This past Saturday I embarked on a challenge that I knew would be very difficult from the beginning. It was a beautiful day for a hike through the woods and over the mountains. But this was no ordinary hike. I have hiked parts of the Appalachian Trail loaded with gear and it wasn’t nearly as tough as this Tri State NJ Spartan Beast Race in Vernon NJ. What is the Spartan Beast? This is an Obstacle Course Race of about 12-15 miles and about 30-32 obstacles that stand between you and the finish line, if the terrain doesn’t get you first. A race like this is a test of your physical and mental capability. It tests your endurance and strength, but more importantly it tests your mental ability to keep focused and keep going. I want to share some of MY reflections while on the trail struggling to keep moving.
We headed out to the mountain early in the morning. (We like earlier heats so we can finish while it’s still day light) During the night before it had thunder stormed and therefore everything started a half hour later. This is common but it just adds stress to your mental state at the starting line. At the starting line we climbed over the wall into the corral. It’s interesting to watch other people and how careless they are. Some people jumped the start wall and instead of lowering to the ground they would jump down hard and a few almost twisted their ankles. Another girl who seemed to have no spatial awareness upon swinging her leg over the wall kicked another woman right broadside the head. All this and we haven’t even started yet. This is a race of FOCUS. At the end of the day we all still must return to work and our lives. Injury is not what you want from the starting line let alone anywhere during the race. When you look around you can see thoughts like “Am I going to finish before dark?” “Am I going to finish at all?” “I don’t feel ready” “I am SO ready for this” “I am so excited” “I am not excited at all” “Why am I even doing this” “I’m scared” “I’m charged and ready to go” “what was I thinking” But as soon as that horn blows it’s all “READY OR NOT HERE WE GO”
We headed out to the mountain early in the morning. (We like earlier heats so we can finish while it’s still day light) During the night before it had thunder stormed and therefore everything started a half hour later. This is common but it just adds stress to your mental state at the starting line. At the starting line we climbed over the wall into the corral. It’s interesting to watch other people and how careless they are. Some people jumped the start wall and instead of lowering to the ground they would jump down hard and a few almost twisted their ankles. Another girl who seemed to have no spatial awareness upon swinging her leg over the wall kicked another woman right broadside the head. All this and we haven’t even started yet. This is a race of FOCUS. At the end of the day we all still must return to work and our lives. Injury is not what you want from the starting line let alone anywhere during the race. When you look around you can see thoughts like “Am I going to finish before dark?” “Am I going to finish at all?” “I don’t feel ready” “I am SO ready for this” “I am so excited” “I am not excited at all” “Why am I even doing this” “I’m scared” “I’m charged and ready to go” “what was I thinking” But as soon as that horn blows it’s all “READY OR NOT HERE WE GO”
For myself, I hadn’t trained as much or as hard as I should have but I knew my limitations and strengths. I knew I could finish and all I had to do was keep moving without stopping. The first mile was agony for me. It was almost all up hill and we are talking steep up hill. I know up hill is my biggest weakness. I was with my team mates out of the gate but it wasn’t long and they pulled far ahead, rounded a corner and disappeared. It was the last I saw of them. I was now alone, or was I? I was alone in the sense that my team mates were far ahead of me but I didn’t care because I wasn’t there to even try to keep up with them. I knew they moved way faster than me. I also knew it was going to be difficult to focus on my own. When you don’t have someone to talk to you begin to get into your own mind and it starts telling you crazy things. Like “what were you thinking” doubts set in quickly. But then an obstacle shows up and all thoughts leave your head and your training takes over and next thing you know you have completed it and have a boost of moral. You are feeling good about yourself that you made it. That’s the beauty of this kind of race you get a “rest” just when you need it. Obstacles are such a welcomed sight when that last 2 miles were nothing but uphill climbing and scrambling rock fields. It’s like a rest. On a Spartan race you are NEVER alone though. There are many other Spartans running the SAME race with you. Every one of who will struggle somewhere along the way. You have plenty of opportunity to help someone else who is struggling. To encourage, motivate, push, help, team up, make friends with others. We begin as individuals and teams but all leave as SPARTANS!
