Ultra-Training and Spartan Racing
Part 1
Staring at the bottom of 1,841 feet of elevation, knowing you will have to summit the same hill twice in a twelve hour period, your body tends to want to give out. I had been here before, the feeling of dread and anxiety raging in the pit of my stomach. I had been here before, literally, 2013 Spartan World Championship, Killington, VT. Looking up at the massive “death march” that was about to happen, I started to think about where I had come from, the trials, the failures and the lessons that would keep me from failing. This was Killington, the home of Spartan Racing, and the Ultra Beast that would either make or break a person. I would not be broken today.
The drive up from Delaware was long, roughly 12 hours of straight driving. I decided to drive the entire way to keep myself focused on the task at hand and not try to sike myself out of doing this. The Friday night drive to Killington was long. It doesn’t just get dark, it gets dark dark, and there are no lights. The amount of light pollution from New York has vanished and most of the pocketed towns are too far away to constitute as having light pollution. We finally reached the small ski town of Rutland. The hotel was nice and close enough to the mountain that I could walk to the start line the next day for packet pickup.
Side note: If you have never been to Rutland, go! I honestly have never been to a place that was as inviting and friendly. We spent the next three days in the city of Rutland enjoying the people and the little pop up farmer’s markets. People were selling their goods, I mean their own personal food and things they made. I know, you can go to a farm market wherever, but this was people selling their goods and it was honest. I only bought a bottle of pure maple syrup that I used on everything, even race morning. I would move to Rutland in a second if I could, but I think my family would disown me.
After I spent the day with the family exploring Rutland, we went back to the mountain. I walked over to the course alone. I told everyone I wanted to be by myself and just check things out. A friend of mine had started that morning and I hadn’t seen or heard from him yet. I walked right in and wondered around for a bit, looking at the obstacles, seeing if there was any new placement, and basically looking at the “death march” that was about to happen; people were still on it from the days races so I was able to see the top.
After my friend finished we talked about the race. It had taken him 9hrs to complete the beast and he loved every second of it. The mountain had caused him some concern with the climbs, but overall it was a challenge that was doable. I was going to run the same race as him, but doing it twice, how was I supposed to finish the lap twice in less than 15 hours? I ate my Michelle’s Chicken, which is the best meal to eat before a race, and tried to fall asleep. I slept in a room with the window open, thinking the cold air would help me sleep, it rained…I didn’t sleep. I was so frustrated and anxious at the race, I decided to just check my gear for two hours. I ended up with about 3 hours of sleep, no more.
The day of the race I tried to be as quiet as possible, we had a new baby and she was a very light sleeper. I did my normal running race routine; oatmeal, orange, orange juice, and a cup of coffee. It was my old tried and true but I was feeling a bit adventurous and had some maple syrup with it. (I make a point to mention this, because I swear it’s the reason I did so well!) Turns out I wasn’t as quiet as I would have wanted to be, the baby and my wife woke up to come see me off.
The weather was pretty pleasant for a September in Vermont, so I had my normal running gear on: fast wicking pants, shirt, and hat, along with a bright orange shirt so my wife could find me when she went back midday and for the finish of the race. Maddie (almost a year) was bundled up in her bear suit to stay warm, the picture attached is what stays with me about that morning the most. We walked over to the race start so I could stretch my legs and into the starting corral I went. The announcer explained about the conditions being slick and that it was going to be one hell of a fight to finish. I looked at my wife and baby and got choked up, to this day I don’t know why. Maybe it was the feeling of being alone? Maybe it was that I was about to do something that I never thought I would be able to do? Maybe it was that my wife and baby had woken up to see me off? I don’t know, I started to tear up and the bell went off. All feelings of dread left me, excitement and joy took over and I was off like a bullet from a gun. Nothing was going to stop me!
I trained for this day. I trained hard. A mixture of CrossFit and long dist
ance running helped me to get into the shape that I needed to beat the Ultra Beast. I knew when I needed to eat, I knew how my body felt if it was injured or if I should be walking. I knew it was my day!
