obstacle run training etc. questions

Good on you for resolving to do well at the Tough Mudder. I've encountered my share of people who, due to inadequate training, barely run the course at all and half-*kitten* a lot of obstacles. This is technically allowed, but it goes against the spirit of the event.

29 weeks is certainly enough time to get your running game up. It won't be enough time to develop great upper body strength, but you can certainly make major gains during that time. Focus on grip strength, pull-ups, and general cardio conditioning, and that'll help tremendously.

I've done an obscene number of Spartan Races, Savage Races, Tough Mudders, and lesser known events (BoneFrog Challenge, etc). Pull-ups, chin-ups, and heavy rows are among the most beneficial exercises you can do.

As for how often I trained... I had already been exercising regularly beforehand, and a pretty high intensity. Nowadays, I train more specifically for obstacle course races, and I do so almost everyday. If you're really determined, I'd say that some running three times a week would be helpful, with pulling exercises (the aforementioned pull-ups, chin-ups, and rows) twice a week. Supplement that with general cardio conditioning three times a week or so -- preferably with some interval training rather than just steady state cardio.

I am doing my first obstacle run this spring. 3 days a week, I follow a workout that is different body weight exercises coupled with dumbbells, pull ups, box jumps, and burpees - so many burpees! If you Google Spartan Workouts you can probably find the workouts. They get progressively more intense from week to week.

<sigh> sometimes I hate technology... I just finished a very long reply... just to delete it inadvertently by hitting the wrong section of my iOS screen just before posting.... ugh.


So here's take two I hope it is a good as my fist post LOL


Ok here is take three... I’m not sure why it isn’t saving properly. I will finish this damnit.


Let me add my congratulations to the others on your success so far and for setting yourself an awesome goal!

I’d say I'm a Tough Mudder fan. I've competed 6 TMs and have scheduled for March 2018 to enter a 'Tougher Mudder’ (their competitive first wave series) and am planning to enter the 8 hour 'Toughest Mudder' event in June and a regular TM in September. (My friends want to do the Worlds Toughest Mudder 24 hour event in November..... I'm not so sure I’ll consider that.)

Let me start with saying that, in my opinion, Tough Mudder is substantially different from many other 'obstacle course races' and events... primarily because the half and full Tough Mudder events are inherently Not Competitive. They are a challenge. Your challenge. This isn’t just a gimmick and it isn’t just a line.... at least it shouldn’t be. The entire point of a TM is to challenge yourself ... but it is NOT a race. .... you should expect to give and receive support and help throughout the course to complete it. So if you walk a large portion of it and fail on an obstacle or two and need to pass on an obstacle... no shame... if you cross the finish line, you are a Tough Mudder.

To that point, make sure you are on course with people who get that, and understand that fundamental difference. I have a couple of friends who went with a team that just didn’t get it... the more fit members of the team pushed everyone to run more / faster than these friends could sustain for the 17km of the course and my friends ended up crashing partway through and simply couldn't continue. Such a shame. Had they been with people who understood the Tough Mudder Pledge and understood that TM truly is different... it isn’t about how fast you can do it, had they been with supportive people who committed to helping everyone succeed, I know they'd have had no problem finishing the course. Do a google search for the TM pledge and read it a few times. Then find people who will take that seriously and bring them with you and you will have a GREAT TIME on the course. Let the macho, I’m faster, stronger, better, big-ego types go on ahead and then we can all feel sorry that they have missed such an important life lesson.

Now to some basic suggestions:

Where other people started their training, and when, may be very different from you because of starting from a different fitness level... so I’d suggest you just start now. You do have time to build if you do start now.

Get some people around you that you can ask silly questions about the course/event. That may be your husband, but I get that it may not. I’m not judging, I just know some people don’t want to ask their spouses what they see as 'vulnerable questions and others are perfectly ok. I’m just saying you should surround yourself with as much support as you can find.

A few specifics:

First, 'I help my fellow Mudders complete the course'. Feel free to add me as an MFP 'friend, if you like and ask me any questions you like. I'm happy to help in any way I can along the way to your course.

Second: you don’t need to run the entire course.... in fact, most courses have some steep hills, and delays at some obstacles, etc that make it so you can’t really 'run' the whole course... but you should have yourself at a state where you are able to run/jog 10Km reasonably comfortably without stopping before your course date. If you start now, I suspect you do have time to get there.

