Spartan Sprint
Spartan Sprint
6/2/12
Ok, so I just did the Spartan Sprint, in Tuxedo, New York this past weekend. That was fun! I can say that now, but there were a few times I questioned my decision, although you’d never know it if you saw the video (and you will), as usual, I was very upbeat and can be heard shouting encouragement to other racers. If you know me, you know that I am also using that encouragement to keep myself going too.
My good friend, Susie Q went with me and we had two more team members there that I ran into coincidentally as I was running the course. It was mostly running up hills and none of us trained for that. We were all walking some of the time and just taking one step at a time to get through some of the obstacles. The two toughest challenges by far for me were carrying the Spartan sandbag up a giant hill that seemed to go on forever. I don’t know the weight of the sandbag, but it felt like 20 pounds. The hill took a full 6 minutes to climb, but it felt like a half an hour. Going back down was relatively easy compared to the climb up. The other killer obstacle, and I do mean killer, was the barbed wire mud crawl. On hands and knees in the rock filled mud, under barbed wire uphill for what seemed like an hour, but was actually about 20 minutes. The rocks hidden in the mud were of all shapes and sizes and we were just grinding into them with our knees and elbows the whole time. Well, not the whole time. Someone figured out that one could roll up the hill and that gave our boney knees and elbows a much appreciated break. That crawl was tough!
There were some really fun challenges too. I loved the rope climb, the wall climbs and the cargo-net obstacles. There were many chances to get dirty and I love crawling in the mud! We dragged concrete and old tires around. We clambered over and under wire and wood, and trekked through a beautiful landscape that I made sure everyone within earshot took note of. Oh man, I loved it!
All in all, it was a great challenge and looking back on it, I’m glad it wasn’t easier. It always makes you feel good to reach deep down inside and find the strength to accomplish something that at times seems impossible. The Spartan Sprint did that for me this weekend and I for one, am better for having done it. I’m already looking forward to the next one. Anyone want to join me?
Fantone Fitness 