Countdown to Tough Mudder - 1 Day

1 day to Tough Mudder.  

You'd think I'd be freaking out and yet I feel oddly at ease.  Maybe it's the last-minute details that are keeping my mind busy - the "necessary" Target run, travel arrangements, packing, making sure I'm drinking water every chance I get.  There will be plenty of time to freak out once I get on the course tomorrow at 10:40 a.m.  I might as well relax today.  It is my first day of summer vacation, after all.

1 day to Tough Mudder.  

The only thing I did to prepare today was go to yoga.  I haven't gone since December and my muscles are so tight from all my running and training.  I really don't properly stretch and have been having trouble with my hips and sciatic nerve.  Although yoga was challenging today, it felt great to stretch and loosen up.  Hopefully it will help me out tomorrow.  

1 day to Tough Mudder.

I should probably take a nap now.  After I drink another liter of water.  I'll post a Facebook update to let you know if I'm alive after tomorrow but won't get to a full blog post until Monday.  And if I don't come out alive you won't get a post at all.  

Wish us luck!  I think we're gonna need it . . .

Read previous "Countdown to Tough Mudder" posts - 34 Days, 30 Days, 22 Days, 19 Days, 14 Days, 11 Days, 7 Days, 3 Days

Countdown to Tough Mudder - 3 Days

 

As it gets closer and closer, the Mudders have been resting more as we ease up on our workouts.  I did go to Boot Camp tonight but "took it easy."  (I put that in quotes because can you ever really take it easy at Boot Camp?  No.)  

Anyway, the team did get together today but it was for something more fun and relaxing than our usual monkey bar/fence climbing/tire-flipping antics.  It was tee shirt time!  In the beginning, we planned on getting matching shirts made with out team name - "Rhodes Scholars" (a play on our team captain's last name).  After much debate we finally decided to buy plain tech shirts from Target and just design them ourselves.  That way we could make sure they were the right fit, size, style and right for both guys and girls.  We found a sweet bright green (coincidentally my favorite color) and everyone was able to find a suitable fit.

Because they're tech shirts we can't do iron-on transfers (you can't use heat on the material) so we used stencils and fabric spray paint.  Although everyone used the same materials and put the logo on the front with last name on the back, they all turned out differently.  And they all look SUPER SWEET!!!  I wasn't able to get a picture of everyone's shirts all together but will do so on Saturday before they get muddied up in the event.  

We just went with "RS" for "Rhodes Scholars" and a graduation cap.  That's mine on the left (I cut off the sleeves) and Andy's on the right.

Andy added a "Tough Mudder" stamp of approval.

I think we're gonna look pretty bad-ass, don't you?

Read previous "Countdown to Tough Mudder" posts - 34 Days, 30 Days, 22 Days, 19 Days, 14 Days, 11 Days, 7 Days

Countdown to Tough Mudder - 7 Days

7 days.  One week.  

Today I ran Flirt with Dirt, a 10K trail run (I'll have a full report tomorrow), which was great practice for running on uneven terrain, such as I'll be seeing next week.  Otherwise I have no new Tough Mudder training reports.  We were supposed to meet on Thursday for more monkey bars, fences, and bleacher-jumping but everyone dropped out.  We are exhausted.  At least I am.  I had a packed week of cross-training.  Sunday I ran the DX-A2 1/2 marathon.  Monday I did an hour cycle class followed by the Tough Mudder Boot Camp.  Tuesday I ran 4 miles.  Wednesday was regular Boot Camp.  Thursday I did another hour cycle.  Friday I ran another 4 miles.  Plus it's the end of the school year and all the responsibilities associated with that - not to mention the wacky behavior of 1st graders - is both mentally and physically draining.

I need a break.  On the one hand, I'm not nearly as ready as I should be for next week's event.  I still can't do a pull-up or properly jump a fence like I ought to.  I feel like I should spend more time on those things this week.  On the other hand, I don't want to exhaust myself so much that I when I get to the event I'm too tired from training to do them there.  

