Tri-State Spartan Beast...

McCloud33

Anyone else running it this weekend? Have you run it in the past? How'd you do and/or what's your goal for this one?

I'm running with my brother and we're shooting for 4-4.5 hrs. He ran the super last year...this is my first Spartan ever

AverageJoeFit

Holy cow you are starting with a Beast. Go you. You might as well try for the Trifecta since the beast is the longest.

I'm not one that side of the country I would sign up with you.

Good luck and have fun

JayWalk39

Saving my first Beast for Killington in September! Good luck!

aub6689

I've done a Spartan beast. It was fun, except it was over 100 degrees and they ran out of water. That being said, you look like you are in good shape, I think you could complete it in 3-3.5 hours. I finished in that range and I wasn't in peak athletic condition (granted I had done a couple half marathons previously).

Where is the trifecta and what is the landscape like? Our course was vastly uphill which made it a bit more challenging at times.

AverageJoeFit

Trifecta is just doing all three distences in one year.

So i am of the opinion that if you do a beast it is all downhill from there.

I'm doing the Trifecta next year on the westcoast. Super in April, Sprint in August and Beast in October. I'm so freaking excited

McCloud33

My beast is the Tri-State in Vernon NJ on a ski slope...so it's going to be a lot of hills. I live in a fairly hilly/mountainous area so at least I've been training on some hills. Weather is supposed to be mid-60s, partly sunny, and lower humidity, so about as good as I could ask for. Bringing water and GU packets for energy.

I might still go for the trifecta, but we'll see how this goes and how my schedule works out for the rest of the year.

Pam_Shebamm

My boyfriend ran the Killington Beast last year in about 5 hours, which is pretty impressive. Depends on your athletic ability and how many burpees you get stuck doing, his friends took about 8 hours.

He'll be there Saturday for UltraBeast. I plan on doing my first (a sprint) in June.

McCloud33

So I ended up finishing in 6:02 with my brother. I might have been able to go a little faster without him, but once the cramps set in, it was rough going. From everything I've read since the race, it's one of, if not the hardest beast that Spartan has put together and nothing like the one they had there last year. Only missed one obstacle (spear throw...hit the bale and glanced off) so only had to do 30 burpees. I'd be interested what your bf's thoughts were @Chi_Warrior

Glad it's over and now I'm thinking of going ahead with the trifecta, since they should be nothing compared to this one.

Pam_Shebamm

McCloud33 wrote: »

So I ended up finishing in 6:02 with my brother. I might have been able to go a little faster without him, but once the cramps set in, it was rough going. From everything I've read since the race, it's one of, if not the hardest beast that Spartan has put together and nothing like the one they had there last year. Only missed one obstacle (spear throw...hit the bale and glanced off) so only had to do 30 burpees. I'd be interested what your bf's thoughts were @Chi_Warrior

Glad it's over and now I'm thinking of going ahead with the trifecta, since they should be nothing compared to this one.

That's awesome. Great job. He hasn't given me the full run-down about it yet but he thought it was rough as well. He did the Ultra in 9:08 and was planning on running the single Beast again yesterday but he said he couldn't get out of bed. Hahaha.

McCloud33

@Chi_Warrior Mad props to him. That is a great time. I guess Sunday, the course was even harder because of the rain and drop in temperature, so he might be happy he didn't run it.

esjones12

@Chi_Warrior your BF is a beast. Those times are super impressive.

I unfortunately had to pull out of the Beast this weekend...lingering knee issues. Whomp. But I have bigger, more important races coming up later in the season and didn't want to risk injury. Had a TON of friends run it though. If anyone is in the SE PA area and is looking for a training group I highly recommend you check out: www.thecrewocr.com

Pam_Shebamm

esjones12 wrote: »

@Chi_Warrior your BF is a beast. Those times are super impressive.

I unfortunately had to pull out of the Beast this weekend...lingering knee issues. Whomp. But I have bigger, more important races coming up later in the season and didn't want to risk injury. Had a TON of friends run it though. If anyone is in the SE PA area and is looking for a training group I highly recommend you check out: www.thecrewocr.com

Oh yeah. He's crazy impressive. He came in like 17th overall for it. I'm convinced he's actually insane.

