Spartan Trifecta Weekend 2023 in Gamuda Cove

On the 28th and 29th of October 2023, I “completed” my first Spartan Trifecta Weekend. It was the race I signed up for before Covid – back before my event, back when I was stronger, fitter, ready. I said this weekend would be my Spartan swan song but now that it’s over, I can’t ignore that little voice at the back of my head. The one that asks, “Is this the best you can do? Are you really going to leave on that note?” I may have collected the medals and ticked this box, but it feels a hollow victory.

This is not how I wanted to finish my Spartan Trifecta Weekend – a shell of my former self. During the race, I felt the tears of frustration threatening to spill as I failed obstacles I could easily complete before Covid happened. “Don’t forget, you had a stroke” they kept telling me but I’m tired of using this excuse to explain away my weaknesses, my failures. I reject this narrative. This is not me. I am not done. It’s time to review the race, the obstacles, understand what went wrong and check my final scorecard.

Spartan Beast – 29th October 2023

The Beast is 21km with 30 obstacles. Elevation gain/loss: 452m; -453m. I’ll be honest, I have no idea how they got that elevation gain/loss because I couldn’t see it on the trail. Gamuda Cove is as flat as flat gets. Even my Garmin only recorded a total elevation ascent of 110m. My distance was also short of the 21km, coming in at 18.3km. Since my Garmin recordings have been off at times, I’ll assume the error is on my side. We started the race at 8:30am.

The obstacles:

1. 6ft wall – I was assisted by my teammates (which is allowed in Open categories), but I used to be able to do this on my own.
2. Hurdle – I was assisted by my teammates, but I think I could have managed the first two without assistance because I made the jump and got up high enough to lift my leg over on my own. It was only the third hurdle that I couldn’t get high enough. I thought it was because I was tired but it seems it is higher than the first two (which I didn’t know until the second day).
3. Jerry can carry – can’t really fail this because you just carry it until the end. If you have to stop, you can. The women carried one and the men carried two. I found it unbalanced to carry one but I’m not sure if I could have carried two. In the race before, I managed to squeeze my arm through the handle but these handles were different. I wonder if I could sling it over my shoulder next time?
4. Multi-rig – failed. I could only manage to get up to the third ring before I fell off. I used the lane that was apparently meant for the men. I thought it would be easier since the straps were shorted and there was less swing to throw me off. The one time I did well on the multi-rig in an old race, the straps were shorter. I also tried the women’s lane but my feet would hit the ground if I didn’t lift them. The multi-rig has always been my weakness in the past.
5. Spear throw – failed. I did this with a slight skip to give myself more momentum. My accuracy looked good, but my distance fell just short of the target. Perhaps if I angled the spear higher or gave myself a longer run-up?
6. Hercules hoist – failed. I found it too heavy this time. The sandbags looked damp and I tried to pick the one that looked the driest but I still couldn’t get it moving on my own. This obstacle has been iffy for me in the past. Sometimes I get it, sometimes I don’t.
7. Z wall – I fell off halfway, but the guy behind me told me to get back on where I fell and continue so I did. This usually isn’t a problem for me since it’s really just a simple climber’s traverse.
8. Stairway to Sparta – I had assistance getting up to the metal section. I also used the side bar which I am apparently not supposed to use.
9. Bender – failed. This was really disappointing because I have never failed this obstacle ever. This time, I couldn’t get my leg up high enough to hook the bar. After giving it more thought, I think I should have tried a reverse curl-up instead of trying to swing sideways to get my right leg up. Or maybe I should have tried using my left leg to get up? I never tried that either.
10. 7ft wall – I was assisted by my teammates. This is also another obstacle I used to be able to do on my own.
11. Olympus – failed. I could get up but once I tried to traverse, my feet would slide down. I think this obstacle is doable with more rock climbing practice.
12. Armor – passed. I carry the ball by the chain across and back. It was very doable.
13. Tyrolean traverse – completed with assistance (my teammates held my back while I traversed the rope). I should have tried dragging my legs – didn’t test to see if it could be done that way. I looped my leg over to the knee this time and I think it helped to avoid cramping.
14. 8ft wall – with assistance. Again, another obstacle I could complete by myself in previous races.
15. Barb wire – can’t fail. These were a lot shorter than previous races so I managed to roll to the end without have to swap sides.
16. Twister – failed. By the time we got to this obstacle, the heat was so bad that the metal structures were burning. No one could make it without dropping off because the metal was too hot to hold.
17. Inverted wall – failed. I’ve never failed this one before either but this time, I just couldn’t get myself over above the top of the wall. Another obstacle I felt really disappointed with.
18. Sand bag – can’t fail. Just carry the sandbag around the course.
19. Rope climb – failed. Of the four races I did previously, I have failed this obstacle twice. The very first race I did, my arms were burnt out from the bucket carry. In the last race, the rope was too short and slippery because they changed it from the hessian ropes to the black nylon ones which are more slippery. There were some longer ropes this time so I could wind it around my leg. I even had enough grip to hold the rope. My problem this time was bringing my legs up and holding them up long enough to wind the rope around one leg. I should have tried the J-hook but I didn’t think of it at the time.
20. Barb wire 2 – can’t fail.
21. Vertical cargo – can’t fail.
22. Monkey bar – failed. These were the fat bars that were far apart. I didn’t try because the metal was too hot to hold.
23. Rolling mud – can’t fail.
24. Slip wall – passed.
25. Plate drag – passed. The tricky part about this obstacle is making sure that your path is smooth. If it isn’t, the plate gets snagged and no amount of pulling will move it.
26. Balance beam – passed. The beams were almost as wide as my shoes so it was pretty easy.
27. Bucket carry – can’t fail this either but the heat was so bad that the marshalls shortened our route for us. Ordinarily, I would have insisted on going the full length, but the heat wore me down.
28. Atlas carry – failed. I couldn’t lift it. Did I try hard enough? I’m not sure. I was feeling pretty discouraged at the number of failed/assisted obstacles by this point.
29. A frame – can’t fail.
30. Fire jump – can’t fail.

