Spartan Beast Killington Vermont 2016

Well that was the hardest race I have ever done for sure!!

>>SCROLL DOWN TO BOTTOM FOR GPS MAPS<<

I wanted to put up a post while the race was fresh in my head and get all the info on the course from my Garmin Forerunner 920XT which I still need to do a review on. Anyways…. scroll down to see the satellite and terrain maps of the course and as always feel free to leave any comments below. Would love to hear what you thought about the race and how you did!

In the end the course took me 6 hours 32 minutes, & 49 seconds to complete! YIKES!! During a lot of the race I was really disappointed with myself just for the fact that I thought I had really prepared for this race and I was taking more breaks than ever before. I had already done the Tri State Beast in April, 2 sprints in Tuxedo NY in June, and the Super in Palmerton in July. Overall the races were always tough, but I felt like the hills were getting easier and I was recovering better.  I had really been rocking out some Yancy Camp Workouts as well. TOO BAD!! The Vermont BEAST had other plans for me lol!

I talked to a lot of people who said how tough Killington was, but I guess you never really know until you try it. So back to being disappointed. I guess what I really mean is…. it was tough and I wish I had just done a bit more to be ready. Nobody should be disappointed if they finished this race no matter how long it took. I know there were a lot of people that DNF “did not finish” especially in the ULTRA. So again don't be disappointed even if you attempted it!

In the end I felt good about where I placed in the competitive heat.

Obstacles

Rope Hang Attachment I Made

I failed 3 obstacles

• Tarzan Swing
  • I wanted this one really bad! Got up the ladder, felt strong when I was hanging from the rope, but my grip just slipped and splash I went. Doing burpees in the uneven mud was not fun 😉
  • 0 for 1 with this one! Next year!
• Spear Throw
  • I don't even want to talk about it! I love the spear throw! I practice it in my yard as you can see from this video https://youtu.be/aCEXCuKjguM I definitely rushed this one. Just like any obstacle I should have took a bit more time to find the best spot to do it. It was on a bit of a hill, I didn't set myself and I just sliced the side! Not a good time for burpees considering it was right at the end of the race and right before…. log carry, inverted wall, atlas carry, and the rig! Yeah all pretty close together!
  • Still 8 for 10 in the spear throw overall!
• The RIG
  • Another one I wanted really badly! Again just didn't get a good grip and slipped. That was it! Even made some rope hangers to practice on which you can see to the right!>>
  • 1 for 5.. time to figure this one out!

All the other obstacles I did well on! The ZWALL was always a struggle for me, but I have passed them the last few races. The rope traverse always shreds my ankles because I refuse to learn proper technique! LOL! Instead I just drag my ankle along the line. This year I actually had socks that were higher and I put a few strips of athletic fabric tape where I had sliced up my ankle and it worked! Just a tiny bit of rope burn. Probably time to start learning proper technique huh?

All the carries were tough… the bucket brigade, the log carry, and the sand bag carry! Took a lot of breaks, but I never ever put the bucket, log, or sand bag down. I see so many people do that and it takes so much energy to pick them back up. I like to sort of lunge uphill and rest whatever it is on my leg.

The Course Itself?

It was relentless! The incline grade on these slopes were insane. On the wood/trail sections you were going up, up and up, but there were sections that you were literally climbing and just when you thought you were close to the end you pretty much did a 4,000 foot climb right up to the peak. If you look on the map below it was the Cascade and Flume section. I think that was the most I have ever seen people taking breaks myself included!

Why I Love It?

In the end there were so many times not only in this race, but others where I would say jeez this is not fair or this is ridiculous! Why would you make a course like this! Another hill! This is stupid! LOL I guess that is the point though right? If it were easy everyone would do it! That is what I love about the Spartan Race. It pushes you the whole time!

Memory Test? Do You Remember Yours?

• VICTOR 171-8838
• Too bad they didn't even ask for it!! hahahaha well played… well played.
• There was no way I was doing burpees for that so I stared at it and repeated it over and over again!!

Future Preparation?

• I have a nordictrack incline trainer that goes to 40% so you would think I would have been ready! Well your tools are only good if you use them and use them the right way. I have to up my game for sure on that.
• I really need to look over all the training I did this past few months and just go over what was working well for me and when I was feeling good and what banged me up.
• Also I think a huge thing for me is TAPERING the correct way. I do it all the time where I do a pretty intense run/workout a week before and I just don't feel fresh. I have read a lot of things on tapering and a big part of that is of course knowing your body!

With that said I am doing the Super Spartan at Mt Creek in Vernon NJ on October 22. I feel like anything after Killington is going to be a lot easier and I have done most of my Spartan races at Mt Creek I am on a mission! I am going to race the competitive heat. I want to finish in the top 30 overall. I know it will be tough, but hey you gotta have goals! I have got just about 5 weeks before the race and have to figure out the training schedule since as I sit here typing this every inch of my body is sore from the BEAST! agh… wish me luck!

Check out the maps below…. leave a comment below. Would love to hear how you did!

Click On The Thumbnails For Bigger Images. There is a Road Map, Satellite Map, and Terrain Map that was pulled from Garmin Connect using my Forerunner 920XT

Panorama Shot