My “triumphant” return to Spartan racing, the first since December 2017, took place in Colorado Springs, Colorado throughout “The Bowl” at Fort Carson military base. I had been there before in 2017 completing the Super and Sprint races (10k and 5k respectively) back then, and knew this was going to be a dusty, dry and hot affair once again. I forgot about the millions of cactus plants, spikey yucca leaves, and rocks…so many ankle twisting rocks make this a very technical course.
The Beast – 21k
For me, this “beast” started on Friday night. Due to scheduling conflicts with work, my plan to cut out early and get to Colorado Springs with time to relax and get ready for my 7:45 am start in the 50-54 men’s competitive wave had to be scrapped. Work took until 6:30ish and I took off directly from Kearney, Nebraska with roughly 6 hours of drive time ahead. Due to the late night, I decided my food intake for the evening would be limited to a Quest protein bar, plenty of water, and an Axio mix with natural caffeine to get me through the night without the diuretic issues and carbonated “energy drink” crash that would come from canned versions. Hydration was my main goal. Arriving outside of Colorado Springs at 1 am Mountain Time, I opted for a truck stop sleep in the back of my pickup rather than blow cash on 4 hours of poor sleep in a questionable motel room. Up at 5 am, I finished the 30 minutes to Fort Carson and began by Beast prep. A banana, Honey Stinger waffle, and some trail mix would suffice for pre-race fueling. In race, I planned out a GU paste regimen of amino acids, caffeine, etc. every 3 miles.
Getting checked in, donning a Team RWB jersey I was as ready as I was going to be. The start line was a first for me though I had heard about the new format. Instead, up just jumping over a 4-foot wall to reach the start line, Spartan Race has implemented a 20–30-yard barbed wire crawl through mud to get to the wall. We are going to get dirty anyway!
The army had conducted exercises and was nice enough to leave one of their own barbed wire creations following the over-under barriers. Later, we trekked through one of their tank traps enroute to other obstacles. The Beast not only extended the 10k super distance with an extra 11k of trail work, but it had numerous hill climbs and descents and specific obstacles the other races would not have. The most vicious one involved a 60lb pancake sandbag carry out of the “bowl” to the top of the hill, then back down again. A steep incline challenged hamstrings, glutes, cardio endurance and mental toughness. It was by far, one of the most brutal obstacles of the day that would have a massive impact on future obstacle proficiency and my ability to run and not hike the remainder of the race.
I battled issues with my overhead obstacles experiencing the new format for the “stairway to Sparta”, Irish table, multi-rig, beater and twister. The last time out, I was about 195lbs. This race I started around 213lbs, and it showed. I failed the new spear throw too by about 5 inches. In place of 30 burpees, obstacles now had penalty loop options. Extra running, some with hills and rock negotiations. My Garmin estimated my total distance covered as 14.5 miles.
Lack of proper sleep and nutrition prep the night before may have caught up to me as I gassed out on my running around mile 7-8. The back half of the Beast became a hike for me. I was also deeply conscious of a recurring calf issue that I still haven’t gotten to the source of. I could feel the twinges of pre-spasm pains that have shut down my running in training for days on end but powered through. I was finishing this Beast.
Mother Nature Gets Involved
As I exited the spear throw and headed for the rope climb, staff radios squawked about weather rolling in. By the time I reached the rope climb I was waved through due to lightning strikes within 3 miles. The metal rig was too unsafe for racers and staff to be near out in the open field. The same would happen at the monkey bars and final A-frame cargo climb just prior to the fire jump finish line. But we did get to complete the second sandbag carry in between through the trees! Crossing the finish line, the PA announced a festival area evacuation and staff and racers were hurriedly picking up medals, t-shirts, cutting off timing chips and rushing to bag drops. By the time I had picked my stuff up, hail stones fell. At first they were small pea sized, but they quickly grew to ping-pong ball sized. Everyone took cover where they could to wait it out. Finding a window of opportunity, I headed for my pickup. Getting plunked on the top of the head, the hail rattled my teeth and I thought “that’s going to leave a mark”. It did, 4 days later I still have a sore spot. I crawled under my soft topper on the back of my pickup, we couldn’t clean up, so I stripped off my muddy gear and left it on the tail gate to “wash” a bit. The rain came, more hail and I watched as others headed for their vehicles as I ate some more trail mix and rehydrated wondering what tomorrow would bring. My attempt to run the Sprint after the Beast would not take place, it had to wait for Sunday.
