Tough Mudder

 

 

It was about 12 miles:

 

 

The water was cold and there was alot of it:

 

The mud:

 

 

 

I had previously posted the below on another board, some of it pertains to the Tough Mudder Allentown which I completed in April 2011 at Bear Creek mountain:

 

Tough Mudder Clues

 

Everyone I know who was a runner did pretty well. I hated the mountain more than anything. As stupid as it sounds the Christmas song "take one step in front of the other" helped me take the next upward step. I live at the shore and thus no hills to be had at all to train for the mountain.

 

Towards the end I remember trudging back up the mountain and looking to the left. I was barely making it up the hill with nothing in my hands and my thighs and calves were on the verge of cramping when I noticed I still had to come back down and then carry the friggin log up the hill. By that time I could see the finish line and refused to quit.

 

I signed up when I read somewhere in these forums that a member congratulated her husband for completing the tough mudderin Nov 2011 in NJ. For all the preppers, and those that stress self defense/self preservation - I think the most important tool we have (besides our brains) is our physical shape.

 

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/barbed wires. 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.

 

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 the course fast, you'll be waiting at the obstacles - and getting colder.

 

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) One more thing train cardio!!!!!

 

12) Did I mention to train cardio?

That's awesome!

wowser. how long was the swim?

Good Job Doc!

wowser. how long was the swim?

 

 

There were about three 100yd "swims". There is a line in the water that you use to pull yourself to the other side. Hence the gloves.

 

There were about three other 50 yard swims.

 

And alot of other "pools" and mud pits that vary between a few yards and several hundred yards. They are sneaky in that you could be truding in 3 feet of muddy water and all of a sudden you fall into a deep 6 foot pit.

 

Once you are wet, you stay wet. The course is flat and any wind blows right through your wet clothes. I'd say that most people were slightly hypothermic during the entire run.

Good Job Doc!

 

Thanks. It's been forcing me to train cardio. I've lost about 20 lbs since the April Tough mudder. I still need to lose about 25 more pounds. I realized that my cardio was terrible when we were shooting barricades at the end of one of the MDTS classes and I was very winded. It's bad when both Chris and Joel are asking me if I'm OK.

 

I've read somewhere (I think it was one of Chris Fry's PDN articles or in one of the survival forums) that you should be able to run as fast as you can for two minutes straight with gear. The way I figure it, that should be about 1/2 of a mile or just under.

Nice job.

Great job dude. That looked brutal. I probably would've gone about 5 minutes and then my heart would've given out because I'm so out of shape.

Wow! Great job.

 

Wish I was in that kind of shape. I'm tired just thinking about it. lol

Vinny do this with you?

Congrats! My PD was representing and finished in 2.5hrs. I will be participating with them next year.

Yep did it also. What time did you start? My start time was 11:30. Got a little chilly with the wind blowing . Nice photos too.

I would have if I knew this existed! Holy freaking cow this is awesome! Congrats to you! This makes the warrior dash seem like a stroll in the park.

I would have if I knew this existed! Holy freaking cow this is awesome! Congrats to you! This makes the warrior dash seem like a stroll in the park.

 

I think it was a mile 3 that had a sign, this is where the Warrior Run would be finished.

Congrats..

 

That actually looks like fun. Course, I would need to be in way better shape to try it.

Yep did it also. What time did you start? My start time was 11:30. Got a little chilly with the wind blowing . Nice photos too.

 

Congrats!!! We started a 0900. The times on the camera are off. It took my team 5 hrs, we finished at 1400. Last year I was "adopted" by this team after my original team left me on the mountain.

 

The Pledge: Mudder Pledge

 

As a Tough Mudder I pledge that…

 

* I understand that Tough Mudder is not a race but a challenge.

 

* I put teamwork and camaraderie before my course time.

 

* I do not whine – kids whine.

 

* I help my fellow Mudders complete the course.

 

* I overcome all fears.

 

In the spirit of the Tough Mudder creed, we all stayed together no matter what. There were 17 of us this year. We just keep getting bigger because we keep adopting people who get left behind by their other teams. We stayed at each of the obstacles and every one helped a few other mudders that needed help.

 

Last year I was amazed that complete and utter strangers could be so encouraging and supportive.

Vinny do this with you?

 

 

Vinnie had to work unfortunately. We are signed up for next April 28

That looks like a lot of fun. I miss a good obstacle course. How wide are those tunnels you cawled through? The clostrophobic in me would not appreciate that.

Congrats to all TriState Tough Mudders!!!

 

For those of you interested but afraid you can't do it, start training slowly. It is possible. Everyone helps everyone.

 

Try starting with something like "Couch to 10K" workouts. That will get you on the right track.

 

Cardio is the most important. Upper body strength is not such a priorty. The only obstacle that is impossible without upper body strength is the monkey bars. Also if they have an obstacle where you have to eat a habanero pepper...don't eat it. You'll puke your guts out.

