I have been absolutely dreading writing this post because I know that once it’s on the Internet, I can’t back out. I am here to announce that I will be competing in the LA Spartan Race on December 5^th. TomTom reached out and asked me to join their team and after not enough consideration and research, I accidentally said yes.

If you don’t know much about Spartan Races, they are races laced with ridiculous obstacles that require you to use your mind and body—or do 30 burpees as penalty for backing out. I foresee MANY burpees in my future.

To give you an idea of how insane this race is, some obstacles in the past include jumping over fire, crawling through mud under barbed wire, climbing over walls, carrying sand bags up steep hills, swinging across monkey bars, and swimming under walls. My anxiety is rising as I write this.

I’m basically the next American Ninja Warrior.

Fortunately, TomTom is providing us with a trainer who will be emailing workout plans to the team and a TomTom Cardio Sport Watch in order to get race-ready. I got my first assignment this week and it includes a mixture of lifting, “warrior workouts”, and long runs all while using the watch.

The watch has both GPS and heart rate technologies and tracks your workouts in real time, graphing each activity to show your progress. It allows you to choose between five activities: run, cycle, swim, treadmill, and freestyle, and select a heart rate training zone that matches your goals. I’m excited to see how the watch can help me amp up my running and personal workouts (I also want to see how it compares to my Orangetheory heart rate monitor).

Let’s just say, if I can do a Spartan Race (to be determined), then anyone can!

Photos by Bethany at Glam Packed.

Have you participated in a Spartan Race? Leave your training and race day tips below!