Score card: Failed – 10. Assisted – 7. Completed – 13. How disappointing. If this was an exam, I would have failed the paper.

The route was fairly flat but there were long, exposed segments with no cover that made it really hard. The heat was scorching by the time we came out of the wetlands. The last four kilometers was the killer. I don’t know if I developed a headache because of the heat, lack of caffeine, or if I was falling sick.

The Beast really zapped me and I had grave doubts about whether I would be able to do the Super and Sprint on Sunday. I could hardly stay awake on the road back to our apartment. After a shower and food, I crashed until dinner time. Even by Saturday night, it was uncertain if I would be present on Sunday. I decided to play it by ear and see how I felt when I woke up in the morning. Thankfully, I woke up feeling almost as good as new.

Spartan Super and Sprint – 30 October 2023

The goal by this point was just to finish. I no longer had any confidence on the obstacles and found myself surprised when I completed them. It was still a hot day but somehow it did not feel as hot as the day before. The rain from the night before made the sandbags heavier – not that it made any difference to me since I struggled even when they were lighter. The flag-off for our Super was 8:45am and Sprint was 11:45am. We could only register before each race so had to come back from the Super and register again for the Sprint. The flag-off timing, however, is flexible so we didn’t have to start at 11:45am if we couldn’t make it in time. If you aren’t ready to go by the time your wave flags off, you can jump back into the race whenever you’re ready.

The Super is 10km with 25 obstacles. Garmin tracked my distance as 10.8km so it looks like the distance is about right. Perhaps the error in the Beast is because GPS was not recording well in the wetland?

Super Obstacles:

1. 6ft wall
2. Hurdle
3. Multi-rig
4. Spear throw
5. Hercules hoist
6. Z wall
7. Stairway to Sparta
8. Bender
9. 7ft wall
10. Olympus
11. Twister
12. Inverted wall
13. Sand bag
14. Rope climb
15. Barb wire
16. Vertical cargo net
17. Monkey bar
18. Rolling mud
19. Slip wall
20. Plate drag
21. Balance beam
22. Bucket carry
23. Atlas carry
24. A frame
25. Fire jump

No need to review the obstacles – my pass/failure rate wasn’t any different from the day before. Those obstacles I failed, I failed again. The ones I was assisted with, I got assisted again. The ones I passed, I passed again.

The Sprint is 5km with 20 obstacles. Garmin recorded the distance as 5.2km which is about there again. These were the obstacles in the Sprint race:

1. 6ft wall
2. Hurdle
3. Multi-rig
4. Spear throw
5. Hercules hoist
6. Z wall
7. Inverted wall
8. Sand bag
9. Rope climb
10. Barb wire
11. Vertical cargo net
12. Monkey bar
13. Rolling mud
14. Slip wall
15. Plate drag
16. Balance beam
17. Bucket carry
18. Atlas carry
19. A frame
20. Fire jump

Fueling Review

I saw a lot of racers without hydration packs and I wonder how they survived. I’ve never done a Spartan without fueling and I never intend to go without. I packed electrolytes in my water and carried energy gels and protein bars. I’m not sure if I added too much salts into my water because my hands swelled up during the race. I took an energy gel every 45 minutes for the Beast and Super races. I forgot to in the Sprint but I managed to get back to the finish without too much struggle. I tried eating the bars early in the race as suggested but struggled to swallow them. I think we can omit the bars in future since they are too difficult to eat. I used 6 gels for the Beast and 3 gels for the Super.

Gear and Supplies Review

I used a buff to cover the lower part of my face against the sun but it does get a little difficult to breathe when I need to run. We saw a lady with a cap with a face cover which looks more breathable. I think I should look for one of those for the next race.

I had an ache in my left shoulder partway through the Beast. I was rubbing my shoulder when another racer stopped and offered her spray. After the spray, the ache went away completely. I think I should make it a point to pack an analgesic spray in the next race. I should also keep Panadol in my pack for headaches.

Liquid chalk is quite effective for the obstacles. A small tube that clips to the backpack will be handy.

Spartan Trifecta Weekend

The box is ticked and my medals are collected. I have completed a Spartan Trifecta weekend so this should be the end? But I have mixed feelings about the weekend. I said it was going to be my swan song – the last Spartan races I will ever do – but the journey does not feel complete. I have progressed backwards from the previous Spartan races and I feel I can’t let it end on this note. It is not a high note but a low note so how can I walk away?