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anechka

Tough Mudder Race / Wounded Warrior Project Fundraiser

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Okay guys, here's the deal:

 

A bunch of co-workers and I have registered for a "mud marathon" known as Tough Mudder. It's a 12 mile long run with mud, fire, live wires, freezing water, obstacles, etc. that takes place around the US throughout the year. We'll be attending the one on Oct. 20th in Englishtown, NJ (Raceway Park).

 

Tough Mudder is not a race, but a challenge that you take on with your teammates. You must work together to overcome miles of obstacles. We're very excited to take on the challenge, but we're also excited at the opportunity to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project. Tough Mudder is a sponsor of the program, which aims to aid and honor US service members that have sustained injuries in fights overseas post Sept. 11, 2001. Many veterans and currently enlisted "Wounded Warriors" participate in Tough Mudder. Every registrant for the run gets the chance to raise money for the organization if they wish. I figured it's a great way to give back to the inspiring men and women, who have fought and continue to fight for our country every day.

 

If anyone's interested in donating, here's the link:

 

https://www.raceit.com/fundraising/donate.aspx?event=10006&fundraiser=r2796419

 

Any amount is greatly appreciated and goes directly towards the Wounded Warrior Project (more info here if you're interested).

 

Thanks for your time NJGF! My team will be sure to post pics from the race afterwards. We're a bunch of pharmacy techs and pharmacists, so it should be interesting! :p

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Have fun! - I've done 4 of these.....always a good time! I'm probably going to enter this one as well - need to get a nice even 5 plus Under Armour is a sponsor now so I need one of those new shirts.

 

The live wire obstacle is my favorite. Yes I have issues.

Stay Tough!

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Did it this past Nov also. Never shivered so bad as I did after several of the water obstacles. Also, the last electric shock obstacle was just pure suck...

 

Glenn/Anechka, I'll throw a few $ at your team.

 

Any interest in forming a NJGF team for this year's mudder?

 

Thanks so much Dirty!

 

Yeah, I keep hearing the freezing water is one of the worst parts, not looking forward to that.

 

Did this last Nov. also. It was awesome, except I was shaking so hard I spilled my beer on the T-shirt they handed me. I would be in for a NJGF team. Also a lot of companies match contributions to the WWP, mine did last year.

 

NJGF team sounds like an awesome idea. As for matching donations, we're trying to get our company to sponsor/match donations, so hopefully that'll work out.

 

Have fun! - I've done 4 of these.....always a good time! I'm probably going to enter this one as well - need to get a nice even 5 plus Under Armour is a sponsor now so I need one of those new shirts.

 

The live wire obstacle is my favorite. Yes I have issues.

Stay Tough!

 

Four?! And you enjoy the live wire obstacle?? Maybe they've scrambled the brain a bit... ;) Any tips for a newcomer? Maybe we'll be seeing you at the one in NJ then!

 

Good luck! Me, some co-workers and my son are doing the one in PA in April. Sounds like it will be insane.

 

Thanks, and good luck to you as well.

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I 've done a few Tough Mudders and posted some tips on AR15.com. Here's an excerpt for those who are thinking of doing it:

 

To future mudders (especially those that let life get in the way of training and staying in shape - you know who you are, you got married, have kids, gotta work to pay the mortgage etc) some words of advice that might help:

 

1) A camelback does really help. Just get a low profile version so it does not get caught on the nets. Drink up at the water stops.

 

2) If you are doing it in the cold and you have an aversion to near freezing temps, consider wearing a 1-2mm long sleeve wet suit top. Don't forget anti chaffe when you put it on. I wore a sleeveless underarmor shirt under a longsleeve underarmor baseball shirt. The long sleeves also help when crawling over the rocks in the mud. The Tri-State, although the temperature was warmer than the PA one, felt colder. There were alot of water obstacles and it they weren't wet, they made it wet and if it wasn't cold they made it cold with ice.

 

3) If you plan on going through the 50,000 or so pics, wear a bright shirt so you can easily pick yourself out in the thumbnails.

 

4) I carried three powerbar gel packs (no caffeine) that fit in the camelback pocket. I used one and handed out the other two to people who seemed like they needed the extra boost. One guy was a "kid" in great shape that was stuck going up hill at the end, he was cramped up like a vise. I gave him the rest of my water and one of my team members and myself got under his arms and helped him up the hill. I think the electrolytes in the gel packs helped. A spectator at the top gave him a bananna and more water. He finished with us.

 

5) Talk to triatheletes for clues to what to eat prior and during the mudder.

 

6) Wear gloves...I wore batting gloves by under armor. They were alot less expensive than the football gloves.

 

7) The water is shockingly cold. Be prepared. Do not stop moving. If you are in good shape and you're moving through fast, you'll be waiting at the obstacles.

 

8) If you have weak ankles and have a tendency to twist them, be sure to wear a brace that fits in your shoe. You will twist your ankle especially at the end when you get tired.

 

9) Train cardio

 

10) Train cardio

 

11) Did I mention train cardio?

 

12) One more thing, train cardio!!!!

 

Tri-State (NJ) wasn't as cardio intense as the PA or Vermont. Climbing the mountains are a ****.

 

Hope this helps and good luck!!!!

 

See you there, and I'll be doing PA this April 28.

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Four?! And you enjoy the live wire obstacle?? Maybe they've scrambled the brain a bit... ;) Any tips for a newcomer? Maybe we'll be seeing you at the one in NJ then!

 

Thanks, and good luck to you as well.

Yes I will most likely be there in October.

 

SoCalTrojanSoldier covered it pretty well. NJ isn't as bad as the hills at PA. Tough Mudder is still a runners event. Conditioning will play a MUCH bigger factor than strength.

