Spartan Beast Lake Tahoe 2017 / All Obstacles

[@javacado]

Great job and thanks for posting this. Considering trying the course out this year (2018) and it helped to actually see you overcome the obstacles. It looks about twice as hard as anything I have tried before which is exciting and scary at the same time. Your comment below about keeping positive thinking is a great reminder.

[@donnelly5757]

Thank you. I am curious how different the course is compared to last year. It was one of the more fun venues I have done. I enjoy venues that have a good amount of elevation gain.

[@onikin]

Thank you for putting up the obstacles. Will help with our preparations. I don't know what a good time is, but seems yours put you around the top 40% for Open Division, or top 70% for Elite. Needed about 6 hours flat to be in the top 10%, or under 4hrs to be the best.

[@BermondseyBoy]

chatted to you a couple of times on facebook wow everyone knows the miller

[@sofiaharnedy333]

Well done! Not a bad time, I hope I can end in a good time for the Carolina Beast.

[@donnelly5757]

Thanks! Maintain positive thoughts about doing well at the Carolina Beast!

[@rememberabc]

Gj Donnelly!

[@michaeljordan317]

Great job! You did awesome

[@donnelly5757]

Thank you! I did better than what I was anticipating considering I was battling an overuse injury.

[@michaeljordan317]

Downhill D Miller I did the Super in Diablo Grande, CA, last weekend and it was brutal. Cold & rainy. I may try a Beast next... Good luck!

[@donnelly5757]

Depending on the venue, it seems like a beast is simply adding a few more obstacles and a few more miles adding to about 30-60 additional minutes out in the elements compared to a super. If you can finish a hard super in harsh weather, I'm sure you can easily accomplish a moderately difficulty beast, especially in weather that is more temperate.

[@robertlittleford4617]

Impressive.

[@lesliecalvert3458]

That's cool your friend from Facebook said what's up :)

[@donnelly5757]

That was cool he recognized me out of the hundreds of other people.

[@lesliecalvert3458]

@@donnelly5757 I also thought that exact same thing. I think you have more people who think about you then maybe you realize. It made my heart sing when he stopped you and shook your hand...I wish I lived near you..I would totally go cheer you on at any event you attend love...

[@klgboomin6333]

Hey you've been well I'm 17 about to turn 18 and deal with similar issues maybe not as major as you but nonetheless it happens. I'm self conscious due to me being skinny and feeling weaker than most I'm 6'0 140 pounds I'm hoping to be 160 but you have all the physical gifts Great body perfect teeth I'm skinny and I'm currently wearing braces but good luck and you have a body I'm striving to have but I have to much anxiety to work out at a local gym cause it's in my neighborhood and I don't wanna see former HS Classmates but I do workout at home when I can my arms and back are big but I have small chest skinny neck and very skinny legs anyways good luck and how do you find love for body building?

[@lesliecalvert3458]

Buddy hang in there...my oldest son was so skinny all through high school and he hated it...he kept saying ma I am never going to get any bigger and when he hit 22 bam...all muscle and lean..he looks amazing..those years are tough. I used to weigh like almost 300 pounds .now 150....so life changes fast..I wish you luck in your endeavors love

[@shifty530]

Do you have to wear the life jacket on the swim portion?

[@donnelly5757]

Yes, and they even had a volunteer to make sure everyone was wearing one prior to getting into the water.

[@atmconnect]

I am doing the beast in Lake Tahoe in September. Any advice or training tips?

[@donnelly5757]

I carried a windbreaker that I kept in a somewhat water proof bag within my hydration pack. There may be some obstacles with cold mud and water higher up on the course where there could be some wind, like there was last year. As far as training goes, focus on training volume that involves elevation gain (hill repeats, long climbs, any sort of incline). Grip strength is also very important and can be improved using a variety of methods. A sample workout (out of many combinations of workouts/exercises I include in training) that help with grip strength as well as overall strength, cardio, explosiveness, and mimic some of the movements done on some of the obstacles consists of: deadlifts (3-5 reps of 90-93% of your 1 rep maximum), find any pull-up bar and do 5 non-kipping pull-ups (attempt to at least get chin over the bar on all reps, added grip challenge if you hold on to the bar for 10 or more seconds before doing the pull-ups), 5 box jumps focusing on explosive power (focus on jumping onto highest platform you can), finish off with your choice of cardio (30-60 second all out effort), there is no rest in between each exercise, and repeat the cycle 3-5 times with 2-5 minutes recovery between each cycle to focus more on power/strength. Some people may opt for shorter recovery time, but then you will not get as efficient of a workout that targets power/strength. Having good explosiveness can help you power over obstacles. Coupled with adequate endurance training with inclination, you will do great at Tahoe! You can see a sample of the workout I described here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aZi9aXhtdr-se6s

[@gailalbinto5855]

Was there a lot of uphill parts?

[@donnelly5757]

There was a lot of uphill, but nothing relentless. Here are my Garmin stats from last year's course. connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2047824686

[@carineeluvssyouu]

Do you live in reno?

[@donnelly5757]

I live about 800 miles away from Reno. lol

[@mikec3904]

people have given you solid advice through out the years i have followed you through out the years as well on here i dont understand why you feel that you should not get out of the usa i mean these online dating apps will only do so much plus most usa women online are so incredibly selective you will likely never find a partner over here im almost 37 years old this not changing its simply not anytime soon MR Winston WU can help you plus i assume you want to get the chance to be a dad one day as well i know i do

[@mikec3904]

ZAC there are many Great countries out there that have just as good of women to offer United Kingdom Argentina Brazil Dominican Republic how do I know this I'm 37 years old an dealing with the same situation being single since 2007 always trying my hardest in Life an always being told NO by the good old USA women because of my Height an those Anti social Views most american women carry with them I want to see him get himself out of this situation an find the Mental strength & personal Commitment an the willingness for this never ending Highschool inmature Bullshit I don't want to see women leading him on to nothing like they have done me for the better part of my life :(

[@donnelly5757]

I have tried dating in Colombia and it is the same as it is here in the US. The variation in women in different countries is most likely due to differences in culture and the ease of dating in any country I feel is about the same. If a man has trouble dating in his own country, then most likely he is going to have trouble in a different country as I see it. Moving overseas will not solve my problems. I must confront my issues here in the US. I can run away all my life, but where ever I go, my nemesis will catch up if I do not confront it and deal with it. I will continue to attempt to date here in the US or where ever my travels take me, but I will not move overseas just for the sake of trying to run away from my problems like a coward.