Spartan Race 2019 Alviera

I joined the Spartan Race twice before-- I did the Sprint (6km) in Alviera and the Super (13km) in RD Hill. Training for the race takes a lot of time, patience and dedication, which can sometimes be hard to juggle with work. I decided to join the Spartan Race one last time, the Beast (22km + 30 obstacles) in Alviera last October. 

For my training, I woke up at five to run in the mornings. And on the days that I didn't run, I went to the gym to lift some weights. It was difficult and tiring, but definitely a lot of fun! 

It was incredibly hot on the day of the race, and there were some areas where there was no shade at all. Towards the end of the race, I barely had enough strength to walk. Finishing the Beast was such an achievement for me because I hate running! Also, on this race, I got to convince my brother to join me. Passes for Sprint were sold out so I signed him up for 21km Trail instead.

I'm very thankful for my gym friends who trained and raced with me, and which made the experience much more enjoyable (our group photo at the bottom of this post)!

Spartan Race 2019 RD Hill

A day after my birthday, I flew to Cebu for the Spartan Race. Last year, I entered the Sprint Category in Alviera, Pampanga, where I ran 6km and completed 23 obstacles. This time, I went one level higher and joined the Super Category covering 13km in distance and more obstacles. Although I allotted more time to train for this race (around three weeks) compared to last year where I practically had zero training, I was able to complete more obstacles last year. The terrain in RD Hill in Cebu was very muddy, and every step was a challenge. We had to cross lakes, and rivers, and sometimes had to walk on waist deep mud where your entire legs get stuck with every step. The obstacles were also much more difficult. Because of the mud, the bars, the ropes, and the weights were all very slippery and hard to grip. 

Despite all these, I still had so much fun! The unexpected terrain made the victory much more satisfying. There's another race coming this October and I want to push my limits even further and join the Beast Category. It's a 21km race with 30 obstacles. I also want to complete the Trifecta this year, but the only way to make this possible is if I join the Sprint a day after I complete the Beast. I haven't made up my mind yet, but this is certainly a possibility. I guess we'll just see how it goes!

Spartan Race 2018 Alviera

In my previous post, I mentioned that I would be joining the Spartan Race this February 24 at Alviera, Pampanga. In fact, I joined the Sprint which covered 6km distance and included around 23 obstacles. And yup, you guessed it, I emerged VICTORIOUS!! 

To tell you the truth though, I was hell bent on backing out when I was there. Five minutes before the start time, I haven't applied sunblock, haven't worn any of the race bands, and haven't gone to the restroom to pee (btw, didn't get a chance to pee until after I finished the race lol)! It was 1pm, everybody already started running while I was still at the starting line, hastily applying sunblock all over my body! It was such a hilarious moment come to think of it.

Thanks to my friend who convinced me to push through with the race even if it was extremely dusty and scorchingly hot that day. Spartan Race + Alviera = not a good combination. Case in point: we had to keep our noses and mouths covered for the entire duration of the race because it was really dusty. 

Obstacles I conquered (!!!):

Wall jumps

Barbed wire crawl (2x)

Slippery wall

Atlas carry

Sandbag carry

Bucket carry

Plate drag

Inverted wall

Cargo net

Over under through

Rolling mud

Dunk wall

Fire jump

Obstacles I skipped OR completed but needed help:

Rope climb

Clif-multi rig

Olympus

Monkey bars

Spear throw

Hercules hoist

I'm missing a few more obstacles but I can't remember which ones. Lol. I didn't exactly do a lot of training for this so I wasn't aiming to complete all the obstacles. I'm just glad that I finished the race (and got a really cool medal for it)! Woot!