This was my third Spartan; I have completed a Super, Beast, and now a Sprint! On Friday Crystle, Tricia, and I headed to NYC to our Hotel, in China Town, about a mile from the stadium. We got in around 1:30 AM and headed to bed around 2:00 AM, and up at 5:00 AM to race!!! AROO!!!!!
The Elite heat for the men started at 7:00 and the women's heat began at 7:15. Dennis, David, Ben, and Richard did the mens Elite heat. Crystle, Becca, Tricia, and I did the women's Elite heat.
So about the race...stairs are not my strong point and this is a stadium race....so all stairs. Last year at this time one time up the stairs at Mount Trashmore left me winded; but now it is a different story. I owned those bleachers/stairs!....well after 15 minutes. All week I was worried about the rope climb at Citi Field, I have never been able to climb up the rope. THIS TIME I DID IT!!! I am still ecstatic about it because it shows how much upper body strength I have acquired over the past year. At the Virginia Super I could not even lift myself up the rope and at the Beast in Carolina I got about half way; but this time I got ALL THE WAY UP THE ROPE AND RANG THE COWBELL!!!!! I did fail the traverse wall, spear throw, and the stupid monkey bars! 90 burpees later I realized I need to start working on grip strength and learn to throw the spear :)
I am thrilled with how great this race went! Clearly all of the training with DWEP and my lifting routine is starting to pay off. I am developing muscle that I never thought I'd have, there is still room for improvement and I can't wait to Spartan train even more with DWEP! My training group is AMAZING and if you don't train with us you probably should.
Also, this weekend was great, I got to tour NYC for the first time, met awesome spartans, and learned not to freak out when I am not actually registered (sorry Crystle). :D
The Elite heat for the men started at 7:00 and the women's heat began at 7:15. Dennis, David, Ben, and Richard did the mens Elite heat. Crystle, Becca, Tricia, and I did the women's Elite heat.
So about the race...stairs are not my strong point and this is a stadium race....so all stairs. Last year at this time one time up the stairs at Mount Trashmore left me winded; but now it is a different story. I owned those bleachers/stairs!....well after 15 minutes. All week I was worried about the rope climb at Citi Field, I have never been able to climb up the rope. THIS TIME I DID IT!!! I am still ecstatic about it because it shows how much upper body strength I have acquired over the past year. At the Virginia Super I could not even lift myself up the rope and at the Beast in Carolina I got about half way; but this time I got ALL THE WAY UP THE ROPE AND RANG THE COWBELL!!!!! I did fail the traverse wall, spear throw, and the stupid monkey bars! 90 burpees later I realized I need to start working on grip strength and learn to throw the spear :)
I am thrilled with how great this race went! Clearly all of the training with DWEP and my lifting routine is starting to pay off. I am developing muscle that I never thought I'd have, there is still room for improvement and I can't wait to Spartan train even more with DWEP! My training group is AMAZING and if you don't train with us you probably should.
Also, this weekend was great, I got to tour NYC for the first time, met awesome spartans, and learned not to freak out when I am not actually registered (sorry Crystle). :D