So you want to run a Spartan Ultra Race
Spartan’s aren’t easy. A Spartan race tests your personal fortitude, your upper body strength, and your core. There is not much more to a Spartan race than that. When asked how do you trail for a Spartan beast the normal response is, run hills and work on pull-ups. I agree, there is not much more you need to put into it than that for a sprint, super, or beast. It gets tough, but as long as you have put the time into your upper body, anyone can do a regular Spartan race. But I’m not here talking about the regular Spartans, I want to dabble into the Spartan ultra. How does one get the ability to last 8,9,12 hours on a Spartan race course and be able to complete it. Let me give you one way to work up into the feats of pure resilience.
The first thing that I work on when training for any endurance race is my diet. Usually when a big race is 4-5 weeks out I fix my diet to be much heavier in nutrients and fiber. I choose to an 80-20 diet of more of a vegan eater than carnivore. I have not really ever jumped both feet into the vegan or vegetarian lifestyle, but I have dabbled a bit in it. For a solid 4 week span I stuff my face with leafy greens for nutrients and heart healthy functions. I eat oatmeal as my source of breakfast to also aid in my heart’s ability to pump my blood faster and to keep me regular. Before every race or big morning training day I will eat; half a banana, bowl of oatmeal with maple syrup, and half a bagel. This gets followed up by an orange 40 minutes before the race. I find this helps my body store the carbs it needs and keeps my level of sugar where it needs to be for at least the first trip around the loop. This is a breakfast I have sworn by for years, I don’t bonk, I have to eat very little throughout the race, and that repetitive eating helps me focus on other things other than, “What am I doing for breakfast?” Live in your bubble as you are training…train to eat the proper foods and don’t stop what works for you.
I am a father of three, so being able to put in the time to train for a Spartan race can be difficult, so I have found some inventive ways to make sure I have trained enough. It always starts the same way, to get my times right and my motivation up, I work on Tony Horton’s P90X. Usually, I focus on the Chest/Back and the Arms and Back. It is a nice warm-up for what I am about to do over the next 12-13 weeks depending on my schedule. Starting with Tony always get me feeling great and pushes me the extra little bit to spend some time with myself for 30 minutes to get focused.
After that week or two of just getting my muscle memory of pull-ups and pushups back I start to hit the pavement or trail much harder than I just hit my arms. I like to keep my running schedule pretty tight. 30-50 miles a week depending on my time, morning runs, late night runs, and even just really long runs during the weekend. I don’t have necessarily have a set rotation of runs, I just know my Saturday and Sunday runs might be longer depending on the work put in throughout the week. Getting that conditioning in really helps for the hills, even if you don’t have hills, running through a trail can be invigorating and just fun. Toss in some rucking or some weighted hikes to get your legs feeling tired and bring that lactic acid to the foremost part of your legs to feel what it feels like to burn, to be in an exhausted state. This helps with your mind games as well, you will feel that pain…in most cases after the first three miles. Live in that pain zone…it is glorious. That and, well, the more you are there the less you are likely to feel it later.
To get creative with your workouts toss in once a week a “choose your own adventure trail run/workout.” On Saturday or Sunday, when I have more time, I will put little notecards into a bucket in my garage. I have put things from 200 pushups, 30 pull-ups, 3 rope climbs, 2 more miles, 3 mile ruck, bucket carry the block…anything that I would find on a course at a Spartan race. I do this to get ready for the unexpected. Every loop around my block is .6 miles. I run that loop first, then choose a card. Somedays I get all running cards (I once ended up running 12 miles, which was all the running), and sometimes you can get very little. I like the “choose your own adventure,” because it works everything. It is something I can do from the comfort of my garage and the kids can ride along with me on their bikes or scooters. Most of the equipment that I use is also in my backyard, so on beautiful days, my kids can play in the backyard as I’m climbing ropes or tire flips, and I can get in a good workout. Most of the time my daughter will run a few loops with me or do some of the workouts, bringing the family together through Spartan.
Lastly, working on your mind. Tony Horton says “Get your mind right,” during one of the workouts he coaches you through. I can’t say it any better. Get your mind right if you want to finish. The ultra is a challenge for your body and your mind, most would argue its 80% mental and 20% physical. Whatever you think, or have heard from others, you need to work on figuring out where it is your suffering will begin and be able to push through it. Mental fortitude only comes from suffering, knowing that point pushing through, and then going farther till you break again. Personally, I get into my head at the end of the first loop. I know I am almost done, but for some reason I start getting angry for signing up for it, for being on this course, for the people that are around me. I hate it all. To break through I do two things: 1.) I think of my daughters at birth. I think of their silly laughs and the way the give me hugs. I think of my son and the way he loves golf and how much he like me. I start thinking of funny things to get me to smile or laugh. Anything to take my mind off the hell I am going through, 2.) I sing a song. Usually it’s “You’re Welcome,” or some NYSC song that I will get stuck in my head and then those around me as well. Anything to help them feel the hell I am in. I once spent 3 hours in a race singing a Taylor Swift song. Whatever you do, find something that makes you break the feeling of dread. You have just made it through 5 hours of hell, you have 6 left to go, and you can do it. Dread goes away, pain subsides, and the accomplishment will be there forever.
“When you are going through hell, keep going.” Winston Churchill.
A great website for eating Vegan. This is my favorite Budha Bowl
https://wellandfull.com/2016/02/the-vegan-buddha-bowl/
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