April 15, 2023
I’m back in a crossfit gym. This is rare, because I’ve never been a member of a crossfit gym for a couple of reasons that I won’t get into here, but for my first ever Deka Mile attempt, I find myself in Colorado.
Spartan Race came out with the Deka Series a few years ago, offering a shorter gym-style indoor race format that tests your strength, cardio and overall fitness level in a short course format.
Like the Spartan Strong I took part in previously, this one included 160-meter runs in between the 10 workout stations for a total of 1600 meters or 1 mile…thus the Deka Mile.
Depending on how conditioned you are, the run can be your break, or your breaking point. It was my breaking point. Getting my breathing under control went awry immediately during the 24″ box step overs. From there, my heart rate jacked up and I found myself struggling to cover the short run in a manner that allowed me to get both my heart rate and breathing under control. I blew that up. But, I did better my Deka Strong stations in a couple of aspects. I was able to complete the farmers carry (60lb dumbbells in each hand for 100m) unbroken. I had to let down the dumbbells in South Dakota as my grip started to fail. The airdyne bike “felt” a little better, but was in no way fast compared to others. The medicine ball “over-the-shoulder” went fairly smooth as my strength held out. The RAM burpees though, another story.
The RAM burpees once again became a problem for me at the end. Not only did I have to walk most of the run legs to end the event, the RAM got me at reps 9 and reps 14 and I had to take breaks as my breathing and heart raced to uncomfortable heights. There would be no great age group performance for me in Colorado, just an after action analysis that says “your cardio sucks and needs A LOT of work!”
Hopping in my pickup and driving the 5.5 hours home offered time to reflect and game plan. My Spartan season begins in June with a weekend trifecta attempt in Colorado Springs. In order to complete a Sprint, Super and Beast all in the same weekend for the first time in my life, I HAVE to put in road miles to match the expected 36+ km of foothill trails at Fort Carson. In May, I will do 2-days of racing in Iowa and Nebraska in relatively “pedestrian” events Gladiator Assault and Mud Factor as a prep. We shall see just how “pedestrian” they are for my 52-year old body in comparison to Spartan.