Any Spartan Racers out there?

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Doing my first Spartan in a month....aaaahhhhh! Looking for some friends who are training for one or who have done one. Also any tips for making it through!!

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  • Meggers120Now
    Meggers120Now Posts: 74 Member
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    I've done a couple of Tough Mudders and am currently training for another one in June... does that count? :smile:
  • whitney91smith
    whitney91smith Posts: 17 Member
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    I've done 4 Spartan Races and other obstacle course races. I now race in the elite heat and have plans to do 6 obstacle course races this year, 5 of which will be Spartans. I train year round for obstacle course races. I guess you can say I've had some experience with Spartan Races lol. I've been in your shoes before and I know you probably have a million questions so feel free to message me or ask away. I'd be more than happy to help! Don't freak out you're going to have a blast on race day! :)
    Doing my first Spartan in a month....aaaahhhhh! Looking for some friends who are training for one or who have done one. Also any tips for making it through!!

  • lilawolf
    lilawolf Posts: 1,690 Member
    edited March 2017
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    Relax, pace yourself, do your best, ask for help if you need it....Learn how to throw a spear and climb a rope if you don't. You KNOW those will be obstacles... Go run the track/area if at all possible or at least look at pics/google areal view/topo map. The one in my area is done at a BMX park, so I started training hills. I wish I'd gone and looked though, because I would have trained a lot more hills...

    ETA: Burpees and more burpees. Burpees during and after running when you're tired...more burpees.
  • whosaiditwaseasy
    whosaiditwaseasy Posts: 19 Member
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    Yes Tough Mudders do count!

    I guess the reason Im so nervous is Im coming back from a dislocated shoulder that I did a month ago. Before that I was doing great. Unassisted pull ups, monkey bars without problem, 150 push ups a day (triangle, tricep and regular)...my upper body strength was catching up with my lower and now I feel like Ive been set back a whole year with just a month of recovery. I have been in rehab but obviously the tears that I had during my dislocation are still not healed. I sure don't want to miss it. And Im not a cry baby about anything but I doubt my shoulder is going to be at its best in a month from now when I race. Thanks for your replies! Ill just keep training with what I can and do my best on the day!!!
  • lilawolf
    lilawolf Posts: 1,690 Member
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    Have you talked to your doc about your shoulder and what you might be able to do to help protect it? Or modifications that you can do to certain movements? Once you've dislocated, its a lot easier to do it again. I would know.

    In the non elite classes, no one is watching what you do. So if you have to do modded burpees or skip certain things, you can. I saw a LOT of "cheating" when I raced, from people who couldn't all have had invisible injuries/disabilities. Also saw a guy with no left hand race.
  • whosaiditwaseasy
    whosaiditwaseasy Posts: 19 Member
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    I have talked to my ortho, been doing physical therapy and with a stroke of luck, my PT is also a physical therapist so I have everything going for me right now. I will probably strap it with some tape under my clothes and just go with it. And yes, I know that now that Ive done it once there is a good chance of my doing it again which is why I have added shoulder strengthening exercises to my routine. Thanks for the encouragement!!!
  • whitney91smith
    whitney91smith Posts: 17 Member
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    Yes Tough Mudders do count!

    I guess the reason Im so nervous is Im coming back from a dislocated shoulder that I did a month ago. Before that I was doing great. Unassisted pull ups, monkey bars without problem, 150 push ups a day (triangle, tricep and regular)...my upper body strength was catching up with my lower and now I feel like Ive been set back a whole year with just a month of recovery. I have been in rehab but obviously the tears that I had during my dislocation are still not healed. I sure don't want to miss it. And Im not a cry baby about anything but I doubt my shoulder is going to be at its best in a month from now when I race. Thanks for your replies! Ill just keep training with what I can and do my best on the day!!!

    If your running in the open heat don't be afraid to have people help you on things like the monkey bars, walls, the multi rig, etc. that you think will possibly reinjure your shoulder. That's the beauty of the open heat is the teamwork aspect of people helping others. If you see anyone from the Corn Fed Spartan team they're great people and always happy to help a fellow Spartan. If you feel like your cardio is suffering too along with your strength, do HIIT workouts of short sprints for about 20 sec followed by 10 sec of rest and repeat for as long as you want. I usually do about 15 min of those HIIT style runs at a time. That will help you get in shape faster, but it will also build up your endurance in a shorter period of time.

    I hope that helps! Keep training, have fun, and don't be ashamed to ask for help if you need it.