So just what is this Tough Mudder thing?

As I've mentioned several times in the Blog now, I'm training for the upcoming Tough Mudder.  But what the heck is that?

As you've probably deduced from the name it's another one of those mud runs that have become popular lately.  They label themselves as "probably the toughest event on the planet."  I don't know about that, but it doesn't look exactly like a walk in the park either.

The race I'm scheduled for, the Southern California Tough Mudder is an 11 mile obstacle run in the mountains around Vail Lake in Temecula.  The course itself is a constantly ascending and descending run around the lake, following the shoreline, ridgelines, and valleys.   Perusing the terrain on Google Earth there doesn't seem to be a flat spot longer than perhaps 1/2 mile.  Interspersed throughout the 11 miles are 24 obstacles ranging from 12 foot wooden walls, low strung barbed wire, mud pits, cold water underwater swims, greased ramps, tunnel crawls, buttered monkey bars (possibly with firehose snipers) flaming hay bales, and oh yeah, a live electrical wire gauntlet.  Fun!

You can run individually or as a team, and I've chosen to put a team together.  Myself and several friends are running as "The Axis of Awesomeness".  Yeah.  Don't ask.

So what's the plan?  After extensive research (I must have watched like... six videos!) I determined the most challenging obstacles, and what muscle groups would be called upon to complete the challenge.  First, since it IS an 11 mile hill run I'm running hills.  Lots of hills.  In fact, in the coming weeks I'll be running from the Tramway station at Mt. San Jacinto to the peak and down again.  This is also 11 miles though obviously half is downhill.  However it also starts at 8,500 ft elevation and tops out around 10,200 feet, one of the tallest peaks in California.

My current fitness plan calls for twice weekly runs; one short day and one long day.  My short day is usually around 3 miles, and either hilly trails or deep sand.  Both work your legs and calves especially, muscles I'll need in top shape come the Mudder.  My long run is going to be progressive, currently I'm going 5 miles but I'm increasing the distance by about 1/2 mile each time, until I reach approximately 10 miles.

Individual obstacles will also call upon different muscle groups and unusual movement styles.  The walls, rope climbs, and monkey bars will all require upper body strength, and the ability to pull yourself up repeatedly.  To this end, I'm doing several sets of Australian pull ups.  They differ from a regular pull up in that you aren't lifting your entire body off the ground.  Instead you set your bar low, prop your feet, and pull yourself up as in a pull-up.  You can almost imagine it as an upside (Australian) push up.  The advantage is it allows you to do a much increased volume of exercises as compared to regular pull ups.  Doing 5-10 sets of 10 is a great workout, and entirely realistic.

The cargo net, barbed wire crawl, tunnels, and several other obstacles require you to pull yourself along low to the ground or push constant weights off your head.  For these obstacles I'm doing a variety of push-ups (regular, wide, narrow, diamond, inclined) and bear crawls.  Bear crawls work not only your arms and shoulders, but also are great for your abs and other core muscles.  I do them with my body held low to the ground, and bringing my knees up to my armpits as I crawl.  It's a great overall workout.

For general overall fitness I also am doing body weight squats (prisoner style) and a variety of burpees.  I'm actually doing a 100 day burpee challenge as part of the fitness, adding a single burpee each day for the next hundred days.

My goals are to complete 100 consecutive push ups in less than 2 minutes, be able to do 15 dead hang pull ups, and run 3 miles at a 7 minute mile pace.  Will I make it?  Keep checking back to find out.