One of the major concerns for me going into my Tough Mudder event last April was the weather. Consider this; Tough Mudder event organizers plainly state that they will not cancel an event due to inclement weather, unless it's extremely dangerous. Basically, anything short of tornadoes, lightning, hurricanes, etc. So when Tough Mudder begins their schedule in February in the Southern states, you may experience a wide variety of weather and temperature possibilities. Last year, TM held an event in Georgia that experienced freezing temperatures and high winds which made the course a living nightmare for those brave souls who challenged it.
My event was in mid-April in Northern Ohio. Considering how mild the winter was last year, I was unsure of what type of weather I was going to experience. April in the Midwest can have 60's and sunny, or 30's and snowing. And in fact, you can experience these wild fluctuations in a matter of days! I had already decided that I was going to purchase some gear for the event and I was rather dismayed at the lack of credible information on the interwebs. Tough Mudder reviews on other sites and blogs were filled with bad asses who felt the need to prove how hardcore they were by running a course in nothing but shorts on a 40 degree day. To be honest, you really DON'T have to purchase any gear for these events if you don't want to. TM encourages attendees to dress up in silly costumes and not take the event too seriously. I agree with this mentality but I didn't follow it. I wanted to be completely prepared for the conditions on the course and I did not want anything to hinder my ability to complete it.
I utilized Mudder Nation for most of my gear questions but that site was hacked a while ago and I believe it is still down as of today. From the reviews and opinions I found online, I decided to purchase the following gear for my event:
Under Armour ColdGear Compression Crew
Under Armour ColdGear Compression Leggings
Vibram KMD Sport - Five Finger Shoes
Injinji No Show Toe Socks
Carhartt C-Grip Gloves
I will be reviewing each item so that you know how they worked for me on the course and whether they are worth the money for your event.
Under Armour ColdGear Compression Crew and Leggings
The Under Armour gear was the first stuff I decided to use, but it was the last stuff I actually purchased. The main reason was that I simply did not know what the weather was going to be like on the day of the event. In March the temperature was nearing record highs of the 60's and almost 70's. I did not want to purchased ColdGear clothing if the temperatures were going to be above 50 degrees. Eventually I decided to purchase them because I figured the temperature at 9 AM was still going to be cold enough. Luckily, or unluckily, the temperatures ranged in the mid to upper 40's with light to moderate rain.
The Under Armour clothing was AMAZING for the event! The compression fit prevented any moisture from weighing me down and kept me warm for the beginning of the day. Once submerged in water and mud, no amount of moisture-wicking fabric was going to keep me dry and warm but it served its purpose. Bottom line is if you are running your event in temperatures 50 degrees or less, Under Armour is your best option. One look at 80% of the Mudders in attendance will confirm this.
Vibram KMD Sport Shoes
I had read many reviews about footwear for Tough Mudder and I became convinced that the Vibram Five Finger shoes were the best bet. The shoes mimic your bare feet but still give you the protection of a rubber sole that is molded for your exact fit. Although they feel weird when you first try them, they become extremely comfortable and easy to run in as you wear them. The Vibrams, or whatever shoes you buy for Tough Mudder, NEED to be worn in months prior to your event. I cannot stress this enough. You don't want to be forming a blister halfway through the event because your shoes were too stiff and unused.
I used the KMD Sports for 2 months prior to the event when I worked out and on runs. The Vibrams, by their design, help to strengthen your foot instead of weakening with a ton of unnecessary padding and support. The only issue I had was the event was at a quarry, so there were small rocks everywhere. After 11 miles of stepping on rocks my feet were killing me. That's not the fault of the shoe, but of the terrain I was running on. Overall, I HIGHLY recommend these shoes for Tough Mudder.
The Injinji Toe Socks were not necessary as most people choose to wear Vibrams by themselves, but I was persuaded by reviews online explaining the benefits of reduced friction while running. They were a nice purchase and I find that I actually prefer wearing them with the Vibrams rather than without.