 

I started with a stationary bike last year just to get my heart rate up. Then I ran on a treadmill. For the April Tough Mudder I could only run about one mile on the treadmill at level 4.5 and that was pushing it. It was not enough.

 

For this one I worked myself up to over 3 miles on the treadmill at level 5-6 easily. I also did the bike for off training days and used a nordic track and the stair master a couple of time a week.

 

Also I started the P90X in May but did not get past the 3rd week. I couldn't do it everyday and by the end of June was starting the fourth week. My knee was hurting, so I concentrated on just bicycling until my pain subsided. Then I started the running and bicycling regimen.

That looks like a lot of fun. I miss a good obstacle course. How wide are those tunnels you cawled through? The clostrophobic in me would not appreciate that.

 

The tunnels can be tight but there is always some one in front and in back. You really don't notice how tight it is.

 

 

Tough Mudder

 

 

It was about 12 miles:

 

 

The water was cold and there was alot of it:

 

The mud:

 

 

 

I had previously posted the below on another board, some of it pertains to the Tough Mudder Allentown which I completed in April 2011 at Bear Creek mountain:

 

Tough Mudder Clues

 

Everyone I know who was a runner did pretty well. I hated the mountain more than anything. As stupid as it sounds the Christmas song "take one step in front of the other" helped me take the next upward step. I live at the shore and thus no hills to be had at all to train for the mountain.

 

Towards the end I remember trudging back up the mountain and looking to the left. I was barely making it up the hill with nothing in my hands and my thighs and calves were on the verge of cramping when I noticed I still had to come back down and then carry the friggin log up the hill. By that time I could see the finish line and refused to quit.

 

I signed up when I read somewhere in these forums that a member congratulated her husband for completing the tough mudderin Nov 2011 in NJ. For all the preppers, and those that stress self defense/self preservation - I think the most important tool we have (besides our brains) is our physical shape.

 

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/barbed wires. 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.

 

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 the course fast, you'll be waiting at the obstacles - and getting colder.

 

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) One more thing train cardio!!!!!

 

12) Did I mention to train cardio?

 

I got one!!! WOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!!

 

Gonna do a Spartan Run and do the other PA Mudder in April... it's painful, it's miserable, but it's also fun as hell. I did it just to see if I could do it, but now I just want to do it for the fun of it! WOOOT!

 

PS: How are your legs feeling dude? Towards the end I was on the verge having a major lock-up in my calves, especially after the last water course under the floating barrels... ugh.

 

+1 on the electrical shock at the end of the run... I strolled through it cursing up a storm every time I got shocked.

I got one!!! WOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!!

 

Gonna do a Spartan Run and do the other PA Mudder in April... it's painful, it's miserable, but it's also fun as hell. I did it just to see if I could do it, but now I just want to do it for the fun of it! WOOOT!

 

PS: How are your legs feeling dude? Towards the end I was on the verge having a major lock-up in my calves, especially after the last water course under the floating barrels... ugh.

 

+1 on the electrical shock at the end of the run... I strolled through it cursing up a storm every time I got shocked.

 

 

Congrats!!!

 

Yeah, the cold water will cramp you up in a second.

 

The Spartan Run, now that is some crazy stuff there.

 

I was sore last night but today the only thing that hurts a little is my right ankle.

 

Cramps are a b***h so I made sure to drink along the way, eat the bannanas, eat the gel packs, and I also got some of the "Oral IV" stuff from Bravo Company. No cramping here.

 

The shocks weren't bad yesterday but in PA they hurt badly. I think the hay insulated some of the shocks.

What is wrong with electric shock? That was my favorite part of PT last year.

The tunnels can be tight but there is always some one in front and in back. You really don't notice how tight it is.

Oh that just killed it. Bad enough tight spaces but the front and rear will freak me out.

Oh that just killed it. Bad enough tight spaces but the front and rear will freak me out.

 

Hey Tim the tunnels were only about 30-40 feet or so with three 90 degree turns. The drainage pipes in the water was about the same, you crawled down one then up another. The tunnels were only dark in the middle. Some people chose to go around, as I guess they were claustrophobic. Shock wasn't to bad and that's coming from a bald guy .

What is wrong with electric shock? That was my favorite part of PT last year.

 

They weren't that bad. Just minor shocks.

Congrats. I appreciate you taking the time to explain your tials through your training. I like the team attitude. This is teh first time I have ever heard of these.

 

 

 

 

 

I think I need to get my fat a** in shape to try this. It seems like an awesome day.

Hey Tim the tunnels were only about 30-40 feet or so with three 90 degree turns. The drainage pipes in the water was about the same, you crawled down one then up another. The tunnels were only dark in the middle. Some people chose to go around, as I guess they were claustrophobic. Shock wasn't to bad and that's coming from a bald guy .

Ok, so if you go around it do you get points or time penalties?

Ok, so if you go around it do you get points or time penalties?

 

Tim it is not a race against others it is a race against yourself. It took me a good hour in dry clothes to stop shivering. no one but yourself and i guess your teammates know what you did, the honor system. Semper Fi as you know well.