I have always had an affinity for sports, fitness, and the outdoors. For this reason I chose the profession I did as a Certified Athletic Trainer. I mentioned in my introduction blog that I am a husband and father of 2 beautiful little girls and as most men can attest to, I allowed myself to become complacent after my first child was born. As such, I developed poor eating habits coupled with a poor exercise regimen which only consisted of getting dressed in the morning and walking from my car to my job, I gained 30 pounds in no time. When the weight was gained, and with my desire to exercise all but diminished, I fell into a deep depression that was the lowest part of my life. Even with my educational background and working with Athletes on a daily basis, I struggled to cope and couldn't find a way out of the situation I put myself in. At the time I had 1 daughter and one more on the way and knew I needed to make serious changes in my life if I wanted to not only be around long enough to see them grow old, but also to be the type of father they deserve. I knew a change was in store, but I didn't know how until I was introduced to the +Spartan Race .
Introduction to Spartan Race
I decided that I needed a goal of some sort to motivate me into making a complete lifestyle overhaul. One night while reading friends posts on Facebook I saw an advertisement for The Spartan Race and thought, "wow those people are out of their minds". Curiosity got the best of me and I clicked on the link and watched a video of people of all ages, shapes, and sizes running in the mud, and completing awesome looking obstacles. I was in complete awe and thought that I would love to be able to do something like that one day. Having never run further than a mile in my life, my self defeating mindset at the time convinced me to close the link and never think about it again. It wasn't until a couple of months later (in January) that I saw a post for a Spartan Race in Midway Utah. I again pulled up the website and realized that even though this event is close to my house, I would never be able to complete a 4 mile Spartan Sprint let alone a 12 mile Spartan Beast which this one is. Then I saw that there was an option to run a 3 person relay on the same course and decided right then and there that I was going to find 2 friends to sign up with me and use this as my motivation to change my life. I was able to find 2 friends who committed to running the race with me and then I began a slow and painful journey of getting ready for the Utah Spartan Beast in June of 2012.
Training
I began running 3 days a week outside and hated every minute of it (I was a Sprinter in High School and had no knowledge of pace and the stride necessary to run long distances). I began working out 3 days a week by doing the Men's Health Spartacus Workout which was absolutely the most difficult exercise routine I had done in my life prior to being overweight and during that time. With less than 6 months of preparation time, I knew I had to keep my nose to the grindstone so I could prove to my family, friends, and most important myself that I was going to complete this race and earn my finisher medal. Little by little, I was able to make improvements both in the gym and on the road. I completed a 5K distance run for the first time in my life in February of 2012. It was the most gratifying and difficult milestone of my life, but I did it. With every step forward there were two steps backwards, but I kept going and kept improving.
The Setback
Then in April as I was consistently improving on my 5K time, I found out that the two friends supposedly going to run with me backed out and left me without a team. I was completely devastated knowing that the main source of my motivation to change my life was no longer a reality. Having not been able to find replacements, I emailed Spartan Race and asked them what I could do. They said I could keep looking and take the chance of not finding a team or I could run the whole 12 mile distance by myself. Despair instantly set in knowing how hard it was for me to even reach 3 miles and with only 2 months to go, I knew there was no way I could do this, but the lady I spoke with talked me into changing my registration to the full race and told me just to do my best even if I had to walk a majority of it. If this event would have happened even 2 months earlier I would have just quit and given up on ever getting in shape again, but I decided to do my best and keep training. Slowly but surely I started adding more miles to my runs, painstakingly so, and finally I reached 8 miles in 1 run. Then came 10 miles, and finally 11 miles. I was a man possessed and decided that I would finish the race somehow after having worked so hard to get to where I was.
Utah Spartan Beast June 30th 2012
The day came and I knew I had trained as hard as I possibly could. I arrived at the race location 2 hours prior to the event to check in and get my race packet. I was both nervous and excited at the same time as I have never attempted anything like this in my life. I was immediately drawn to the intense atmosphere and was amazed to see different people of all shapes, sizes, and walks of life. I met people not only from Utah but from all over the country and the world at this race. There were people from California, North Dakota, Florida, New York, and a couple from Australia. A vast majority of the people I met were Spartan Race Veterans and travel all over to participate in the events. They gave me great advice and just told me to have fun. For me prior to participating in a Spartan Race, it was an intimidating thought having seen the videos of amazing OCR (Obstacle Course Race) athletes climbing ropes and jumping over fire. What I realized when I spoke with various competitors is that it is all about having fun, challenging yourself, and finishing the race. Finally when it was my turn to run I stepped up to the line and after the coolest intro from the DJ, we were off racing in the Utah Beast. I won't go into all the details of the race step by step, but needless to say it was the most challenging experience of my life, but it was also the most enjoyable and gratifying experiences I've ever had (for specific information about the obstacles specific to the Utah Beast leave me a message and I'll answer any questions you have). People were helping each other over the obstacles and giving each other guidance and moral support the entire duration of the race. The camaraderie was fantastic and I am honored to have had the experience to race with these amazing people. I finished the race in just over 2 hours and 30 minutes which was well faster than the goal I set for myself of completing the race in 3 1/2 hours. I finished 232 overall and could not wait to sign up for the race for 2013. I will be running at least 3 races in 2013 and have a new ongoing goal of living the Spartan Code and working hard everyday in preparation for the next Spartan Race.
Spartan Race Street Team
As I mentioned above, living the Spartan Code means more than exercising and lifting weights. It is a lifestyle that is portrayed in the many volunteers like myself who spread the Spartan Gospel as the Spartan Race Street Team. If you want to challenge yourself like you never have before sign up for a Spartan Race near you. There are over 30 races schedule in the US during 2013 and even more all over the world. If you are up for the challenge or want to find out more about the Spartan Race click here: Spartan Race . By using this link you will be able to save 15% off of your registration for an event that will provide the motivation you need to change your life.
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