Carhartt C-Grip Gloves
I really felt that I was going to need a nice pair of gloves for protection on the walls, for gripping the monkey bars, and for generally going through the obstacles. For protection, the gloves were great and the rubber grips were great on the walls and for yard work at home. However, when the gloves got wet they were completely useless on any obstacle that required a strong grip (Funky Monkey, Hangin' Tough). If I wear gloves for a future event, I'm thinking about a pair of fingerless kayaking gloves. In summary, the gloves were not very helpful and they were easily the one piece of gear that I regret purchasing.
So, should you purchase a bunch of gear for your Tough Mudder? The simple answer: do your homework and make an educated decision. I feel like Under Armour gear is great for cold weather events, although its probably not as necessary for warm weather. You can complete a Tough Mudder event without needing gloves. You cannot complete Tough Mudder without a good pair of shoes. Whether you purchase the newest, state-of-the-art, heavily engineered running shoes, or Vibrams, or you wear your yard work tennis shoes, make sure your footwear is supportive and you have broken them in. By the way, no cleats are allowed. Don't even bother.
I hope this has been helpful. I will be purchasing some new gear for my next TM event in June but it won't be much. I will update the blog as these items are purchased.
Later
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
On the Road Again...
So now it's January 22, 2013. Jason and I completed our Tough Mudder event last April and it was nice to take a break from workouts and just relax. Savor the feeling of extreme accomplishment, which is truly amazing after completing such an arduous event. The orange headband and Tough Mudder t-shirt will be displayed in my new drum room in my basement. The hard work is done.......
...not so fast...
I will freely admit that taking a long break from workouts and physical activity was needed and necessary, for a while after the event. My knee was swollen for a few days and I had lingering pain and bruising for a couple months. But the fact is, Jason and I finished the event and we both agreed that we would love to do it again. Call it masochistic, call it insanity, we loved every grueling second of that experience. Sometime in late summer/early fall 2012, I received an email from Tough Mudder which listed the 2013 schedule. There it was, June 29 and 30, 2013. Tough Mudder was coming to Michigan! No long drive to Ohio this time. This time the event will be held at the Michigan International Speedway which is about an hour 1/2 away from me.
Jason and I have both enlisted for the Saturday 6/29 event, with a requested start time of 8:20 AM. I figure that the earlier starting time will be good for us considering the event takes place in the hottest part of the year. Quite the change from our last event which never got above 50 degrees. So with this new event on the horizon and and upcoming trip to England and Ireland planned for March, I have to get my ass in gear and start losing some weight!
I have less than 6 months to get in shape, which is more than enough time to do P90X or Insanity, but it is VERY easy for me to procrastinate. That happened last time and before I knew it, I was 3 months away from the event with no weight loss to show for it. Already, I have let almost the entire month of January go by without one day of exercise logged. I have enough time to do a complete round of P90X and a full round of Insanity if I choose to. That probably won't happen but completing one program in full is my current goal. That will get me to a respectable weight, build my strength, and prepare me for the warmer months when I will begin my endurance runs.
I did so poorly on the strength-related obstacles last year (Funky Monkey, Hangin Tough) that I really want to improve my upper body endurance this time. Ultimately, when I am in the last couple miles of the course with Berlin Walls and Everest ahead of me, I want to be able to conquer those without begging for help from other Mudders. P90X will hopefully get me there, but I need to start the program and get motivated. I've been way too complacent and my weight and health have suffered.
So anyways, in addition to my new found determination to change myself, the blog will be undergoing some changes in the next week. I plan on a new Blog structure, color scheme, new Tough Mudder countdown clock, and an updated section for gear options. I also plan on posting a full cold weather, Tough Mudder gear review that will expand upon the information I provided at the end of my last post. I want to provide information that any future and returning Mudders can review so they will go into their event fully prepared. I may even post a Vlog one of these days.
Stay tuned as I am...
"On the Road again..."
...not so fast...
I will freely admit that taking a long break from workouts and physical activity was needed and necessary, for a while after the event. My knee was swollen for a few days and I had lingering pain and bruising for a couple months. But the fact is, Jason and I finished the event and we both agreed that we would love to do it again. Call it masochistic, call it insanity, we loved every grueling second of that experience. Sometime in late summer/early fall 2012, I received an email from Tough Mudder which listed the 2013 schedule. There it was, June 29 and 30, 2013. Tough Mudder was coming to Michigan! No long drive to Ohio this time. This time the event will be held at the Michigan International Speedway which is about an hour 1/2 away from me.