The Super 10K
It’s a beautiful Sunday morning, my calves and hamstrings are a little sore, I can feel the bruises from various obstacles, and the downhills had bruised my big toes. I am resigned to the fact that these next two races will take their toll and I will likely lose toenails. I also had a pinch blister formed on my pinky toe. Can only moleskin it up and hope for the best now. I opted to pull on my 2XU compression tights that are now almost 6-years-old and showing wear. Holes in the knees, barbed wire snags on the ass, a little snug due to my extra pounds, however, this would be a great decision.
8:00 am, we head out from the same start line. Prior to that, Spartan had announced that anyone pulled from the Beast course prior to the finish, would be allowed to complete a special 2.2-mile loop before 7:45 am. That was exceptionally good decision-making because of this being a trifecta weekend and how special it would be to earn that at an Honor Race venue. They would get their Beast medal.
As I took off for the first mile down into the bowl, I noticed the soreness slipping away rather quickly. The 2XUs were doing the job! The compression from my ankles to my hips was negating any soreness and my calf issue was non-existent. During the Beast, I wore Fitshit compression socks, and my knee sleeves designed for squatting but have since been repurposed to protect my knees in these races. I had no compression on my thighs and forgot how good it actually felt. My running was much better today. I had also had a proper meal the night before with the Spartan 4-0 crew at Colorado Mountain Brewery so that helped as well. Same fueling plan, every 3 miles with a GU packet and water.
I struggled with a couple of the same obstacles as the day before, again missed the spear throw, but cleared the old nemesis rope climb which I had practiced my j-hook technique a few times. (Sweep, Scoop, Step!…hit me up if you need any explanation to help you get that one down). Monkey bars were noticeably difficult with my excess weight, but I made it to ring the bell. Homeward bound through the sandbag carry and the A-frame. All of the obstacles we had to be waived through the day before, I cleared on Sunday. My total mileage for the Super came out at 7.25 miles.
Sprint – 5K
Checking in for the Sprint, I was given a start time of 1:00 pm so I had about two hours to kill hydrating, eating and maybe a quick nap. That is until the race director announced that anyone running the Sprint to complete their Trifecta Weekend were to meet him at the start line at 11:55 am. Surprised, I quickly re-checked my bag, re-mole skinned the toes and headed over to where other recent Super finishers were gathered. The race director told us we did not have to crawl through the mud and barbed wire to the start line this time, we were going to the front of the start chute ahead of the 12:00 pm open division racers.
I felt energized surprisingly heading out for this final 5k although I knew I was facing some of the same obstacles I had already failed twice before. The z-wall had been especially problematic due to the build-up of mud on the foot blocks. There was no lip or edge to grip onto, just a packed mud-clay slippery mass. It was pretty much a grip-only obstacle on Sunday. I took the penalty loop again. Cruising through the bucket brigade, herc hoist, rope climb and monkey bars, I hit the final sandbag carry when I noticed monkey bars had ripped my left hand open below a callous. That was a first. I had never had much issue with that, but here I was for the first time ripped open. Love it! The final climb to the A-frame looked like the trudge of the damned as some of us finishing our 25th mile of the weekend ground out the final 1/4 mile to the cargo net climb and the fire jump.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
Completing the Sprint brought to a finish the longest endurance challenge I have yet to put myself through. My first trifecta race weekend is in the books. My body was exhausted, but not destroyed as would have been the case a few years ago. At 52, my training is getting me better at this. I just have to keep plodding along. The final challenge was to be the 6-hour drive home. What started out at 6:30pm on Friday, ended at just after 10:00pm on Sunday when I eased out of the pickup and hobbled into the house. My right pinky toe was a mess from the pinch blister that turned into peeling off of the top layer of skin. My big toes were bruised and swollen from being jammed into the front of my shoes on those downhills…I will be losing those nails at some point after I drill a hole and relieve the pressure built up.
Will I do it again? Of course, I will. I have an Unbreakable Pass for the next 3 years that can be extended to nine years if I partake in the Unbreakable Events, one coming up in November at World’s Toughest Mudder.
The hardware earned: Sprint, Super and Beast medals, along with the Honor Series Trifecta Weekend