What to do, what to do?  I guess I'll do a short run tomorrow, with a stop at the park for some monkey bar work.  I'll do my usual cross-training Monday-Wednesday but take it a little bit easy.  Thursday I'll do a very easy run (unless I'm too tired) and then Friday I'll go to yoga.  Definitely yoga.  I also need to try and get extra sleep this week because that was definitely lacking last week (5 hours a night does not do a body good).  

7 days.  One week.  Holy sh*t.  

Read previous "Countdown to Tough Mudder" posts - 34 Days, 30 Days, 22 Days, 19 Days, 14 Days, 11 Days

Countdown to Tough Mudder - 14 Days

OMG - 14 Days!  In other words, TWO WEEKS!  Two weeks from the moment I type this I'll be crawling through a muddy tube, jumping over muddy logs, sloshing through a muddy swamp, or falling into a muddy pit.  TWO WEEKS.  Yikes.


Thursday night we had another training session.  We met at the local high school so we could take advantage of some tractor tires.  We did a lot with those tires - rolled them, flipped them over and over across the soccer field, leaped up on them, jumped in and out of them, and used them for tricep dips.  My chest and shoulders are so sore from flipping those tires!  It's quite an intense workout!  Then, just for fun, we turned the biggest tire on it's side and took turns rolling it while someone ran on top - just like in the circus!  Granted, that was not helpful for training purposes but it was a hell of a lot of fun!  

We also found a blocking sled out on the field - you know that metal thing that football players push in practice?  The six of us (totally non-football types, mind you) pushed that thing down a hill, spun it around, then pushed it back up the hill.  It was super intense!  Then we crawled under it, jumped on it, used it for pull-ups, and ran across the top - until I tripped, dinged my shin, and did a face-plant in the grass.  I tell ya, I was the picture of grace.

Each of us was supposed to bring something to use for the workout.  Not everyone did but we ended up with a weighted ball, towels, a sledge hammer, and a cinder block.  Oh, and a Frisbee.  Here's what we did with each:

• weighted ball - ran in a line down the field and back, tossing it to each other
• towels - draped them over the soccer goal and hung from them/did pull-ups
• sledge hammer - threw it
• cinder block - laid down, extended arms back overhead with block in hands, brought it forward to our chest as we did a sit up, then stood up and raised it overhead in a shoulder press
• Frisbee - warm up activity (Hey, you gotta have some fun!)

Our next workout is going to be the official Tough Mudder Boot Camp Training.  We're going to meet at a park we haven't tried yet - one with some good monkey bars and a track - to go through the 50 minute workout. 

Two more weeks to Tough Mudder, my friends.  TWO. MORE. WEEKS.  Yikes.

Read previous "Countdown to Tough Mudder" posts - 34 Days, 30 Days, 22 Days, 19 Days

Countdown to Tough Mudder - 19 Days

The team hit the trails at Maybury State Park for an early morning Memorial Day run.  Believe it or not, this was my first experience running on trails.  It was amazing!!  I loved the hills, the bumpy terrain, the unexpected twists and turns, and the general beauty of running through a forest.  It wasn't too hot and humid and with the exception of one evil fly, the bugs weren't too bad.  We ran 4.25 miles of trails - mostly hiking, some horse.  We figured the horse trails gave us better training experience for some of the muddier parts of the Tough Mudder (although there wasn't really much mud today but the trails required a little more stabilization, as well as avoidance of certain, um, obstacles in our path).

So the trails were a lot of fun and better training than paved roads.  And no Tough Mudder training session would be complete without a playground workout!  We found a small playground at the end of our run and did some climbing practice and pullups.  Nothing really new or exciting.  I definitely got some new bruises.  Because of course, no Tough Mudder training session would be complete without new bruises, either!

Then we headed back to Dearborn to (finally) make our travel arrangements, narrow down our uniforms, and plan our next training session.  Not a bad day, Mudders.  Not a bad day.  

Shoot!  Except that I forgot to take pictures again!  Next time - when we're throwing tires - I will take pictures.  (Ooooh, how's that for a teaser?)

