Spartan Obstacle Race 2024

After reading Outlive, the best selling book about living longer and healthier, I am an even stronger proponent of obstacle course racing.   The Outlive author is a big fan of strength exercise (particularly carrying heavy objects and improving grip strength). along with maximizing VO2 max, maintaining balance, and adequate zone 2 training.  Obstacle races seem like the perfect target for training that would incorporate all of these objectives. 

My gerontologist is more of a marathon runner and seems concerned about the accident risks of a Spartan Race - when I suggest that more elderly people should sign up for Spartan events as a big motivator for maintaining an optimal exercise regime, reply is  - "the Spartan race sounds like a recipe for injury"

And in fact I am a little beat up from last weekend's Spartan race.  But it is my chronic running pains that I mostly feel after the event in an unhealthy way.  My arms and core feel the good kind of muscle soreness you expect after a hard effort on obstacles I don't have opportunity to practice on. 

The caliber of field seems to have improved since my last event.  Even the ancient, wizened group you see in this picture of my age-group wave looks pretty intense.

I improve my time to 1 hour 33 minutes on the 12.6 kilometer course with 25 obstacles.  This time works out to about a minute improvement versus same course back in 2019 when I was younger...  

5k - Hopelessly lost death spiral

The 5k track run has been consistent gauge of fitness for me.  Having not clocked a satisfying 5k effort since December 2020, and feeling my recent intervals workouts would project a good time, I sign up for the May 19 MxK event with its paced waves.

The last couple years, I have become obsessed with my struggle with the 5k pace groups instituted at our monthly time trials — I repeatedly try to stay with aspirational pace group and then, when I (almost inevitably) lose contact with the group, I go into a "death spiral" 

For the event on May 19 I vow to:

1) do proper rest/warm-up going into effort
2) select proper pace group 

3) stay focused on my own race (not pace group)

I fail miserably on all three fronts — 

1. I get hopelessly lost on my warmup run to the venue and end up doing 8k of warmup - It was bad enough that I was so confident about knowing route and made a wrong turn, but then I double down and foolishly press on, ending up farther away than when I started. 
2. Running in the proper pace group is no longer available due to my late arrival.  I  join the 18;20 pace group at the back of the subsequent faster wave, instead of the 18:45 pace group in middle of the earlier wave I had signed up for.  
3. Upon losing contact with the 18:20 pace group and teammate Hannah at the 2k mark I go into a death spiral.  I really try to maintain a positive mindset, but all alone now I fall farther and farther behind entire field and grow more discouraged and distracted*

I do manage to kick over the last 200 meters and break 19 minutes.  

* Insults to injury piles up - with 800 meters to go officials wave me out of inside lane to allow faster runners to lap me on inside.   If I was in the proper wave I would protest since this is a time trial, I would have been running the right pace for that wave, and isn't the general rule for track running to always hug the inside rail when being passed?  However since I am in wrong wave I feel unworthy and feel compelled to move outside.  Running in second lane doesn't necessarily add too much distance, but it does take me further out race mindset as I look over my shoulder...)