So obstacles….just like in life, this race if full of them. Half of them are UNKNOWN! I was thinking to myself (as I had a lot of time to think) about these unknowns. They test your ability to adapt on the fly. You don’t know what’s coming up next and as soon as you see it you begin to strategize as to how you’ll get through it. Same as life. We can’t see the future, but we know things happen. What do we do to get past it? Do we allow it to defeat us? Or do we find a way to get past it and keep moving forward. We could just give up at the first obstacle and quit. Or you can find a way to overcome it. In any case you HAVE to try, you have to give an effort, you have to push yourself, it becomes a mindset. Plan/focus/attack/conquer! You can’t make any excuses because it’s all you. At some point you HAVE to RISE to the challenge or move out of the way for those who are waiting and willing. This is the same for your training. You can’t blame and point fingers as to why you aren’t getting results. It’s YOUR job to DO THE WORK. To be consistent. To be disciplined. To hold YOURSELF accountable. No one else is in charge of you. You run the ship. If you crash it’s because you did nothing. Again, you MUST be accountable, taking responsibility for your actions, failures, addictions, decisions, and choices. Until you can do this, you won’t succeed. To say “this doesn’t work” when you only go as hard as is comfortable, is not fair to yourself or anyone trying to help you. GET OUT SIDE OF THAT COMFORT ZONE! Become FEARLESS!! Don’t shake your head at a challenge. RISE UP and take it by the horns and OWN it! Self-doubt is one of the biggest killers of success. Even if you FAIL, it is better to try your hardest and learn from that failure versus hiding behind an excuse and never trying. I can show you how simple it is but simple doesn’t mean easy. You still have to work and grind when you lest want to. Life is a battle and you, my friend, are a warrior. You MUST develop a warriors mentality.
Toward the end of this race I got a second or third wind. I actually felt way better in the second half than at the start. I had overcome a lot up to this point. I had seen others on the side of the trail who were out for the count. Quads were cramping and seizing up around me. Ankles were being turned and at one point someone fell off the monkey bars needing EMS for assistance. BUT these mishaps didn’t discourage me, as a trained athlete your training just takes over and you just grind on. You know there is a reward at the end. You just dig in and keep moving. Early on in the race we were challenged to remember a name with 7 numbers after it. Yes this was a memory test. Seemed kind of silly at first, but having my mind on those numbers for miles (so I wouldn’t forget them and have to do 30 burpees for not remembering) I STILL Remember ZULU-996-3951. It is important to keep your mind busy and just move your feet. I thought about the Romans and Spartan warriors back in their time while we climbed up and over rocks as we ascended yet another incline, thinking they would likely have done stuff like this in full battle gear. I also thought of our own soldiers today. They do this as well. Think of the mental toughness they must have to fight in the conditions and terrain that they do. The human body is capable of doing what you allow your mind to tell it to do. I want all of you reading this to remember that. There is NOTHING you CAN’T do. To think you CAN’T is just your mind telling you LIES!
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The last miles were awesome. We could finally hear the music back at the starting/finish line. This makes an explosion happen within your weary tired body and you pick up pace and start to run. I passed the 12 mile marker and came out of the woods to a long downhill (my strong point). I had just run through some really difficult downhill boulder fields and made up a lot of time. I had only a little more than a mile to go and 3 major obstacles. On the downhill I could see my family waiting for me. My son had just run in the 2 mile Kids race and to see them now was like eating 4 packs of energy gummies. I knew he was worried about me, but all I could think about was how his race went. He had his medal around his neck and greeted me on the trail with a giant hug. My wife was further downhill cheering me on. I knew I had this. I knew I could do it. But there were still 3 hard obstacles left yet. The Bucket full of stone was heavy as I climbed back up the hill I had just run down, but I just kept going. My Son was watching. I HAD to show him what NOT giving up was about. This added a new goal and made me drive hard right through to the end. I failed the second to last obstacle but after finishing my 30 burpees it was onto the last challenge, the 20 foot rope climb. I was so spent. My muscles were screaming at me, I think the spectators could hear them wailing. The rope was in my hands. My hand burned from slipping off the last obstacle but as I looked up I thought “3 for 3!” I jumped and just went. I heard a group cheering for me, strangers mostly, but I just kept climbing. CLANG!! I hit the cow bell and slowly lowered myself to the ground. YES!! I DID IT!! HOME FREE!!! FINISH LINE HERE I COME!!! I just completed 13.8 grueling miles. I just ran my FIRST INSANE HALF MARATHON!!
I am a SPARTAN BEAST!
I am a SPARTAN BEAST!
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Challenges like this are rewarding. They teach you that NOTHING is impossible if you put your mind to it. I encourage every one of my clients to get out of their comfort zones and get signed up for one of these. Maybe not the BEAST but start with the SPRINT. Then get committed to it. Your training will take on a new dimension, your Nutrition will become better, and your mindset will become focused. This will give you purpose for training. Having a goal to lose weight is an admirable goal but it is an endless fight. You MUST have purpose for training. What will you do when you reach your weight loss goal? Will you go back to your old habits? Will you begin to eat bad again? It’s very likely UNLESS you find purpose and let the weight loss be a positive side effect. To challenge yourself with things like this completely keep you focused on being a better human. They keep you on track to being better in everything you do because you have the next one coming up and you want to be better than last time. You want to move better, you want to get stronger, you want to feel better, and you want to recover faster. It’s no longer a punishment to go to the gym but a means to make your quality of life better and isn’t that the Ultimate goal?
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