Spartan Race

FOOOOR SPARTAA!

Got all muddy and my muscles were sore but felt alive after finishing this race!

Danielle and I decide to do something crazy. We have been working out almost everyday and feeling stronger, so we decided to register for a Spartan Race! It was Danielle’s first race- and my first obstacle course race. We registered feeling confident, we we’re ready to push ourselves to the limit.

Then…. The day of the race came. Our confidence started to get replaced with fear and nervousness. The morning of the race was nice and sunny, but we were not running until 2 PM. The Spartan Race was about 1 hour away from our home. REALLY in NEW TAIPEI CITY DISTRICT lol…. And once we got there a wind started gusting and it got a little on the chilly side. Luckily, we had our friend and coworker Dani, who has been motivating us to live a more healthy lifestyle. We put on our running shoes, made our way to registration, hit a few bumps (couldn’t find our name, didn’t put on the tracking device properly, couldn’t find the starting line, etc…) and then started the race.

There was number of obstacle we had to complete in order to finish- if you could not complete the obstacle, it cost 30 burpees… I know…

So here is a list of the obstacle with a rating of 1-10 with difficulty, listed in order of appearance. (based on Emily’s abilities- p.s I’m scared of heights- so that will influence my rating)

1.Wall Jump-

There were different wall hops- some walls you could simply jump over, some walls you needed your teammate to help you, other walls you had to go under, and some were even positioned on a slope to make it more difficult.

Rating: ranges from 1- 4 / 10

2. Climbing a rope letter up and down on a slope wall….

So, this one really freaked me out- it goes up pretty high and you have to not only go up the rope letter but also climb down it. I think climbing down is the harder part. Danielle and Dani finished in no time, and we’re cheering me on to get to the bottom! I was pretty proud of myself for this one, but I lost my cool headband in the process.
Rating: 7 / 10

3. Money Bars on Gymnastics Rings

This is almost impossible for people who lack upper body (arm) strength. Danielle opted to do the 30 burpees, I did half of them, and then Dani said I could walk on her back, completing the obstacle a different style. LOL SORRY DANI! Burpees #1

Rating: 10 / 10

4. Traverse wall

This is a wall in a Z shape with handholds and footholds, you have to make it across only touching the handholds and footholds, then ringing the bell. Sounds pretty easy… you try it!

Rating: 3 / 10

5.Bucket Brigade

You fill a bucket with rocks and you walk…. In watery dirty water… and its heavy…. And your whole body hurts and you just wanna put it down and do the burpees….

Rating: 8.5 / 10

6. Rope Climb

You see a rope and you climb it to ring a bell, no footholds… all upper body strength. I tried and failed…. Burpees #2

Rating: 10/10

7. Atlas Carry

You pick up a 30 pound medicine ball- carry in 3 meters away, drop it, do 5 burpees then bring it back. Without the help of my fellow team mates, I would have not been able to pick the medicine ball up. It starts off on the ground and just using your legs and backs and getting a good grip is nearly impossible, so if I were in the Elite, I would have failed.

Rating: 8/10

8.Barbed Wire Crawl

This one reminds me of the movie cadet Kelly- with Hilary Duff. You have to crawl underneath this really low barbed wire in mud, funnn! You start thinking I am paying to torture myself- basically. It was lots of fun, you tried to avoid the really watery muddy parts, and we got a nice system going that you would use your foot to hold up the wire for the next person if it was super low. We thought that was as muddy and wet we were going to get.

Rating: 6/10

9. Spear Throw

Javelin Throw- you have a big spear and you toss it around 10 meters away and you have to hit the target in order to avoid burpees- oh yeah, YOU ONLY GET ONE TRY…. that’s why so many people were practicing before the race. LUCKILY, I don't know how I did it, but my spear managed to hit the target, makes it way down, and then get stuck on the final loop. I was pretty excited I avoid burpees one more time.

Rating: You either get it or burpees.

10. Muddy Plunge

This is the opposite of the wall jump. There is a huge hole filled with water, and a wall placed that you have about 2 feet under. You have to get into this muddy water, and fully submerge yourself under. So, you can all wet!!!!! The barbed wire crawl looks good after seeing this. If you have a teammate that forces you to do it then it’s not probably. Danielle didn’t hesitate, she just jumped it !

Rating: You either take the easy way and do it or you pay 30 burpees

11. Hercules Host

There a rope and you have to pull a big bag of dirt/rocks (something heavy) up to the top to ring the bell. It’s pretty easy and straight forever, you should use your whole body strength instead of just your arms, and you’ll do it just fine!

Rating: 2/10

12. Normal Monkey Bars

YAYY, Normal Monkey Bars, I can actually do these, all that playground time payed off- No burpees for me LOL :)

Rating: 8/10

There were a few more that I didn’t mention and they were pretty easy and standard. We completed the race in just under 1 hour and 30 minutes and it felt soooo great! It was so much fun to overcome all these obstacles and encourage/help your teammates. If I didn’t have my friends with me, I would not have been able to do many obstacles. It sure teaches you teamwork and perseverance. I think I got a new hobby, next time, I might train a little harder. If you haven’t done a race like this- I highly recommend it, it’s nothing like you have done before.

And if you know any other races that I should do PLEASE message- I want to travel the world and register for runs all over the place! There is another spartan race coming to Taipei in May, and I will be registering and trying to be my old time!!!!

Feeling strong :)