Read previous "Countdown to Tough Mudder" posts - 34 Days, 30 Days, 22 Days

Do you run on trails? 

Countdown to Tough Mudder - 22 Days

 

No, we haven't been slacking this week!  We DID meet again Monday for another Tough Mudder training session at the park.  I just haven't gotten around to posting about it until today.  It's been one of those weeks... 

Strength-wise, we did much of the same stuff as last week - monkey bars, slides, railings, push-ups, etc.  However, the theme of this week's training session was "Free Your Mind."  We were trying to tackle things that were outside of our comfort zones.  

Such as jumping the fence around the baseball field.  I was perfectly content to climb it.  That I can do just fine.  But to prep for those Berlin Walls, what we really have to work on is taking a running leap and jumping so your feet are halfway up the fence and your hands are on top of the fence.  BOTH hands.  The higher the initial jump, the better off you'll be.  My running leap finally got me so that my right hand was on top of the fence but no matter how many times I tried, my left hand always just seemed to hang limply at head-height.  Andy was NOT pleased.  Again and again I tried but every time it was the same.  Finally he let me give it a rest.  Maybe next time I'll tie my right hand behind my back.

Then we found a pull-up bar on one of the playgrounds that became quite a fascination for us all. We were each determined to get our whole bodies up on top of it one way or another.  Scott kept hopping up there like it was nobody's business, while the rest of us kept falling off.  (And while this IS a child's playground we were not using it the way it was intended so no judgement, please.)

Finally, I tried something different and with a little butt-push from Erica I was up.  Wahoo - teamwork!  Then she climbed the pole it was attached to and got up all by herself.  Super impressive!  Haikel managed it also the same way.  Score!  So it was just Andy left to conquer the pull-up bar.  Well, and me, technically, since I did it with a butt-push.  I still need to go it alone.  (Thanks, Andy, for bursting my bubble.)  I tried climbing the pole and that was really super hard.  So now I have both the fence AND the pull-up bar.  Argh.  We'll get 'em next week, Andy.

Oh, there was a pretty funny moment when Andy insisted on a team-building exercise that resulted in me being hoisted - and consequently lodged in - a tree.  When he realized that I was potentially stuck in said tree he went running away for his own safety until I could be safely removed.  Which I was.  No hard feelings. 

Next up will be trail-running at Maybury State Park on Monday.  Uh oh!  Lots of trees at Maybury.  I think it's Andy's turn to go in the tree . . .

Read previous "Countdown to Tough Mudder" posts - 34 Days, 30 Days

Countdown to Tough Mudder - 30 Days

On Monday we met for our first official Tough Mudder team training.  (Read more about Tough Mudder in my previous post.)  Yes, we needed to start training but the idea was mostly to get us all together because we hadn't yet done so since becoming a team.  We'd been trading emails about travel arrangements and what to wear (Andy and my "Hunger Games" theme ideas didn't go over so well with the rest of the team) but that was about it.

So we met at a local park that has several playgrounds, a track, and lots of space to run around.  It also had lots of children to set a terrible example for how NOT to use playground equipment.  (Sorry, parents.) 

I had initiated the training session so I think everyone was expecting me to have some sort of plan in place.  My plan was to show up and figure it out when I got there, maybe work out for 30 minutes, chat about some details, and be done.  Not much of a plan, right?  (Please don't ask to see my lesson plans at work, either.)  It would have been all fine but Andy was ready and sprang into action, leading us through the park from one playground to the next.  We scaled plastic walls, crawled under picnic tables, pulled each other up slides, leaped onto the backs of bleachers, hoisted each other into trees, ran on the balance beam, and swung across the monkey bars.  Between obstacles we did push-ups, jumping jacks, burpees, and mountain climbers.  Then we went through it all again.  Oh, Andy and Malakeh are really hardcore and even belly-crawled across the entire sand volleyball court!  The rest of us wimped out on that (sorry Andy - next time).

I totally forgot to take pictures of us in action but I did go back and take photos of some of the equipment we used.*  We tried to focus mostly on upper-body exercises.  Ugh, it's 3 days later and my chest and lats are STILL sore from this workout!  I guess that means I was doing something right!

