Train & Pain - The Long, Strange Spartan Race In Iceland

With one Spartan Race down and two to go, all that stands in the way: injury, anguish, 7,648 miles, 80 obstacles, and 300 burpees.

- Zack Zeigler

MY BODY HELD UP SURPRISINGLY WELL CONSIDERING a short two-week lead-in before my first Spartan Race in Lake Tahoe, CA, in early October—8.5 miles, 25 obstacles. But two larger obstacles, my mom’s recovery from open-heart surgery and my friend and M&F VP/editorial director Shawn Perine’s battle with Stage 4 lung cancer, continued to be emotional hurdles as I prepped to take on two more challenges over the next two months: the Spartan Beast in Greece (18 miles, 30 obstacles) and the inaugural Spartan Ultra in Iceland (30-plus miles, 50-plus obstacles).

Along with OCR group classes, boot camps, solo lifts, long runs wearing a weighted vest, and stair runs carrying a 60-pound Wreck Bag, I also persuaded my wife to allow me to convert the living room of our cozy one bedroom loft into a gym. It increased my at-home training frequency and lowered the number of dinner guests we had to entertain. A win-win. (See a sample workout on page 124.)

At Epic Hybrid Training in New York City with Spartan Pro Cassidy Watton, I focused on obstacle-specific tips—use my feet during the rope climb, grasp the spear so it just barely tips forward—and pacing, which included a brutal session of five-minute sets.

Still, no matter what I was doing, relaxing wasn’t easy.

THE REAL OBSTACLES

Momma Z moved into a rehab facility in early October, and then a month later into an affordable place near her northeast Pennsylvania home. She’d receive better care and home-cooked meals. It was one less thing to worry about.