Edumacate me on Warrior Dash

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Okay....I want to crawl through the mud. I've had a neighbor do it and it looks like a blast.

Here's my situation/dilemma/question....

I've been working on losing weight since Mar 2011. I'm down 33 lbs (288 to 255). I go to they gym 4-6 times a week, and am up to an hour on the elliptical and treadmill. I don't jog or run, but I'm not against it (I admit, I perform running in A/C to running in 100% humidity). Practically, how far away from and what do I need to do to get ready if I want to participate in Warrior Dash?

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  • sprinkies
    sprinkies Posts: 309 Member
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    i'd say it depends on how long the dash is, whether or not you're ready. if it's a 3 mile, you're definitely ready for one. if it's a 10 mile tough mudder, you're not ready for it.

    good luck!!
  • CoachKaren
    CoachKaren Posts: 90
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    LOL! I havent done one, but I had to comment because I was Laughing my butt off when I read "Edumacate"! :-)
  • jkleman79
    jkleman79 Posts: 706 Member
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    Everyone I have talked to that has done one says its more fun then anything..most people are even drunk doing it. Dont stress yourself out over it. I am doing the USMC mud run in october and very excited for it. Give it a shot!! Have fun! I was told to camp the night before with all the adrenaline junkies..hear is a good time! ha!
  • kylielouttit
    kylielouttit Posts: 512 Member
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    I wonder if they have these near me...I am in Alberta, Canada!
  • 512cheangela
    512cheangela Posts: 133
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    LOL Per the website: How do I train for Warrior Dash?
    Day one: run as far as you can. Go home.
    Day two: do the same thing.
    Find the dirtiest pond in your neighborhood and snorkel in it - in your slippers, without goggles.
    Practice your climbing and crawling skills at your local jungle gym. Ignore the small children and parental glares.
    Do not shower or shave for weeks in order to obtain a true Warrior look.
    Seriously though, your best bet is to do plenty of running leading up to the race.
  • heidikins7
    heidikins7 Posts: 22
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    I just did my first WD last Sunday. It was 3.28 miles of brutal insanity lol. The mud is extremely slippery, and if you have shoes with poor traction, you'll have a difficult time. There are a lot of climbing obstacles, which I knew about, but I was NOT prepared for. My arms were killing me the next day.

    It was a blast though, and I plan on doing it again next year. There are serious runners, and there are wasted ones, as someone else said. If you can do at least 3 miles now, you'll be fine. Not many people run the entire time. I even walked a good chunk of it.
  • cammons
    cammons Posts: 126 Member
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    You're strong enough to handle the obstacle part of the dash no problem, I found most of the obstacles to be more mentally challenging than physically challenging. Depending on your course the running part could be tricky, but don't worry for most people, ours turned into a brisk hike rather than a run.

    Unlike some other courses I've heard about which had one heck of a giant hill in the middle of the course (we didn't have the one giant hill), our entire course was up extremely steep hills and down a few equally steep hills that you had to slide down because the ankle deep mud we had after an inch of rain just made it flat out impossible to stay upright on the downhill (it was hard enough on the uphill). In fact, we had very few obstacles until the last half mile because there were no flat spots for obstacles until we got out of the woods.

    Three weeks before the WD, I ran a half marathon, two weeks before I ran a 5K and the weekend before I took as a rest weekend (I ran four miles on my own) and even I walked/hiked most of that course.
  • mattbryan
    mattbryan Posts: 147
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    Looks like I need to incorporate some running into my routine....but I really have no intentions of running anything longer than a 10k in my life...a 5k sound much more my speed. LOL I still can't get it into my head how someone would run a marathon (or even a half marathon, for that matter).
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    The Warrior Dash would have been fun even if I hiked it instead of ran it. But for me, the running part was easy. At most a half mile at a time, then you'd "get a breather" of sorts to go over obstacles. In the wooded areas, it was often single file, so if someone slow is in front of you, you went at their pace. That was really frustrating for us, because there was a group of women who always ended up in front of us. We'd finally pass them, then they'd skip an obstacle and get back in front of us, and we'd be stuck behind them again. It was like a game of leap frog!

    Running in the woods felt wonderful. Even when it was raining. I felt so... free! Granted, I did bust up my knee pretty good when a tree root grabbed my ankle and tripped me (I swear it's true... those trees are evil!), but aside from the fallen trees, exposed roots, mud and rocks, the ground is so soft and squishy and bouncy.

    Some obstacles required a bit of upper body strength. Some a little balance. Most were just fun. Someone did get seriously injured on the Great Warrior Wall on day 2 of our local one. She fell from the top and broke both bones in her lower leg... open compound fractures. Last I heard, she had about five surgeries. Steel rod, skin and muscle grafts. Not fun. If you aren't sure about an obstacle, skip it.

    The only hard part for me was the mud pit at the end. Before you jump in, make sure it's wet enough. Ours was wet cement. Sand, gravel and a tiny bit of water. If it's like that, get to the sides where it's shallower, or you'll get stuck. Later in the day, they added more water and people were able to literally swim in it.
  • MsKittyCAT
    MsKittyCAT Posts: 217
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    I would not consider myself in good physical shape. I've been a non-athletic couch potato almost all of my life. In December a girlfriend decided she was doing Warrior Dash this year and talked me into signing up with her. Other friends jumped on the bandwagon and a fitness/weight loss support group on facebook blossomed into an important part of my daily life.

    To try to prepare myself I started with 30 day challenges, 30 minutes of intentional activity every day, and that got me moving. We took an into to belly dancing class that turned out to be more fun than exercise, did 3 months of weekly water aerobics classes that I loved, and I tried to keep up with the girls doing zumba but that is still super challenging for me. I joined Planet Fitness and still don't go as much as I should but I can do an hour on the elliptical or exercise bike. I'm still lacking in the weight training areas.

    There were about 20 of us that did the Dash. I didn't really know what to expect and was scared to death. I didn't mind the mud or the water which was up to my chest at some points, but the obstacles were tough. I was probably the last one in our group to complete the course, but that was my only goal, just to get through it. Yes I jogged a little but walked most of it. I'm not a runner. Couldn't have gotten myself over some of the obstacles without teamwork support from my 2 best friends. Took me 96 minutes. But I did it.

    Now I have a goal to beat next year.
  • kjjm08
    kjjm08 Posts: 217 Member
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    From everyone that I have talked to who has done it, they say to enjoy it and not get caught up in "can I do i?t" and" what place will I get?' A friend said he did the c25k running program to train a little and just normal working out.

    I am going to my first one in Nov and can not wait!!
  • cammons
    cammons Posts: 126 Member
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    Oh...and if you happen to be shorter than your average bear you might have a little swimming to do as well. The part where we were supposed to "wade through chest deep water" and hurl ourselves over logs would probably have been much easier if I had been able to touch the bottom of the pond. :P

    Seriously, go with a plan to have fun and not watch the clock. Our trails were (for the most part) wide enough for two or three people, but if you have a faster group behind you (likely to happen with the multiple waves starting every 30 minutes), obey common courtesy rules and move over to the side or off the path to let them by, it will be less stressful for everyone.

    HAVE FUN! You won't regret doing it.