NJ Spartan Ultra

I had registered for the NJ Spartan Ultra about 6 months ago as this particular ultra was the first ultra I ever ran and what sparked my interest in ultrarunning.  It was something I had eventually wanted to repeat as a way of gauging my progress and proving to myself that I wasn’t just lucky getting through it the first time. Still, I was on the fence about running this particular race this year as I felt my training was going well and I was unsure about losing momentum with the progress I had been making.  I had some friends also running the race though and didn’t want to let my team down, so I decided to take a bit of break from the MTI program I was 2 weeks into and give it a shot. 

The course had a different configuration from what I remember from past years’ Beast races and the past Ultra I had done.  According to the elevation map, the course featured almost 12K of elevation gain over the length of the 30-mile race.  It was a tougher layout than what I remember and one that will set my training back by at least a week or two while I recover from it.  Nevertheless, I’m glad I gave the race a shot.  It was the first time I have raced an ultra where I managed to not be in the back of the pack squeaking by the cutoffs.  I passed the cutoffs with a comfortable margin and even though the race was extremely challenging I did not find myself questioning if I was going to make it to the next checkpoint in time at any point in the race.  While some of the improvement can be attributed to having a better idea on how to pace myself from past races and from having some experience with keeping hydration and nutrition in check, my training over the last year has definitely had a positive impact.  The race let me know that I am on the right track and my performance in it makes me feel my 50-mile goal is an achievable goal if I continue to put the work in.  In particular I think all of the rucking up hills, dumbbell step-ups, and Bulgarian split squats that were part of the strength programs I ran had a noticeable effect, especially combined with the fact that the vast majority of my recent running had been on hilly terrain.  The ascents were not easy and sometimes very slow, but nevertheless never seemed insurmountable.  

Time to rest up and heal for a little bit before getting back to it.