So as I stated in an earlier post, my goal is to get at least a 3X Spartan Trifecta this year. To do that, I obviously have to get 3 Spartan Beast races in. Well that’s not always easy to do on a budget since several of them are quite far away, which means extra travel costs. The closest one is in NJ on the 29th and 30th.

My plan is to do the race on both days, thereby getting 2 of my 3 beasts necessary for my Trifecta completed. However, doing back to back beasts is no easy task. We’re talking about 15 miles of mountains and 30 obstacles each day.

I’ve been really pushing myself to get in as much trail running as I can. Luckily my local South Mountain has some pretty steep trails with good elevation to practice on. I upgraded this year to the Saucony Peregrine 7. They have been amazing to run with, even at Greek Peak with the snow and ice I still felt like I had good grip.

In addition, I’ve been making it a point to get in some bucket carry work at my Spartan class every week. That’s always been a tough obstacle for me, so it’s been a focus of mine for awhile now. Hoping to build up my endurance so I don’t have to keep putting it down as often as I was in previous races.

When I do regular road runs, I run with my weighted vest. It goes up to 20lbs and it has a good tight fit so it doesn’t jostle around when I’m running. I even do some interval training with it on, and it still does not move very much. Wearing the vest while running and doing HIIT has definitely helped make noticeable differences to my training, because when I’m not wearing it, I feel much lighter and faster.

Plate carries while on a treadmill was also a suggestion by other Spartan racers that I’ve added into my training. I prefer to do my running outdoors, but when the weather doesn’t allow for that, i do my running on a treadmill and incorporate weight into it. I’ll carry the plates for 5 minutes straight at a walk speed, put them down, then run for 5 minutes. Repeat that for 30-60 minutes, and you have a workout that will leave your hands and arms exhausted. Great way to work on grip strength too.

My workout schedule is tentative based on my work schedule, but I always get 4 days of training in a week. Mondays are my Spartan Class at Urban Fit. Wednesdays are my trail running days at South Mountain. I’m usually there for about 90 to 120 minutes. Saturdays and Sundays are my lifting days, and I usually get in a couple miles in on some local roads. Nothing too fancy but stepping it up a little to be prepared for these upcoming races.

That’s all for today. Any questions or comments are appreciated! AROO!!