I decide to pivot to obstacle course races.
I sign up for next month's Spartan Warrior Race.
A few of the more traditional runners I know in Seattle heap scorn and derision on these events. To the purists, events like Tough Mudder, Warrior Dash, and Spartan Races are just a silly, fad for America's Millenial generation whose coddling helicopter parents have made them the "Slowest Generation" and who lack the competitive spirit and toughness to excel in marathons and half-marathons.
The Spartan Race looks tough enough to me, and these obstacle races seems to have become a legitimate part of the sporting landscape. According to Running USA, more runners participated in non-traditional races than traditional events, such as half-marathons and marathons, and these obstacle events have seen a 40-fold growth in participation since 2000.
Anyway, I am not really a purist. If the triathlon was modified so as to be comprised of the three sports of running, cycling, and bowling I would be willing to give it a shot, and start working on my bowling. Admittedly I am partial to the sports I am better at, but I feel that it is good to diversify my training and my experiences.
More simply put, I am keen to try something new right now.
And I am keen to work on some of my weaknesses. Unlike traditional road races, climbing over a 10-foot wall, up a 30-foot rope, over and under obstacles demands greater flexibility, coordination and upper-body strength - areas that I seek to work on as I grow old and feeble and inflexible.
And I am keen to continue my emphasis on high-intensity interval training. Yet another recent study shows benefits of high-intensity training - slowing or reversing aging at a cellular level. I view any one of these studies with skepticism, but this particular study comes on top of earlier studies showing HIIT as optimal for race performance improvement, cardiovascular health, neurological gains, and fat-burning.
The spartan race is on May 27, and so I need to start shifting into a Spartan Warrior lifestyle.