So here are some of the things that we used:

Railings - We used just our arms to move across railings.  This was a majorly difficult workout for my triceps!

  

Walls - So these aren't quite the "Berlin Walls" we'll see in Tough Mudder but it was good agility training.

Balance Beam - We need to practice our balancing acts for "Twinkle Toes".

Slides -  These were harder than they look to climb up so it was just some good old-fashioned grit needed to get yourself up.  With the tube slide, we had to help pull each other up from the top.  Yay, teamwork!

Picnic Tables - Good for running over and crawling under.

Monkey Bars -  Very important for Funky Monkey, but they're a great way to build upper-body strength in general.

* While sprinting around the park taking photos with my phone, I made sure to tell parents I was not taking pictures of their children.  I think that made it way less creepy.  Right???

Do you have any playground workout suggestions? 

Countdown to Tough Mudder - 34 days

Have you heard of Tough Mudder?  Tough Mudder is a 10-12 mile obstacle course designed by British Special Forces to test your all around strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie.  Some of the obstacles include 12' walls, frigid ice water, small tubes, greased monkey bars, burning straw, and a field of live wires.  There are 25 obstacles total and you run from one to the next.  And as the name implies, there's mud.  A LOT of mud.

Sounds pretty tempting, right?  HA!

Scott and Toby from Boot Camp did the event back in April in Ohio.  Scott was so pumped that he signed up for the event again for June in Indiana.  And then he set to work trying to build a team.  For weeks he talked it up.  At first I thought it might be cool.  And then I realized there was no way in hell I was doing any of it.  (Mind you, I hadn't watched the videos yet and didn't really know what it entailed.  I just know I don't really like to get dirty.)

Then a few more people joined the team, including two girls.  All of a sudden it didn't sound so bad.  In fact, it sounded like a - dare I say FUN? - challenge.  And before I knew it, I was sitting at the computer, signing my life away with each waiver I initialed.  (Mind you, I STILL hadn't watched the video yet and didn't entirely know what it entailed.)

Well, a week after signing up, I finally watched the video.  And read the descriptions of the obstacles.  I have to say some of them sound downright scary, particularly the "Arctic Enema" and the "Fire Walker".  (I'm hoping that maybe the latter will thaw me out if I develop hypothermia.)  It IS in June, though, so perhaps the frigid temps will be refreshing.

And it's a team event.  There are 7 of us total - 3 guys and 4 girls - and you rely on your fellow Mudders to get you through.  That's the point of the whole thing.  There's no way you could do it alone.  Me scale a 12' wall on my own?  My team will have to either pull me up or launch me over.  (Though I fully intend to train hard to help pull myself over, thank you very much!)  In fact, some of the obstacles are nearly impossible to complete anyway.  Greased monkey bars?  Come on!  You try, you fall into the icy water, you swim your way to the end.  No big deal.

How are we training, you ask?  Well, we're all in pretty great shape to begin with.  Most of us do Boot Camp 1-2x a week, as well as a combination of strength and cardio.  My schedule has been:

Boot Camp - 2x/week

Cycle - 2x/week

Running - 3x/week (about 12-15 miles total)

Weight machines - 1x/week

I'll need to start adding in more upper-body exercises, such as pull-ups, belly-crawling, and monkey bars.  Do the rock climbing wall at the gym.  I also have to do some trail running, since all my running is done on paved surfaces.  I should probably turn off the water heater for my showers, too.  Hey, not only will it prep me for the "Arctic Enema" but it will save money, as well.  (Early Retirement Extreme, anyone?  Inside joke.)

The team is getting together at a local park tomorrow for a training session.  We'll utilize the playground equipment and do the body weight exercises from Tough Mudder Boot Camp Training.  (Many of these we're familiar with from our Boot Camp class anyway but it's great that they're designed to help with the specific obstacles.)

The event is June 16th in Indiana.  We have a start time of 10:20 a.m. 

I'll keep you updated with my training.  34 days and counting...

Have you ever done a Tough Mudder event?  Share your story!