Jason and I have both enlisted for the Saturday 6/29 event, with a requested start time of 8:20 AM. I figure that the earlier starting time will be good for us considering the event takes place in the hottest part of the year. Quite the change from our last event which never got above 50 degrees. So with this new event on the horizon and and upcoming trip to England and Ireland planned for March, I have to get my ass in gear and start losing some weight!
I have less than 6 months to get in shape, which is more than enough time to do P90X or Insanity, but it is VERY easy for me to procrastinate. That happened last time and before I knew it, I was 3 months away from the event with no weight loss to show for it. Already, I have let almost the entire month of January go by without one day of exercise logged. I have enough time to do a complete round of P90X and a full round of Insanity if I choose to. That probably won't happen but completing one program in full is my current goal. That will get me to a respectable weight, build my strength, and prepare me for the warmer months when I will begin my endurance runs.
I did so poorly on the strength-related obstacles last year (Funky Monkey, Hangin Tough) that I really want to improve my upper body endurance this time. Ultimately, when I am in the last couple miles of the course with Berlin Walls and Everest ahead of me, I want to be able to conquer those without begging for help from other Mudders. P90X will hopefully get me there, but I need to start the program and get motivated. I've been way too complacent and my weight and health have suffered.
So anyways, in addition to my new found determination to change myself, the blog will be undergoing some changes in the next week. I plan on a new Blog structure, color scheme, new Tough Mudder countdown clock, and an updated section for gear options. I also plan on posting a full cold weather, Tough Mudder gear review that will expand upon the information I provided at the end of my last post. I want to provide information that any future and returning Mudders can review so they will go into their event fully prepared. I may even post a Vlog one of these days.
Stay tuned as I am...
"On the Road again..."
Friday, January 4, 2013
End of the Road...My Tough Mudder Experience
EDIT from 1/3/13:
I never finished this post back in April 2012 because I was not able to obtain a full listing of all the obstacles on the day of the event. As such, I summarize half of the obstacles as best as I can remember them. The course map that Tough Mudder provides on their website is only an example and what you see and will NOT be what you experience on the day of the event. Furthermore, the course map provided at the event itself was also wrong as they moved, changed, and removed obstacles in order to address weather and course conditions. My friend got lost for most of the day spectating because the map was terrible. Onto the post...
It has been a day since I finished Tough Mudder with my friend...I am bruised, scratched, sore, and extremely happy! The headband is mine along with the memories of a day filled with mud, rainy weather, and great people. Before I give you the full report, let me just say that if it wasn't for my friend Jason and countless other Mudders on the course, I would not have been able to finish the course properly. There were times yesterday when my hands and feet were numb, my upper body just not functioning very well, and I had to scale the 12' Berlin Walls and Everest. It was during those times that I received help that allowed me to get over the walls and conquer Everest. The camaraderie shared by all Mudders on that course was truly inspiring and I know that the reason most of them have their headbands today is because they received a helping hand at some point. That's just how it was. So thank you Mudders! This was our victory!
Onto the event. My friends and I stayed at a local Motel 6 in Amherst and the place was an absolute pit. It reeked of an acrid antiseptic smell and there were things on the floor that looked suspiciously like animal droppings. We had a terrible night of sleep and woke up at 5:45 AM to get ready for our 9:00 AM start time. Registration for the event begins at 7:00 AM and TM advises participants to allow 2 hours for parking, shuttle pickup and drop off, and final event registration. We arrived at the parking lot at 6:30 and were bused over to the event at Amherst Quarry. Once on site, Jason and I lined up for our packet pickup which consists of your participant number which is pinned onto your shirt and your number being sharpied onto your forehead. All in all we were done with this process by 7:00 and had two hours to wait for our start time. The temperature was a brisk 47 degrees with a slight drizzle so waiting was a little tedious. At 8:00 AM the first wave of 600 participants was sent onto the course and another wave would be let loose every 20 minutes. We noticed that no one was confirming start times for the participants so Jason and I decided to hop the small Berlin wall at the starting corral and run the 8:40 wave...20 minutes before our start time.
