Time for the third instalment in the Spartan Race UK Age Group Regional Series, hosted at Spartan South West. The spectacular Badminton Estate played host for the first time, providing a new challenge on the calendar. This turned out to be a very enjoyable course to race on, erasing the memories of what I coined Muddy Hell at Spartan Midlands.
Race three of the series was the Beast distance and once again, I was only competing in the race that mattered. With the fact that the Sprint was in the afternoon, you may think that it wouldn’t have affected my meaningful race and you’d be right. It would however affect my bank account and with the Spartan Trifecta World Championships and World Championships coming up, I need to save every penny that I’ve got! (Unless someone reading this fancies sponsoring an athlete…)
If you’re new to my race review series for 2023, I’ve already given you the link for race two, and if you want to go back to the beginning with race one, you can find that here.
Either go and catch up on the season thus far or, if you’re up to speed already, let’s get straight into things.
Warm up complete. Bag dropped off. Toe on the start line (or as close as possible…). Final pre-race speech to myself completed. Focus mode engaged.
Over to Spartan Phil with those famous words:
“On my mark! In 3, 2, 1, LET BATTLE COMMENCE!”
How Did The Race Go?
The initial hundred metres were a bit of a hustle and bustle as everyone vied for the best position to get to the front for Over Under Through before settling into things. I was able to get out to the front and be joint first into it, this time styling the Under out with a slide.
I popped out of the other side, controlled the adrenaline surge I had and focused on the breathing so that my pace was right, allowing the flow to come. The course on a whole was relatively flat, allowing a good flow to be achieved straight away. Before I knew it, the 8ft wall was completed and we were into a decent stretch of cross country before the barb wire crawl. To put into perspective how quick this course was, my initial mile was around 6:20 per mile! To make things a little more challenging, there were a variety of twists, turns and foliage to run through during these initial sections.
My first slip up on the course and obstacle failure was that of the slack line. With this only being my second attempt at it ever during a Spartan Race, I tried to attack it and whatever tactic I was going for (the one foot on and jump) simply didn’t work. It was a lot more slack than I’d heard, causing my foot to come straight off. Penalty loop for me. This was enough to allow Liam, my closest rival during this season, into the lead of the race.
The hunter and the hunted had swapped places.
Personally, I find this can be an easier place to be in. Concentrating on reeling someone in can be easier when you’re always looking forward whereas when you’re out front on your own, unless you’re looking back, judging where you are against them can be tough. This could be something that I need to work on mentally when out front in future.
With that new focus, things changed to me increasing the pace to close the gap whilst making sure that I didn’t push it too much and taking myself out of the game or took any unnecessary risks.
Over the course of the next few miles, I closed the gap bit by bit, reaching parity by the first sandbag carry. Conscious that this is one of my stronger obstacles compared to the more technical ones, I wanted to use this to my advantage as much as I could, pulling out a small lead again.
For the next several miles, I could “feel” Liam behind me the whole way, with the gap growing to what must have been a maximum of an obstacle’s worth. It was a constant cycle of trying to open a gap, trying not to look behind me, getting to an obstacle and completing it, to see Liam entering as I popped out.
Things were tight between us and he kept me true for pretty much all of this race, always there within striking distance. One mistake and penalty loop for me, and the lead would be gone. I needed to be on top form with every step and every obstacle, concentrating with every stride.
Moving into the last third of the race, this is where I started to notice that the lead was increasing bit by bit. The gaps of me leaving an obstacle and him coming into them were getting longer and longer each time. Thankfully, I had the new target of reeling in some of the Elite back markers and with the boost knowing that I was able to increase the gap, I picked up the pace to the limit to try and solidify the advantage, anticipating a charge from him.
As the watch was clicking up closer to the 13-mile mark and I could hear the race village, I knew the end was near. This sound was magnetising, drawing me in and giving me that final extra boost to come across the line in a strong manner.
Going through each obstacle with care and as much speed as I was willing to, they were being ticked off one by one. Another couple of long carries appeared (which I loved); some of the technical hanging obstacles; the dreaded spear throw which I… absolutely NAILED; the Capital A Frame and then the final multi-rig.
On to the first ring. To the second. Onto the third before grabbing the bar. I shimmied along and reached for the rope…
DOWN!
Off I came and the panic of losing it all at the end took over! The penalty loop was a log carry under two cargo nets. A very good penalty to ensure that there was a benefit to completing the obstacle, even if I was having to take it.
I couldn’t lose it in this manner, not at the final hurdle!
I pushed through as quickly as I could, checking over my shoulder with every other step in the hope that I didn’t see Liam coming over the top of that A Frame! Thankfully, my worst fear didn’t manifest itself, and I was through the penalty. As I threw down the log, I took one final glance to my right to look out for Liam. When there was no sign of him, it finally set in that I’d won.
Running towards the fire jump with my countdown to the camera to get that trademark finishing pose, I ran across the line, stopped the watch and let an almighty shout of elation.
I’d done it. I’d won it. And it was a performance that I felt that I could be proud of.
I was satisfied with that one.
I waited for 2nd and 3rd to cross the line to congratulate them and see how their race had gone, before getting myself some post-race nutrition and be ready for the podium.
Lessons Learnt
Even after a successful race like this one, there are always lessons to be found so that you can progress. You’re never perfect. There’s always something to learn from race day and improve, even if it’s something minor or a small tweak. That, or it’s confirmation that what you may have tried either worked or didn’t.
If you’re not moving forward, you’re going backwards. Especially to those you’re competing against if they are ever improving.
Keeping Your Head In The Game
For longer races, sometimes it is hard for you to not lose your head and let things slip. Sometimes, literally, if you’re not careful and end up with a penalty! With some longer back to back miles without obstacles breaking things up, you can end up on your own and the mind can wander if you’re not careful.
