Earlier this summer I participated in my second Tough Mudder event. In my recap post, I wrote that I didn't think I'd be doing another one and I'd elaborate further in another post. This is that post.
Before I go on, let me say that I do not mean to offend anyone who enjoys Tough Mudder, deems it challenging, or finds it worthwhile to travel the country to face the Arctic Enema in Colorado and the Funky Monkey in Vermont. Or even just do it when it comes to your city. No, that is not my intention. If you follow my blog you know I was all about Tough Mudder myself until very recently. The reason I got into TM in the first place is that I was looking to challenge myself in a different way. I love boot camp and strength training in unique ways, so this seemed perfect.
After doing TM Michigan, however, I decided it was time to retire the orange headband.
Here are my reasons why:
Cost
Depending on when you register, TM can cost up to $150 just to run the event. On top of that you need to pay an additional $10 parking fee and $5 gear check fee. What does all that money get you? The chance to participate in the event, a tee shirt (which may or may not be a tech shirt - my first year it was cotton), an orange headband, and a Dos Equis beer (which I don't even drink). Think your money is going to Wounded Warrior Project? Nope. That's separate fundraising. So you are totally paying all this money just for the event. Yes, it costs a lot to put on the event but it's still a lot of money. Especially if you've done it more than once.
Lack of Challenge
When I did my first TM in Indiana, it was really tough. It truly did challenge my physical strength and mental grit, as promised. When I competed in the event this June in Michigan, however, I hardly felt challenged at all. Of course, having done it before you could say I knew what to expect, which is true.
I hadn't, however, trained for the obstacles like I did last year. But that didn't matter because they were easier. I think they
are making the newer obstacles easier for the masses and therefore they aren't
challenging. My guess is that they are trying to lure people into World's Toughest Mudder - a 24-hour endurance event that has you paying up to $450 bucks. Uh, no thanks.
The running parts were also very easy - mostly flat, muddy grass and gravel. Last year's event had swamps with waist-high muddy water to wade through. There was quicksand that had people losing shoes left and right! We were pulling ourselves up steep hills with tree branches. At one point I felt like we were running through a desert. Not this year. Again, this year was WAY too easy.
Injury/Health Risk
I always come out of TM with scrapes and bruises, but it's never anything that doesn't heal after a few days. And I've never injured myself seriously in one of these events. But the risk is there. How stupid would it be if I hurt my foot jumping off a Berlin Wall? Now that I'm in marathon training mode (and will likely be next year as well) I need to consider this.
In addition to the risk of injury, you also come into contact with a lot of standing water and mud which undoubtedly contains a sh*tload (pun intended) of bodily fluids. This year over 200 people contracted norovirus from TM Michigan. Thankfully I was not among them but it can very easily happen at one of these events. I'd like to think I take precautions - mouth and eyes closed, don't eat with dirty hands - but really, it can happen to anyone at an event like this. I'm just lucky it didn't happen to me.
So there you have it. Although this post was geared specifically toward Tough Mudder, there are a lot of other mud runs and gimmicky races out there (Warrior Dash, Color Run, Foam Fest). I look at those as more of "fun runs" where I wouldn't expect to be challenged like TM. Because of that I think there is less risk of injury and barring any important upcoming races, I don't see the harm in participating in them with friends for fun. As long as you don't mind shelling out $50 for a 5K, that is.
Me? I think I'm going to stick to road races - and do my monkey-bar work at the local playground for free!
Do you participate in Tough Mudder or mud runs/obstacle races?
12 weeks. 3 months. We're getting closer. I've sort of been sticking to the plan. In my own way. In my first countdown post I wrote about how I planned to change things up a lot - double up on cross-training and runs and eliminate the rest day. Well, it wasn't long before my body told me otherwise! (Imagine that, right?)
Instead of trying to keep my regularly-scheduled cycle and boot camp program (2x/week each), plus adhere to the training plan, I've made a few modifications. Here's what my weeks looks like at this point in my training:
Monday: Cross training - Yoga (60 min), Cycle (55 min), Weight Machines (20 min)
Tuesday: Run (6 mile social run)
Wednesday: Run (minus 1-2 miles from plan), Boot Camp (75 min)
Thursday: Run (6 mile social run), Cycle (55 min)
Friday: Yoga (60 min)
Saturday: Run (group run at RUNdetroit or a race - plan mileage may be adjusted)
Sunday: Long run
I'm using the plan as a framework and so far it's working out really well for me. I ran 14 miles on Sunday. It should have only been 9 but I was feeling good so I skipped ahead to next Sunday's long run. (I told you I cannot stick to a plan!) Anyway, it was my longest distance and the only time I've run anywhere close to that was in a race. In fact, I've never run more than 10 outside of a race and never more than 7 by myself. So this was HUGE. It was quite the mental test. My average pace was 7:34. Not race pace but for an easy training run I was quite pleased. I know I'm only partway to 26.2 but I'm getting there.