Once in the corral, and almost on queue, the speakers began to play "Chop Suey" by System of a Down and I can't tell you how pumped we were to start the course. After a few minutes, the Tough Mudder pre-race MC gave a rousing speech to amp us up even more with plenty of chants and reminded us of why we were doing this in the first place...the Wounded Warrior project. After the National Anthem ended, "Eye of the Tiger" began to play and after a short countdown we were let loose onto the course. Prior to the start, the course map that TM provided us and the spectators showed Arctic Enema to be the first obstacle and it was located within a few hundred feet of the starting line. This was false information as the course had changed so we were instead herded along the southern edge of the quarry to our first obstacle:
Obstacle #1: High Steppin'
High Steppin' consists of columns of about 10-12 wooden hurdles connected to each other with 5 lanes. Mudders must hurdle through their lane to the end of the obstacle. Pretty simple.
After that, we ran along the western side of the quarry for a long ways, u-turned, and came back towards the start where we ran straight into the dreaded...
Obstacle #2: ARCTIC ENEMA!!
I had my reservations regarding this obstacle, mainly having to do with jumping into truly freezing ice water while the temperature at the event was in the 40's. Arctic Enema is four large dumpsters filled with neon colored ice water. In the middle is a wooden barrier topped with barbed wire to prevent you from jumping over it. Mudders are forced to jump in and submerge under the barrier to reach the end of the dumpster. From what we saw, the two dumpsters on the right did not have as much ice as the one's on the left did. But that may have been only because they had not dumped in fresh ice yet. Nonetheless, jumping into that water was cold, but submerging under the barrier was crazy. My head felt like it shrunk and I was having a hard time seeing straight. Instinctively I jumped and rolled my body out of the dumpster where I bent over trying to catch my breath. It was fucking crazy! A sign nearby said "C'mon, it wasn't that cold was it?"
Now soaked in neon green ice water, we continued on our merry jog. The terrain in between the obstacles varied from flat grassland, hilly trails in in the trees, and muddy swamp areas.
Obstacle #3: Berlin Walls 1
Since we were nice and wet at this point, the course designers thought it would be prudent to make us climb a couple 9' walls. They were not too bad since there's a little step a quarter up on the wall. If you're a guy, be careful of sitting on your "cash and prizes" when swinging your leg over the wall. Ouch.
Obstacle #4: Firewalker
A mystery obstacle and one that was quite pleasant I must say. Simply run through a path that is lined with burning bales of hay. The fire was nice and toasty and the smoke reminded me of campfires.
Obstacle #5: Bale Bonds
Simply get a running start and climb over a few large bales of hay. Nothing too complicated.
It should be noted that the distance between obstacles averaged about .5 miles, although some stretches were longer than others.
Obstacle #6: Killa Gorilla
We jogged out of the woods into a clearing and our next two obstacles were in front of us, along with the first Water and Aid Station. Killa Gorilla consisted of scaling a couple large hills of dirt and sand, wading through some water, and returning from whence we came. As we approached the obstacle, a sign mockingly declared that this was where Warrior Dash ended, but Tough Mudder was only beginning. In retrospect, it was at this point (about 3 miles in) that I feel the course stopped being "fun" and really turned the screws in terms of pushing the limits of human endurance. From this moment on, there were no simple bales of hay to climb. It was now time to meet the first obstacle that I like to call the Unholy Duo...
Obstacle #7: Walk the Plank
There was a lake formed by the quarry and on the edge were 4 large wooden platforms that had been erected. The object was to climb to the top, patiently wait your turn, and fling yourself off a 25 foot drop into the 40 degree lake below...and THEN swim out to the shore. With Arctic Enema, you can simply jump in and jump out. Walk the Plank requires you to swim yourself to shore while your body is shutting down. When I finally got out, I felt completely drained. This obstacle is no joke.
We hit up the Aid Station for some water and then began a stiff-legged jog to our next obstacle.
Obstacle #8: Mud Mile
This consisted of an extremely muddey and meandering path through fens and weeds. Funny thing is on the way to this obstacle I asked Jason where the mud was. Here we got it in spades. Heaps of mud caked to your legs and feet. The last section consisted of 3 mud pits about 5 feet deep and impossible to jump over. Basically, this is the "I wish I went to Woodstock 94" obstacle.