McCloud33

Sorry to hear that @esjones12 It would not have been a good course with knee issues anyway. all of the single-track trails, loose rocks and steep declines were a bear. This was my first ever Spartan and while I knew it was going to be hard, I completely underestimated it. I'm planning on running the Super at Wintergreen VA and hear that one is a tough mountain course too, so I can't wait to train now and try and kill that course. I was flying through the first three miles of the NJ Beast until my quads started cramping. That and I was doing it with my brother and it seemed like every time one of us was ready to run, the other one started cramping I'm going to run Wintergreen alone so hopefully I won't have anyone to blame but myself for my time. If it was just me last Saturday, I think I could have done 5-5.5hrs even with the cramps. I was waiting on my bro several times. All of that being said, we were still top 15-20% of finishers.

@chi_warrior I think anyone doing the ultra with the intention of running the beast the next day is actually insane LOL

McCloud33

Some of my pictures from the race





Gotta love the perfect snot rockets coming out of both nostrils after coming up out of the water

giantrobot_powerlifting

Sweet @McCloud33 and well done!

McCloud33

Thanks @nakedraygun Already looking towards finishing out the three race trifecta in Aug/Sept. Might have caught the OCR bug.

Pam_Shebamm

McCloud33 wrote: »

Thanks @nakedraygun Already looking towards finishing out the three race trifecta in Aug/Sept. Might have caught the OCR bug.

It's the best bug! I went ahead and added the Boston Super and Carolina Beast to my list. Because why not?

AverageJoeFit

Nice pictures were they the official ones or did you have someone taking pictures of you?

I'm super excited for the sprint in Aug ands my trifecta next year.

Really you should totally do the trifecta. I mean the hardest part is done and begins you.

McCloud33

@Loomisj72 they were just the official pictures from the race. I'm at like 90% for doing the trifecta right now. More than anything I'm debating whether I want to try elite for one or both of them. Now that I know what I'm up against, I think I could train for it a lot better.

esjones12

McCloud33 wrote: »

Sorry to hear that @esjones12 It would not have been a good course with knee issues anyway. all of the single-track trails, loose rocks and steep declines were a bear. This was my first ever Spartan and while I knew it was going to be hard, I completely underestimated it. I'm planning on running the Super at Wintergreen VA and hear that one is a tough mountain course too, so I can't wait to train now and try and kill that course. I was flying through the first three miles of the NJ Beast until my quads started cramping. That and I was doing it with my brother and it seemed like every time one of us was ready to run, the other one started cramping I'm going to run Wintergreen alone so hopefully I won't have anyone to blame but myself for my time. If it was just me last Saturday, I think I could have done 5-5.5hrs even with the cramps. I was waiting on my bro several times. All of that being said, we were still top 15-20% of finishers.

@McCloud33 - I raced on Mt. Vernon twice last year, I knew what I was avoiding when I made the decision lol. I'll be at Wintergreen again this year - it is definitely a hard course. The elevation is worse than Mt. Vernon by far. This is easily the most beautiful venue that I've raced though. Absolutely breathtaking and I can't wait to race it again this year. My profile pic is from last year there. Definitely focus on incline training You've got plenty of time to train hard and crush it.

aub6689

Congrats on finishing! I should have mentioned the cramping. I ended up sitting in the mud massaging a buddy's calf and we were all taking shots of table salt (it was all the first aid people had). The beast I did was in Utah, so I have no idea if it was comparable to yours, but I also had to do burpees on the damn spear throw too! I was thinking about doing the Wintergreen VA super if I can convince some friends. I know they won't be up to do a beast with me again, but I might be able to convince them to do a super.

CrossfitOCRunner

Why am I just seeing this thread!?!?! I was there and by your picutres, I think we are FB friends. It was a great event. Tough. Sunday was CRAZY!! Any other Spartan/OCR people def add me! AROO!

McCloud33

Definitely signed up for the Wintergreen Super now!!! And I went ahead and did the elite heat. Now I just have to train. That being said, here's my plan for training...what do you think?

Noelani1503

amyrebeccah wrote: »

I've only ever done a Sprint, so cramping wasn't an issue, but I heard that mustard packets are a good easy way to get enough salt to stop cramps. Easier to get down, supposedly.

I just had a neurologist tell me last weekend that she believes the turmeric in mustard has an effect on cramps too. While she was running a bunch of packets into a patient's room lol.

Following because I really want to do one of these when I build up some more strength and endurance. I have no idea how to train for some of the obstacles though. I don't exactly have a crude spear lying around.

