Spartan Sprint Recap

I haven't posted in months.. I have been really busy. We have been shorthanded at work all summer so I've been getting extra hours which is always nice, but haven't done much else besides work, working out, sleeping, and eating. Anyways, its been almost a month since my Spartan race so I've been able to finally let everything sink in.

One morning I watched a Spartan race on TV and it was amazing seeing everyone help each other and all the people participating in the race. I found out there were three main races people signed up for: Sprint, Super, & Beast. Now there are other longer Spartan races, but I figured start with the sprint and see how I do. Sadly, there were no Spartan races in Michigan so I sent an email to be notified when there would be one. There are other OCR races like the Warrior Dash and Tough Mudder, but I wanted to do a Spartan race.

Last year the closest Spartan race was in Ohio around my birthday, but with marathon training I didn't want to try to train for both. At the end of last year I found out a Spartan race was finally coming to Michigan so I thought about it for a bit and when I finally started signing up I got scared and didn't do it. A few hours later I finally signed up.

This year I have done a lot of road races, but after my 5K in May, I focused mainly on strength training for the Spartan race. I would still run a couple times a week, but I knew I had to focus on my upper body.

I was surprised they posted the course map online, so I looked at it, watched some Youtube videos so I had an idea of what to expect.

Race day came and I was a little nervous. Colin drove me there, it was about a 45 minute drive. When we got closer to the Michigan International Speedway, I wanted to turn back and go home. This race actually terrified me more than my full marathon. We got there early so I had time to get my packet pickup, check in my gear, and warm up for the race.

When it was finally my heat time I headed over and there was a wall we had to jump over to get into the corral, I tried a few times and couldn't do it, I was actually close to tears because I thought I wasn't prepared enough for this race. Another racer let me use his hands to step on to get over the wall and I finally was able to do it. Colin was nearby and told me remember to use your upper body more and not just my legs. After the announcer explained the race and obstacle fails we got to go. I started running and when we got to the first obstacle two more of the same walls.. I was thinking great I'll have to do burpees. Well I pulled myself up and made it through both of them without assistance!! I saw one guy help his girlfriend over and it was nice seeing people help others. The next obstacle was the hurdles, the first one I got over and the second one a few people helped me. There was a a team of five that was surprised I came by myself and said if I wanted to stay with them I could so I did. The O-U-T and Vertical Cargo was fun and easy to do. We got to the twister and I tried but I fell so went to the burpee area. The next few obstacles I got through much better: A-Frame, Tire Flip, Spearthrow, & 1/4 mile sprint. I did miss the spearthrow, oh well. I lost my headband during my sprint so went back and found it but I had to catch up with the team I was with. I did the Bucket Brigade, Rolling Mud/Dunk, Slip Wall, & Barb Wire by myself. I really liked the Slip Wall and rolled for the Barb Wire obstacle. I got over to the next obstacle and saw a 7" wall, I was thinking great another wall. The team was still there and surprised how quickly I caught up and helped me get over the wall. Next was the Multi-Rig and failed so more burpees. The Plate Drag was pretty easy, then we had did a Sandbag Carry up the stadium stairs, dropped off the sandbags and then up more stairs (they wanted us to have some incline for the race). Afterwards, we got to the Herc Hoist and that wasn't too bad. The next three obstacles were failures: Rope Climb, Olympus, & Monkey Bars. I know near the end of the race I was getting tired. We finally got to the Inverted Wall and I got help with that one and was able to pull myself over. Finally, the Fire Jump we all went as a team and finished the race!

I thanked the team a ton for all their help and I don't know if I would have finished the race without them. If they see this: Thank you again Dionne, Stacey, Jennifer, Julia, & Brad! Also, thank you to the guy who helped me at the beginning of the race too.

The day after the race I was a little sore, I saw how big of a bruise I had on my stomach. I had bruises all over my body, cuts, scrapes, and bumps but it was worth it. About a week later everything was healed. I did light workouts for a bit to ease back into it. I'm so happy I had the courage to sign up and do it. AROO!

I know if I ever do another Spartan race I will have to improve my upper body strength. I had a lot of obstacle fails, but I felt confident doing others. Since Spartan races are so diverse its hard to have a set training plan because you have to work out your entire body.