The remaining obstacles:
As the course dragged on for miles, Jason and I really started to slow down. It seemed like the course designers made a concerted effort to place the more challenging obstacles later in the course when you were tired and beat to shit. After mud mile I pretty much forgot the order of the obstacles and I can't find any information online. The following list is from memory:
Dirty Ballerina: A series of 10 small dirt mounds with 5 foot gaps between filled with muddy water. This is the obstacle that both of us got hurt on. The mounds were so wet and muddy that I didn't have the traction to jump over the gap properly. I ended up smashing my knee into the side of it which tore a hole in the leggings and my knee itself which swelled up almost immediately. Jason tried the same thing and he slammed chest first into the mound. For the rest of the obstacle we crawled over each mound, getting soaking wet every time. Just an awful, punishing obstacle that wasn't on the original course map. Fuckers.
Boa Constrictor: This is a Mudder standard. Slide down a plastic drainage pipe into muddy water and crawl up another. When you are soaking wet and freezing cold, it is damn hard to crawl up tight pipe like that.
Devil's Beard: Crawl under a giant, heavy, muddy cargo net that is securely fastened to the ground. Sounds harder than it is. The net forces you to crawl and the ground was very muddy. Unpleasant.
Electric Eel: Going into the event I was pretty nervous about Electroshock Therapy...I've never been shocked by electricity before. What I didn't realize was that about 14 obstacles prior to that I would have to deal with Electric Eel, and it would be 100 times worse than Electroshock. Basically, you army crawl under numerous live electric wires that hang down, all while you are in a few inches of water. Every time someone would get shocked, everyone in the water would feel a jolt which was truly heinous. I managed to get through the obstacle unscathed.....until I decided to give my hand to a guy to help him up at the end. When I lifted him up I pulled him right into a wire and I felt every nerve in my body spasm. I was still feeling the effects a half hour later.
Funky Monkey: Ahh the monkey bars. Half inclined and half declined, all over cold water. I thought I had it, I thought it would be one of the "easy ones." Unfortunately I was so beat, soaking wet, and weak that when I grabbed the third rung I fell into yet another pool of water. Not the last time!
Hangin' Tough: More upper body work. Free-swinging rings over another pool of.....you guessed it! Cold water! Once again, I had no strength to hold on which resulted in another dunk for me.
Hold Your Wood: Grab a large log and lug it through the woods. Pretty straight forward but more challenging than it sounds.
Twinkle Toes: Balance beam over more cold water. If you fall off, which I did, don't grab the beam which is wired for electric shocks.
12' Berlin Walls: The fuckers had more Berlin Walls three obstacles from the end, and these were 12' high. This was one of those obstacles that if it were not for my fellow mudders, I would not have made it over. I simply had no strength.
Everest: The second to last obstacle and to be honest, the one I was the most intimidated by. Standing in front of that huge half pipe, surrounded by a throng of spectators, I truly understood what pressure was. I did not want to be the guy who couldn't make it over. On my first attempt, I made it to the top but the guy who gave me his hand couldn't hold on. On my second attempt, in pouring rain, I got to the top again, begged for my fellow mudders to hold on, and luckily I was able to summit. Soooooo happy!
Electroshock Therapy: Compared to Everest...meh...this was easy. With the finish line in sight, the only obstacle in the way was a grid of live wires to run through. I didn't get even get shocked. Once through I let out a yell of triumph. We had done it!
At the finish line you get your orange headband, a free Dos Equis, and a free t-shirt. Then we jumped on the bus back to our car. I was so cold that I stripped butt-ass naked in the parking lot because I simply did not give a fuck. I changed into some dry clothes and I felt great! Tired as all hell, but I was now a Tough Mudder!
A couple quick notes about my gear. The Vibrams held up great on the course. The only problem I had was that it was a little painful to run on rocks all day. That is the direct consequence of the course being at a rock quarry. The Under Armor was AMAZING and I strongly recommend that you use Coldgear compression wear if your event will be in weather 50 degrees or less. The Carhart gloves were great for protection but terrible for grippiness on Funky Monkey and Hangin' Tough. When they got wet, they were utterly useless.
