Race recap from the Spartan Sprint in Tuxedo Ridge

Race recap from this weekend's Spartan Sprint in Tuxedo Ridge New York:

Before...

After...

The race official that was kind enough to pose with me...

• Don't discount the terrain. Unlike many other Spartan events, this one was on a mountain. I am very glad that I regularly do step ups with dumbbells and run mountain trails with a weight vest. We had a sand bag carry up the mountain and a log carry which I conquered easily. The rock drag was easy and it felt like it was entirely too short.  

• 2 goals: 

1. Finish in under 2 hours. Last year I did it with a friend and we took 2 hours and 13 minutes. Unacceptable. This year I did it with a different friend (just by coincidence. I did not switch teammates due to performance) and we did it in 2 hours and 2 minutes. I would have easily beat the 2 hour mark if I was alone but time is a small price to pay for camaraderie.
2. Improve in upper body obstacles. Nailed it. They had harder monkey bars this year with each bar of varying distance and height. I jammed through it with no problem. They also had a rope net monkey bar thing over water which I cruised through with ease. No problems with any of the walls which is a big accomplishment over last year. I didn't complete the rope climb but that was due to technique as I had problems getting my feet set. 

• Burpees are no thang. I missed 3 obstacles (rope climb, traverse wall & spear throw - all due to technique) and paid the 30 burpee penalty on each. I actually did all 30 full burpees (no "half repping") which is not something that everyone else does. I was once one of those people. I also contributed burpees to my friend when he missed the monkey bars and monkey bar rope thing. The point is that I did my share of burpees all day long and they did not tire me like they would have last year.

• Thank you squats. One of the obstacles was a cement ball pick up, carry, do 5 burpees, carry back. Not sure of how heavy that cement ball is but it is heavy and you have to pick it up from a hole in the ground twice. I used proper squat technique and this obstacle was a lot less hard than it could have been.

• Finished strong. We knew that we were close to the end and we finished our last mountain climb. At this point of the race, it was easy to fall into the trap of walking or continuing to pace ourselves through the finish line. That is what everybody else was doing. Its a race! Let's go! If you have any energy left it will do you no good on the other side of the finish line so lets use it now! I grabbed my buddy and made him run down the mountain with me and get through the last 3 obstacles (8 foot wall, incline wall with rope, fire jump) quickly. He thanked me for it. 

• Failure is part of the race. As much as I am disappointed that I did not complete all of the obstacles flawlessly I think that I have to realize that not completing every obstacle and paying your 30 burpee penalty is part of the race. I will continue to work my ass off every day to be in the best shape to complete every obstacle but there is no shame in doing your burpees. Its part of the fun and I guarantee you that the race designers build it in.

• Go with the right gear. I am very glad that I had trail running shoes. Every race that I have done up until now have been in running/gym shoes and they have been fine but I really enjoyed the advantages of wearing a pair of basic trail running shoes. Also, I wore old swimming trunks with the mesh inside cut out. I don't want to do that again. Due to their length they kept catching my knees going forward and my thighs going sideways thereby restricting my range. Before September I will be investing in obstacle racing shorts with a 7 - 9 inch inseam. 

I will have another post with pictures once Spartan Race publishes them. Overall, had a great time and was glad to do it with a first time Spartan friend. I am happy about the improvements I made over last time and expect to continue to improve. There is much work to be done. Resting today and back in the gym tomorrow.