder. Race day temperature was hovering around 10oF, with a windchill of -10oF.
The registration process was a pain. I think they had intended to do it outside, then moved it inside at the last second. It was not very well planned. They ended up delaying start times ½ hour.
Although most people would be bored with such details, I know my fellow backpackers would be interested in what I wore:
Trail running shoes
Smartwool socks
Thin compression running pants
“Windbreaker” pants
Medium-weight long-sleeve “TechWick” shirt
Fleece vest
Summer-weight rain jacket
Neoprene glove liners
Glove shell
Balaclava - Neck Gaiter – Hat combo
We checked our bags and looked at the course map:
We showed up at the start line at a perfect time. After just a couple minutes of waiting, we were off!
We started with an uphill run. Everyone was running at the beginning, but as the slope continued up, people started walking. I was one of the last to give up on running. The trail had leveled out, but there was a very steep section ahead. No sense in killing myself so early in the race. The trail soon started descending. I could have run it much faster, but there were still a few slower people in front of me, the ground was starting to get wet, and I wasn’t in a hurry. We soon reached the obstacles:
1. Hurdle #1 – Imagine a log suspended 5’ in the air between two supports. That’s a hurdle. Go up and over.
2. Hurdle #2 – 6’ high
3. 6’ Wall – Just as it implies. Go up and over. Easier than the hurdle.
4. Barbed Wire Marine Crawl – Ground was frozen and icy. Thankfully smooth though. I got a great rhythm going and caught the group two “waves” ahead of me. I was really warming up at this point and considered taking my windbreaker off. Instead, I just unzipped my jacket and vest. Good move. From this point on, I just zipped/unzipped my jacket and added/removed gloves to regulate temperature.
5. 7’ Wall – Not as hard as I thought it would be.
6. Rings – If I was going to fail an obstacle, this would be it. In training, I could move through hand-over-hand, but only if it was a short distance between the rings. These rings were placed further apart. I used the technique I tried just a couple days before, and it worked! I blasted through them with no issue!
7. Deep Freeze – A creek crossing. However, due to the cold temps, Spartan placed spaced platforms over most of the crossing. Just needed to be careful with foot placement on rocks.
8. Atlas Carry – A totally spherical rock weighing around 80 lbs. Covered in snow and ice. Lift up, carry 50 feet, 5 burpees, and carry back. I was surprised how much harder the carry back was.
9. Plate Drag – A weighted “sled” with a rope attached. Using the rope drag towards you… the icy conditions made it very easy… then grabbing the sled with your hand, drag it back to the starting position. This second drag was harder, but not bad. By now, my tendonitis was beginning to bother me.
10. O-U-T – Over a wall, under a wall, through a hole in a wall. Easy.
11. Bucket Brigade – Fill a 5-gallon bucket 90% full with gravel. Carry the bucket in front of you as you walk along a windy trail with several small hills. The bucket does not have a handle, and you can’t carry it on your shoulder. Footing was icy/muddy. I gripped the bucket on the bottom, and my gloves kept slipping. I had to rest often. Near the end I decided to “hug” the bucket and this was a better strategy. I’m easily passing people on the trail, but continue to wait at each obstacle for my friend.
12. Rope Climb – Another “iffy” obstacle for me. Thankfully, I had trained for it. But the rope they used was smaller in diameter and smoother. I tried using the technique I had learned during training, but it wasn’t working. The rope kept sliding between my feet. I almost gave up. But, subconsciously, I made a slight variation on my technique… I didn’t fully extend my legs… and it worked. A couple more heaves and I was at the top. Ouch… my tendonitis. Just a few more upper-body obstacles, though. We continued on through a parallel section of Deep Freeze.
13. Vertical Cargo – One of those obstacles anyone can do, if you’re not afraid of heights.
14. Hercules Hoist – Imagine a 150-lb sand bag attached to a pulley 25’ up. About 20 horizontal feet away, you grab a rope and begin pulling the bag into the air until it touches the pulley. Since you’re not directly below the pulley, you can’t just pull down with your bodyweight. A lot of people were failing. Some could barely lift the weight. It appeared the smart thing was use the fence in front of me as a fulcrum. I leaned back and began pulling. And I didn’t stop. Just kept pulling in a rhythm, and the weight easily ascended. A guy waiting in line behind me exclaimed “Holy $@!%, dude!!!”
15. Spear Throw - Another “iffy” obstacle for me. I mean, how often do you throw a spear? Earlier in the week I found a fallen branch in my yard that was about the length and diameter of a spear. I threw it a few times and found that it flew straight if I gripped it just behind the center of gravity. I also found out that it was easy to shoot wide… but I tended to shoot wide left. Using this knowledge, I gripped the spear and threw it… and it BARELY hit it’s mark in the lower left corner. The throw does not count if the spear comes out of the target. Mine stayed in, but the other end of the spear was touching the ground. I looked around and a referee gave me a “thumbs up”. Woo Hoo!!! I thought the ref was just being nice, but a couple minutes later (as my friend was getting ready to throw his spear), someone else had an identical shot, and a different ref gave him the “thumbs up”.
16. Inverted Wall – A wall that is bent at a 45 degree angle, towards you. Using a horizontal board laid halfway up, you have to lunge and grab the top of the wall. I was wearing just my liner gloves at the time, and had trouble gripping after I lunged. But using my elbows I was able to pull myself over.
17. A-Frame Cargo - Another obstacle anyone can do, if you’re not afraid of heights. Start ascending up a black diamond ski trail. No sense in running, so I just take my place in line. I’m not breathing hard… at all.
18. Snow Hill w/ Rope – An icy 10’ hill at a 45-degree angle. Run up, grab the rope, and pull yourself the rest of the way up. Some people were struggling, but it was no issue for me as I knew to stay perpendicular to the slope. Continue uphill.
19. Sandbag Carry – Carry a 40-lb sandbag up a steep incline through the woods adjacent to a double-black diamond ski trail. My sandbag was frozen, so I couldn’t hang it on my shoulder and still have the balance necessary to ascend the icy trail. The people in front of me were going slow. I had to stop and rest several times (due to tired arms, not legs or lungs). A guy who had an unfrozen bag slung over his shoulder easily passed me. Lucky bastard! On the way down a parallel trail, I had enough traction to carry the bag on my shoulder. Much easier. Some sat on their bag and slid down the ski slope. Cheating… but it looked fun! Trail-run downhill to the next obstacle. Me and one other guy FLEW down. We must have passed 50 people. Got my feet wet in a bog at the bottom of the trail. I could have bypassed it, but I was 3-miles into the 3.5-mile course, so I decided just to run through it.
20. Snow Slide – A series of 4’ high “hills” of ice that you had to climb up and slide down. Finish line in sight!
21. A-Frame w/ Rope – A 15’-high wooden A-frame that you had to run up and grab the rope. Similar to #18.
22. Snow Pit – Crawl under a wall through snow.
23. Fire Jump – This was it!!! The final obstacle. Just jump over a 1’ high line of burning logs. Easily done, but I was surprised how hot it actually was.
We were immediately awarded our medals. I didn’t have much time to reflect on the accomplishments of the day, as I needed to get to bag check. You see, I didn’t think it through earlier in the morning, and I had put my vouchers for free beer in my bag. Now I was just wasting valuable time to carb-up after the race.
Back at the festival tent, standing next to a propane heater, sipping on free beer… I reflected on the day. Although I was confident that I could complete most of the obstacles, I hadn’t given myself much chance of completing the rings or spear throw, and was only 50/50 on the rope climb. Maybe I was in better shape than I thought.
Now… what to do next?