Start slow. Running is *very* hard on the body, and particularly so for those who are overweight. I hear you on the challenge with your previous c25K. For me, the *reason* I’m running (so I can go have a blast with friends!) makes the entire difference. I'd never run a day if it wasn’t for that. So do remember why you are doing what you are doings and start slow. Finding a quality learn-to-run program is a great idea.

Third: I have loads of thoughts on what to wear on-course, but to keep it concise:

Get *great* running shoes for your training - tomorrow if you don’t have them - and get great trail shoes that fit *you* very well for your course. (and run in them a fair bit on trails in advanced your event) Suggestion: don’t worry about what other people wear unless you fit a very standard shoe.... there are many great trail/OCR shoes that my wide foot simply cannot wear. I see lots of people on TM courses that think the course will just ruin their shoes, so they wear their oldest crap runners.... that is a terrible idea! Quality shoes will last and will wash. I've put a great pair of Sauconys through a number of TMs before I retired them. Investing in decent shoes will do a LOT to avoid injury as you start to get ready. Find a decent running store, if you can. to do some browsing/shopping in so you can get great advice from people who actually know running. (They may not know trail shoes exactly,... but that is ok... you have time do to your research for those shoes)

Four: upper body strength is important for a number of obstacles.(do a google or YouTube search for 'balls to the wall', and 'funky monkey the revolution' for examples.) so if you want to take a stab at some of these and want to be successful... start working towards this early on. I know many people find pull ups to be essentially impossible... so they struggle to figure out how to get started and learn... if you have access to weight equipment like at a gym, lat pull-downs are a great way to start with a lower weight than your full body weight and build from there. (Also allows you to work on proper form) Another relatively inexpensive alternative is a TRX system you can set up in your house that allows you to progressively build your 'rowing' strength (no the TRX shouldn't be used like a ring system to do a full pull up, but YouTube or other vids will show you how you can use them to help build your strength incrementally.


Remember this is for you and for fun. Cheers to a healthier you and congratulations on setting yourself such a great challenge! Let me know how I can help.

J

I did a Spartan Beast as my first obstacle race; I mostly do power lifting but I added in a lot of HIIT. Beyond that I didn't do any running. Took a out 4 hours. I'd recommend good shoes for trails, and learning how to climb a rope.

Here's the thing...

I've done a few, and while the courses can vary, they all come down to this -

1. Can you lift/pull/drag yourself through/over and obstacle? This is all body weight.
2. Can you carry a smallish load (could be a log, could be a person) some short distance, possibly uphill?
3. Can you run from one obstacle to the next?
4. Can you handle interval-type workouts? Changes are, you'll end up waiting in line at most obstacles, so it ends up being a run, run, wait, crawl/climb/whatever... run, run, wait, crawl/climb/whatever interval session.

So with that as a guide..
- I'd make sure you can manage your own body weight.
- I'd make sure you can carry a reasonable load a reasonable distance.
- I'd make sure you can run a moderate distance.
- I'd make sure you can deal with frequent and dramatic changes in HR/intensity.


The last thing worth mentioning... just make sure you can last the duration of the event. If it's going to take you 3 hours, can you be out in the sun, going at a reasonable pace/effort for 3 hours?

Congrats to you on all of your progress so far! You've gotten some pretty great advice, but I will go ahead and answer still to see if I have any different advice for you.

I just completed my first TM in October, and I absolutely loved it. While endurance is important, don't feel like you need to be able to go out and run a straight 10+ miles (if you're doing full). My friend and I did the full course, and while I could only run about four miles straight before the race, she could run around 10. I ended up having more energy than her and an easier time finishing the race simply because I trained more strength beforehand too. I agree with pull ups and dead hangs, both will help with getting used to holding your own body weight, as well as increase grip strength. Another thing that I think helped me was rock climbing, if you have access to a wall. I just did basic bouldering with an auto-belay, but I think it helped my grip strength, and also got me used to the feeling you get on obstacles like the Reach Around. Also things like the monkey bars at your local park might be fun and a good way to get some training in. Oh, and I had about three months to train, but didn't do much specific training for it besides the rock climbing. Otherwise I just did strength training and ran a couple miles a few times a week.

It really is a team event. I like to think that I helped others complete the course, and I know for a fact that I couldn't have completed some of the obstacles without the help of other Mudders. Good luck with your TM, and feel free to add or message me if you have any specific questions!