Toughest Mudder Chicago “6 Week Countdown”
The first week of “officially” training is complete – not too shabby considering I ramped up from 20mi per week to over 40mi! By the way, I do not recommend anyone doing this. Ramping up the miles too fast may leave you prone to injuries. I had ran Tougher Mudder in June and Swampfoot in early July so I felt that I had a pretty good base established. Also, I did not get the green light from Fit Mom Meg until early July – but that’s another story.
Now, I have not run anything over a marathon – 26.2 miles – back in 2015 and set a pretty lofty goal for
Toughest Mudder. If you are not familiar with Toughest Mudder check it out: Toughest Mudder Basically, it’s 8 overnight hours of obstacle course racing – ooohhh what fun! My goal is 35 miles. That means 7 laps of the 5 mile course. This would put me in contention for World’s Toughest Mudder.
Why?
Mostly to prove to myself that I CAN. To be able to say “I am one of the world’s toughest mudder”.
Even if that’s all that ever becomes of it. It’s similar to the marathon goal. I never, ever, ever, ever, (you
get it) thought that I would try to run a marathon. Let alone actually finish one. AND, finish sub 4 hours (3:47:43). It also keeps me training hard and eating right – staying fit and healthy.
So, with week 1 in the bag, I thought I would share what my training looked like for the week. Also, a bit of a lessons-learned on my long run day which I tried to simulate race day.
Week 1
Monday – Rest – P90x Chest and Back
I generally do not run on Monday but I still workout. P90x is my go-to for obstacle course training. It has served me well for the few years that I have been running obstacle course races.
Tuesday – 4mi run/P90x Plyometrics
I run early in the morning before work. That gets it out of the way and also gets me amped up for the work day. The run is an easy pace. After work, P90x Plyometrics (or jump training) is perfect to get your body used to leaving the ground – which is inevitably going to happen in an obstacle course race.
Wednesday – Skills/P90x Shoulders and Arms
It’s important that my training incorporates moves that we’ll see on the course. So Wednesday is my skills day. The goals is to do as many rounds as possible. I also did this in the morning before work – I did 3 rounds and think I could have done more but ran out of time. It looks like this:
Warm up – 1 mile jog (gives me a chance to get the dog out for a bit) Pull ups – 10 400m run Pushups – 10 400m run Rope climbs – 10 (HAHA! I reduced to 3 this week and will try to increase each week) 400m run Air Squats – 20
400m run Evening workout – (could not get it done right after work because I met with a potential sponsor. That’s for another post.) P90x shoulders and arms. It’s just what it sounds like.
Thursday – 8mi run/P90x Legs and Back
Morning run before work again. I have to get up a little earlier to get these kinds of miles in but I feel absolutely fantastic afterwards. Run went at a decent pace. I have also separated the mileage into loops – a 5 mile and a 3 mile. This again, is to simulate the 5 mile loop structure of the race. No evening workout unfortunately – things happen. Adjust and move on, right? This is great opportunity to remind everyone to be flexible with your training. If you miss a day or workout, so what. It’s okay. If you have to walk instead of run, that’s okay too.
Friday – Rest
I actually did rest! No run or workout.
Saturday – 24mi run
Long run day! This gives me a chance to simulate race day more. Plan: 5mile loops with no more than 5min in between each loop for hydrating and eating. I ran at Stoney Creek Metropark on the mountain bike trails to add some intensity – plus give my feet and knees a break from the pavement! Note about tailwind endurance fuel – I like this product because it tastes good (or no taste for the naked kind), doesn’t mess with stomach, and provides calorie, hydration, and electrolyte needs. I mixed one scoop of tailwind with 17oz of water.
Loop 1 – 5mi Pit 1 – under 5 min – about 17oz of water with tailwind Loop 2 – 5mi (reverse of Loop 1) – felt pretty hungry – will need more food Pit 2 – over 10 min – about 17oz of water and tailwind and a cliff bar (bathroom break) Loop 3 – 5mi – got really hungry – good thing I found a granola bar on the trail! Pit 3 – about 5 min – another 17oz of water with tailwind Loop 4 – 5mi – very labored and had to walk the last 2 miles – cut the run short – bugs were fierce too! Lessons-learned: I need to do 2 scoops of tailwind for more calories, need a watch for pit time, and may want to bring a pack to carry more food for on the trail.
Sunday – 10mi run Considering I ran 20 miles the day before, I actually felt pretty good. All in all, it was a pretty successful week of training. I’m looking forward to pushing through the next week.