This can either be a positive where you are in a true flow state, enjoying your running and moving along in a smooth and fast way. Or it can be negative, where you are thinking about that pain in your leg, how long have you really got to go and how a close competitor may be doing.
My advice for this is to have one of two thought patterns:
- Concentrating on the rhythm of your breathing and pace without looking at the watch. This will stop the mind wandering and will keep you in a comfortable position without blowing up too soon. Bringing the focus internally takes it away from the external.
- Concentrate on your aims and what you’re wanting to achieve. If you’re competing but on your own at that moment with no reference, whether in front or behind, reminding yourself of any time lost can affect your final series position can keep your head in the game.
Then when it comes to obstacles, no matter where you are at or what you’re trying to achieve, concentrating on that obstacle is key. Slow things down, control yourself through it and most importantly, make sure you hit that bell!
As I’ve found out, there’s nothing worse than going for the bell, thinking you’ve got it and then missing it.
Base Miles Are Key
I think this goes without saying sometimes but on the flip side, some people can easily concentrate on the strength and technique side of an OCR, neglecting the cardiovascular side.
However, having a good cardiovascular base will give you two things. Firstly, it will allow you to have the capacity to cover the mileage a lot more comfortably without your endurance being significantly affected. It will improve your running efficiency and your aerobic efficiency too, meaning that you won’t run out of energy too quickly and need to load up on a tonne of gels.
Alongside this, when adding in a good VO2 max, you will be able to keep the speed going through the obstacles without blowing up or needing to take a breather as you arrive, or affecting your recovery as you go back into the running, especially if it’s a particularly taxing obstacle.
So as you head towards a race, having a a decent mileage across several weeks is essential. Making sure that you keep this in zone 2 or “easy” range is essential. The rough range is that 60-70% of your weekly mileage should be in this zone. Add in one or two speed/interval/threshold every week and you’ll be good to go to have a strong performance that you will be proud of.
It's Never Too Late To Get Ready
My preparations going into this race started off well after the previous one before becoming a very mixed bag of quality training sessions and just scraping through my daily 2 mile minimum. Poor sleep routine and allowing little things to manifest with physiological discomforts didn’t help. Add in some poor diet choices and non-optimised hormones and you have a potential recipe for a race day disaster.
Really, I had three options in this situation. I could either:
- Let things get me down, accept that all hope was lost from losing out on at least a collective of 2-3 weeks worth of quality training days.
- Try and cram in too much into the last week trying to make up for lost time, which would have resulted in me burning myself out and being fatigued on race day.
- Accept the past, learn from it and concentrate on the final week of preparation in the correct way and bring the freshest version of myself to the start line.
The option that I decided to go for was the third one. This meant that I was able to conduct an appropriate taper, rest and recuperate, bringing about the best version I could, given the circumstances in the weeks prior. In the past for other races, I have chosen options 1 and 2, leaving me in a position whereby the following races were terrible and disappointing.
Option 3 is 100% recommendation if you are in the same situation leading up to a race. You’ll thank me for it after!
Rituals Are Key
Usually I give you only three lessons in these blogs but I’m feeling generous (more that I couldn’t weigh up which I wanted to omit) and this one is all about finding yourself a routine or ritual prior to an event or race to help you get into “the zone”. This is something that can be transferred to any other sport that you may be competing in.
It can be very easy for you to get into your head about a race, especially when you’re competing competitively and have a set result you’re hoping to achieve whilst you’re out on course. You’ll end up with a variety of self sabotaging thoughts in your head, such as:
- “Have I trained hard enough?”
- “What if X beats me?”
- “Will I be able to do all the obstacles?”
- “I shouldn’t have missed that run two weeks ago!”
- “I haven’t done near enough training, can I really do it?”
There are plenty more that will pop into your head the night before, increasing your stress levels and the nerves that you have going on. This will not only make you reluctant to take on the task but will likely ruin your sleep and eating the night before, setting you up in the worst way.
Along with all this thinking, you’ll set yourself up to potentially forget something simple but key for the big day from thinking about all these other things. The added stress of forgetting that thing will only make things worse.
This is where a routine comes into play, taking away all these extra unnecessary thoughts and allows you to think about only the task at hand. This will de-stress you and make sure that you do everything you need to do by going into autopilot. Having something familiar to fall back on will help you feel more comfortable.
Another bonus of a routine is when you find that formula that works for you, you can keep repeating that knowing it will give you the best performance possible.
To use me as an example, I have the same routine every time I race to prepare myself in the best way I can. The day/night before I make sure I’m settled into my accommodation at a decent time, head over to a gym to do some active recovery, mobility work and a relaxing sauna session, before returning to do some more stretching, packing for the next day and down regulating for the best sleep I can.
As for the morning, I make sure that I’m up and eating at my set time period before a race, eating the exact same meal, the same pre-race drinks with the same measurements of ingredients. Then head to the race, check-in, have the same pre-race London Nootropics coffee at the same amount of time prior to the start, complete the same stretching routine to the same hype music, drop my bag and then head to the start line.
All ready to rock and roll, in the right shape mentally and physically.
That wraps up another race review from me. Next stop: Pippingford AKA Spartan South East. The season finale. With the Age Group Regional Series perfectly poised, this race essentially becomes winner takes all between myself and my closest rival Liam on who will raise the gold delta for the regional series.
I think it’s a perfect way for the season to finish and with the challenge that Pippingford will bring, there’s no better course to host such a decider.
To be anywhere near being able to come out on top, training needs to be on point, diet needs to be on point, routine and self maintenance needs to be on point.
Everything is planned out, it’s time to do one thing, as taught by the fantastic Chadd Wright:
Execute. Execute. Execute.
AROO!
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