Seattle Super Spartan

Since this is entirely Justin’s event I asked him to type of his thoughts for posterity and he sent me the following:

The whole Spartan idea began with a group email invitation on June 9th from Matt Smith, a friend in the ward and our prior bishop, to participate in the Spartan Super Race, an 8 mile obstacle course, on October 17th in Snohomish.  Holly had recently finished her half marathon so I was intrigued by the idea of a race and didn't immediately rule it out.  Running has never been my thing but I liked the idea of getting in shape.  I knew it would require a lot of effort and after a few days of hemming and hawing and some friends jumping in, I made the commitment.   Ultimately 20 plus guys from the ward plus a few friends signed up for the race.

Luckily I invited Brandon Rowley, who had just moved into the ward, to participate and he was excited to sign up.  He and Mike Gibbs became my exercise buddies.  I knew that completing this race would require greater endurance and strength.  Our regimen was 4-5 runs per week usually split between local trails, laps at the park, and the Mill Pond loop with body weight exercises like pushups, pull-ups, dips, planking, squats and burpees. We started with shorter runs, runs less than 2 miles that were difficult and winded me.  Over the weeks and months, we increased our distances to 6 miles and saw our average mile pace approach and sometimes dip below 9 minute pace.   I mixed in some basketball, ultimate frisbee and hiking along the way for some cross training.

Starting in August we did what would be the equivalent of cross fit workouts on Saturday mornings at Mark Howard's place.  Very challenging.  Runs up the side of the hill.  Gravel bucket carries.  Spear throwing.  Tractor tire tosses.  Kettle bell throws.  Wall climbing.  Rope climbing in the barn.  This is the one I was most intimidated by.  I don't recall ever having been able to climb a rope, not even in grade school, let alone a 20 foot rope.  My first few weeks of trying were very unsuccessful.  But one Saturday I figured out the technique and made it to the top.  Probably one of my most exciting physical accomplishments.  David Eck and I both did it for the first time ever that day.  Pretty cool.

I made a few modifications to my diet but nothing drastic.  I still ate Chick-fil-A at least weekly but less other fast foods and I was more diligent about avoiding sweets in the office and having healthier snacks.  I ate less bread and had slightly smaller portions at some meals.  I found a low carb protein drink that I blended up each morning with a banana, spinach, and ice.  I found out egg whites is a low calorie, no carb, high protein food so incorporated that more often into my menu.

With some modest changes to my caloric intake and a substantial increase in vigorous exercise, I began to shed pounds, an average of about a one pound a week over 5 months.  I have found this to be amazing as I had resolved myself to being around 230.  It has been thrilling to see the weight come off with my record low (15 years) at 209.  Not only have I lost weight but I have become more toned and stronger.  I can do a rep of 50+ pushups, I can climb a rope, and I actually enjoy the running. 

The camaraderie has made all the difference. Having running partners and friends in the neighborhood willing to get up and run at 5:45 a.m. helped make it enjoyable.  The morning sunrises and mild summer mornings can be amazingly scenic here in Snoqualmie. Being outside has allowed me to develop a greater appreciation for the beautiful area we live in. I particularly enjoyed getting together with a bunch of guys on those cross fit Saturdays.  The cool thing about this race was that most of us were not trying to be competitive, we were in it for the team aspect and just for the personal accomplishment of finishing.  

When race day came, I was a little nervous but felt like we had trained and prepared quite diligently.  I was confident about the running and felt like a I had a good chance at completing most of the obstacles.   A few of us started the morning with breakfast at IHOP then drove to Snohomish.  I carpooled with John Phillips, Joel Hammer's neighbor.  We got our start time moved up an hour or so to about 10:15am.  A few of the memories I want to remember form the race include:  finishing all the obstacles but the spear throw (I missed by inches to the right), running through the dead fish along the river, climbing the rope, the coldness of the water from the mud pits, seeing the racer competing without legs, the 1000 foot barbed wire crawl, gravel bucket carry (glad Camden caught my fall and Mike's screech on video).  We finished with a carb protein meal at Teriyaki and More in Bellevue.

Running and completing the race was a pretty amazing experience.  I crossed the finish line and literally felt like my tank was not even close to empty, like I could have done the Beast, which is 5 miles longer.  I experienced minimal injuries and soreness and was back running a couple days later, no time for a break.  I attribute this to my physical training and likely some heavenly protection.

I learned some gospel lessons along the way about the importance of preparation and consistent effort to become strong enough to overcome obstacles.  An interesting thing about the Spartan race is that you don't necessarily know which obstacles will be part of the course so you have to be prepared for anything.  While you can never be fully prepared for the challenges of life, you can prepare and put yourself in the best position to succeed when those difficult times do arrive.  I am really happy I followed this to the end and plan to keep up the routine.  It feels good to be fit, at least significantly fitter than I have been in many many years.