McCloud33

@Noelani1503 you can do it. Most of the obstacles don't require "skill" and are more just mind over body (walls, water crossings, gravel bucket, hills). The ones that are more skill oriented and may take some training if you don't want to do burpees would be rope climb, monkey bars, rig (this is some combination of bar, rings, and ropes that you have to traverse), z-wall (rock climbing type wall with 2x4's as hand holds), and the infamous spear throw. For the spear throw, you can buy a shovel handle or something from the home improvement store and practice throwing that.

Other than that, just being strong and able to run are your two biggest things. I lift weights regularly and didn't really have any trouble with the strength exercises. For me, my training is going to focus more on mountains. I ran hills, but no amount of road running was going to prepare me for that course. If it's your first or you live in a flat area, I'd not recommend doing a Spartan beast on a mountain course for your first one LOL. But once you do and survive like I did, you know that any of the rest of the races are possible.

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esjones12

amyrebeccah wrote: »

I've only ever done a Sprint, so cramping wasn't an issue, but I heard that mustard packets are a good easy way to get enough salt to stop cramps. Easier to get down, supposedly.

There are various ways to stop cramps once they start - salt and mustard actually trick the brain into releasing the cramp. Cramps happen because you push the body past what it is ready for. This can be done in a Sprint if you push too hard. I've gotten cramps at all 3 distances of a Spartan races and I've gone through all 3 distances without cramps. It is how hard you are pushing and your training leading up to it. Google Ben Greenfield and cramping to find good research behind this.

Noelani1503 wrote: »

Following because I really want to do one of these when I build up some more strength and endurance. I have no idea how to train for some of the obstacles though. I don't exactly have a crude spear lying around.

Most obstacles actually are technique based. And you get better at them by doing them. You can do this at races or finding a gym that has access to some of the equipment (OCR, ANW, or some crossfit boxes). That being said I highly recommend you just work on getting in the best shape you can and going out and having fun on your first race. You will have a much better understanding of how to train once you are out there and find your individual weaknesses. Becoming faster and stronger will get you through the race much easier than being slow and being an ace at the obstacles. Oh, and you can easily make your own spear for cheap....check out my blog post about how to do it: http://www.pushinglimitsocr.com/home/how-to-make-a-spartan-spear

esjones12

amyrebeccah wrote: »

Appreciate the thought. I race in Phoenix and the heat is always an x factor. I have a hard time with it, but I've actually never cramped doing any kind of heavy physical activity (Now the blinding headaches that follow, that's a different story. ;-) ) . Just passing along information I learned.

Are you training in the heat? Hydration and electrolyte replenishment are definitely your friend. But getting your body used to spending a few hours of movement in the heat is key.

ew_david

amyrebeccah wrote: »

esjones12 wrote: »

amyrebeccah wrote: »

Appreciate the thought. I race in Phoenix and the heat is always an x factor. I have a hard time with it, but I've actually never cramped doing any kind of heavy physical activity (Now the blinding headaches that follow, that's a different story. ;-) ) . Just passing along information I learned.

Are you training in the heat? Hydration and electrolyte replenishment are definitely your friend. But getting your body used to spending a few hours of movement in the heat is key.

Yes. And I've never been able to entirely get used to the heat (I've lived in Phoenix for ten years now). Even my Sprint, which I ran on Feb 27, was hot, and I had trained regularly for it outside. So I still got dizzy at times, and I still got a bad headache after. I have low blood pressure and this is relatively common for me, no matter how many good pieces of well-meaning advice I might get (and follow).

Again, I was just passing along a tip that I had learned, since looking down at someone cramping in the middle of a race and saying "you know, this is really a training issue" is probably not that helpful at solving the immediate problem.

That race was so hot. SO. HOT.

I have cramping issues. Along with upping my hydration and making sure I've trained well, I start taking potassium and magnesium supplements every day for the week leading up to the race. It has helped me immensely.

esjones12

amyrebeccah wrote: »

Again, I was just passing along a tip that I had learned, since looking down at someone cramping in the middle of a race and saying "you know, this is really a training issue" is probably not that helpful at solving the immediate problem.

That's why you throw a salt tab or mustard packet at them and still say "you know this is a training issue" LOL. When I ran open and non-competitively, I always carried extra supplies to hand out.

Too many people don't realize it is actually a training issue and they continually rely on mustard/salt/whatever to help their cramping problems. OCR is fantastic at getting people off the couch and involved in fitness. But the downside is, you see too many uneducated athletes out there hurting themselves, and others by spreading incorrect or "not the whole picture" advice. Certainly not singling you out here....it's just a tangent that social media has caused me to have lol.