 

Hydrate the entire week before the event - I didn't drink enough last November and cramped up very badly halfway through. I'm not making that mistake again.

 

As far as clothing goes - it's a personal choice. I've never worn gloves. It's always been shorts, compression shorts, and a t shirt. In 2010 Tri State i wore a costume (Dorothy from the wizard of oz - it was a blast) I focused a bit more on nutrition and timing the past couple events and for me it made a big difference.

 

The water is cold - it is the hardest thing for me to handle. The best advice is to keep moving, do not even think about stopping. Get it in your head to keep moving and you will be just fine. Yes I know this is much harder in practice.

 

Number one advice? Have fun! If you are going at it alone, don't worry - you'll meet people. If you have a group, you'll have a good time. All of my events I have gone with one or two people, had a blast. In 2012 I really want to do it with a group.

 

Don't let the event get into your head. If your only goal is to finish, then YOU WILL. In 2010, I roped my twin sister into doing it with me. On three days notice. This event is not something she's comfortable doing nor does she train for that type of event. I got her to finish and couldn't have been prouder. I even gave her my free beer (Hell she earned it more than I did)

 

Oh and the electrical wires? I'm the dope who walks through them instead of running.

 

It breaks down easily to this

 

1) Have Fun.

2)Stay Tough.

3)Earn the Headband.

4)Conditioning

4)Conditioning

4)Conditioning

5)Hydrate

6)Nutrition

7-10 )Conditioning.

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8) If you have weak ankles and have a tendency to twist them, be sure to wear a brace that fits in your shoe. You will twist your ankle especially at the end when you get tired.

 

I'll second this. I have taped my ankles every event and it has saved me more than once. Especially the 'trail run' at Bear Creek. I hated that.

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tips:

 

-travel light. whenever i do these races, i wear shorts, vibrams five fingers and no shirt. they have water stations along the course so i dont think a camel pack is really needed

 

-do the workout they have posted. most of the race is cardio but doing some kettle bell training will help.

 

-ignore the pain: easier said than done with some of the ice cold water but just ignore it and keep pushing. cuts, bruises and other battle scares will heal hahaha.

 

-have fun!

 

i cant wait to do another one. im really gonna push myself and see if i qualify for the "tougher mudder"- a 24hr tough mudder race

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Good luck to you anna. I will be running with my PD this year.

 

Good luck to you too :)

 

My wife and a few of her fellow firefighters from her department are putting a team together that I will be running with. See you there! We will be the group of fat out of shape guys busting each others balls the whole way through. :D

 

Haha, awesome! See you then!

 

tips:

 

-travel light. whenever i do these races, i wear shorts, vibrams five fingers and no shirt. they have water stations along the course so i dont think a camel pack is really needed

 

-do the workout they have posted. most of the race is cardio but doing some kettle bell training will help.

 

-ignore the pain: easier said than done with some of the ice cold water but just ignore it and keep pushing. cuts, bruises and other battle scares will heal hahaha.

 

-have fun!

 

i cant wait to do another one. im really gonna push myself and see if i qualify for the "tougher mudder"- a 24hr tough mudder race

 

Yeah, I've been hearing conflicting opinions about wearing a camel pack. Don't think I'll be using it, seems like it'll just get in the way and the water stations should be enough. Do you think the vibrams are better than shoes?

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Good luck to you too :)

 

 

 

Haha, awesome! See you then!

 

 

 

Yeah, I've been hearing conflicting opinions about wearing a camel pack. Don't think I'll be using it, seems like it'll just get in the way and the water stations should be enough. Do you think the vibrams are better than shoes?

 

At TriState in NJ they should be fine. If you do the ones in the mountains or where they go through the woods, they actuall toss large branches and place the path over rocky terrain. I can't remember how many times I stubbed my toes on the rocks and it hurt even wearing sneakers. I can't imagine kicking a large log or rock with Vibrams on. When I was tired even picking up my legs was hard and thus stubbed my toes alot. The Tristate has minimal woods/rocky terrain if any at all.

 

Here's some pics to help you get motivated from a couple of different TM's, if a fat 47yo out of shape guy can do it anyone can do it (notice the pain):

 

74137eef.jpg

 

They have gotten better with the watering stations and even throw in some banana and energy snack stations so a camelback may not be necessary but I'm still not taking any chances. Cramping up is a nightmare and the only way to solve that problem is water and electrolytes (gel packs). The camelbacks really don't cause any problems and if/when you need it you'll really need it. Better to have it and not need it than not have it and need it.

 

87ec0493.jpg

 

 

 

8430bcc2.jpg

 

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Do you think the vibrams are better than shoes?

 

I should clarify that the shoes Im wearing arent actually the vibram ones. I actually wear the Filas version of them which is almost the same. The only difference is that the bottom of the shoe is thicker which helps pad your feet better when running over rocks and whatnot.

 

But anyways, I like them a lot. Ive used regular shoes and these Filas in Warrior Dashes up in the Poconos and I noticed a difference. When traveling thru mud and water, regular shoes getting water logged and can get stuck in the mud. In one race i actually saw lots of people have their shoes sucked right off their feet. With the 5 finger shoes, water drains right out and the mud really has nothing to collect on. I was able to fly right thru it with little problems.

 

Its really a matter of preference. Most people wear regular shoes. Ive worn them in the past and was fine. I really like to see how fast I can run these types of races and I was looking for an excuse to buy shoes like this so I tried it out. Be warned tho, if you go the five finger route, you really need to start slow and train in them. You will be working different muscles that you never used before when wearing regular shoes so you need to be careful in the begining and not over do it.

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Just want to point out that I have talked to my ortho surgeon about "barefoot" running shoes, and he basically told me they do a great job at keeping his podiatrist friends loaded beyond belief. Something like 20% of people don't develop injuries when switching to them.

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