Next up - nutrition on the long run. GU? Shot Bloks? Liquified banana in a flask? (haha)
What is your on-the-go nutrition for long runs?
Read previous Detroit Marathon Countdown posts - 17 Weeks, 15 Weeks
This weekend Warrior Dash came to Michigan and I participated in it for the first time. Yes, I've done Tough Mudder twice, the Down and Dirty 10K but never Warrior Dash. I was invited two years ago but promptly said no because - get this - I was going to get dirty! Haha! Clearly that is a non-issue with me now. I LOVE to get dirty!
I started my day with a 5-mile run and then picked up my sis-in-law Jaime to make the 1.5 hour drive to Mt. Morris, MI. (I didn't quite realize how far away it was when I signed up!) Thankfully it was mostly expressways and we didn't hit any traffic backups. Parking was easy and we didn't have to wait in any lines for packet pick-up, gear check, or port-a-potties.
This was Jaime's first mud/obstacle race experience so it was exciting to be doing it together. She was nervous, though! I tried to calm her nerves by singing "Don't Stop Believing" when we were waiting at the start line. I don't know if it helped at all but it may at least have been entertaining for the other people in our wave. Or really annoying. We were actually slotted for a 4:30 start but because no one checks we were able to get into the 1:15 wave. Yay! In fact, there were people who were clearly running for a second time. Seems that anything goes at Warrior Dash!
The obstacles at were fun but not exactly challenging. Well, with the exception of the Deadweight Drifter, maybe. With that you had to pull yourself out of the water onto some blocks that were floating. It was all upper body strength and I did it in the most awkward manner possible. Jaime looked way cooler than I did! There was another one that was a tube of cargo nets to crawl through that was a little tricky. Other than that it was a lot of climbing up and down walls. There were some tires to jump through, fire to jump over, some mud to wade and swim through, and a balance beam. Like I said, fun but not challenging.
I have to give Warrior Dash huge props for the running portions. The terrain was great! After doing Tough Mudder at MIS in June and having nothing but flat grass and pavement, I didn't expect a whole lot out of this. Instead, Warrior Dash was all sandy/dirt roads and trails in the woods. It was beautiful! There were actually hills to run up and down, trees to run around, and logs and branches to jump over. I also heard that you mostly only ran the first mile but there was also another good stretch of running later in the race. So even though it is still only 3.25 miles I got some decent running out of it after all.
Silly us forgot to put our timing chips on our shoes so we don't have official times but unofficially it took us 45 minutes. Not that we cared about time anyway. How can you for this? We had fun and that's all that matters!
At the end Jaime and I hosed off and donated our shoes. She and I had both worn pairs that I'd taken to GLR and they were trashed even before the mud. (What WAS that smell??) We got into dry clothes and headed home. The long drive home.
I definitely had a lot of fun doing Warrior Dash and would think about it again next year. It was great to do a non-competitive, down and dirty fun run. I think we all need something like that every once in a while to level us out.
And LOOK! I got my fuzzy warrior horns!
Did you do Warrior Dash this weekend? Tell me about it!
I'm not really big on "faux" meat products for something to eat on a regular basis. I like to stick with tempeh and beans - sometimes veggie burgers - but I do like to try new products when I see them. Beyond Meat Chicken-Free Strips caught my attention when Brian and I were at the Detroit Whole Foods a few weeks ago. They come in grilled, lightly seasoned, and southwest style. We got grilled because it sounded like a more versatile flavor than the other two. The strips are easy to prepare - simply microwave or saute and add to your favorite recipe!
We had them last night for dinner in a salad. We took spinach, fresh red pepper strips, avocado, strawberries, sunflower seeds, and topped it all with the prepared chicken strips. Over that we drizzled some homemade balsamic vinaigrette (I cut the canola oil down to 1 tbsp and added a pinch of Xanthan gum to thicken it slightly). OMG it was the most delicious salad I've had in a long time! Brian loved it, too. It was the perfect application for the chicken. And the dressing was really good, too. I'd never made it before but it turned out well.
We had a few strips left and I popped them in the microwave, which is the other way to prepare them. I do not recommend this technique! They were rubbery and cooled off much too quickly. Take my advice and spend the extra few minutes to saute them in a pan!
I'm pretty sure I found my new favorite summer salad!
What's your favorite summer salad?