So that's that. It was an amazing experience and I would love to do it again...........
The End?
I never finished this post back in April 2012 because I was not able to obtain a full listing of all the obstacles on the day of the event. As such, I summarize half of the obstacles as best as I can remember them. The course map that Tough Mudder provides on their website is only an example and what you see and will NOT be what you experience on the day of the event. Furthermore, the course map provided at the event itself was also wrong as they moved, changed, and removed obstacles in order to address weather and course conditions. My friend got lost for most of the day spectating because the map was terrible. Onto the post...
It has been a day since I finished Tough Mudder with my friend...I am bruised, scratched, sore, and extremely happy! The headband is mine along with the memories of a day filled with mud, rainy weather, and great people. Before I give you the full report, let me just say that if it wasn't for my friend Jason and countless other Mudders on the course, I would not have been able to finish the course properly. There were times yesterday when my hands and feet were numb, my upper body just not functioning very well, and I had to scale the 12' Berlin Walls and Everest. It was during those times that I received help that allowed me to get over the walls and conquer Everest. The camaraderie shared by all Mudders on that course was truly inspiring and I know that the reason most of them have their headbands today is because they received a helping hand at some point. That's just how it was. So thank you Mudders! This was our victory!
Onto the event. My friends and I stayed at a local Motel 6 in Amherst and the place was an absolute pit. It reeked of an acrid antiseptic smell and there were things on the floor that looked suspiciously like animal droppings. We had a terrible night of sleep and woke up at 5:45 AM to get ready for our 9:00 AM start time. Registration for the event begins at 7:00 AM and TM advises participants to allow 2 hours for parking, shuttle pickup and drop off, and final event registration. We arrived at the parking lot at 6:30 and were bused over to the event at Amherst Quarry. Once on site, Jason and I lined up for our packet pickup which consists of your participant number which is pinned onto your shirt and your number being sharpied onto your forehead. All in all we were done with this process by 7:00 and had two hours to wait for our start time. The temperature was a brisk 47 degrees with a slight drizzle so waiting was a little tedious. At 8:00 AM the first wave of 600 participants was sent onto the course and another wave would be let loose every 20 minutes. We noticed that no one was confirming start times for the participants so Jason and I decided to hop the small Berlin wall at the starting corral and run the 8:40 wave...20 minutes before our start time.
Once in the corral, and almost on queue, the speakers began to play "Chop Suey" by System of a Down and I can't tell you how pumped we were to start the course. After a few minutes, the Tough Mudder pre-race MC gave a rousing speech to amp us up even more with plenty of chants and reminded us of why we were doing this in the first place...the Wounded Warrior project. After the National Anthem ended, "Eye of the Tiger" began to play and after a short countdown we were let loose onto the course. Prior to the start, the course map that TM provided us and the spectators showed Arctic Enema to be the first obstacle and it was located within a few hundred feet of the starting line. This was false information as the course had changed so we were instead herded along the southern edge of the quarry to our first obstacle:
Obstacle #1: High Steppin'
High Steppin' consists of columns of about 10-12 wooden hurdles connected to each other with 5 lanes. Mudders must hurdle through their lane to the end of the obstacle. Pretty simple.
After that, we ran along the western side of the quarry for a long ways, u-turned, and came back towards the start where we ran straight into the dreaded...
Obstacle #2: ARCTIC ENEMA!!
I had my reservations regarding this obstacle, mainly having to do with jumping into truly freezing ice water while the temperature at the event was in the 40's. Arctic Enema is four large dumpsters filled with neon colored ice water. In the middle is a wooden barrier topped with barbed wire to prevent you from jumping over it. Mudders are forced to jump in and submerge under the barrier to reach the end of the dumpster. From what we saw, the two dumpsters on the right did not have as much ice as the one's on the left did. But that may have been only because they had not dumped in fresh ice yet. Nonetheless, jumping into that water was cold, but submerging under the barrier was crazy. My head felt like it shrunk and I was having a hard time seeing straight. Instinctively I jumped and rolled my body out of the dumpster where I bent over trying to catch my breath. It was fucking crazy! A sign nearby said "C'mon, it wasn't that cold was it?"
Now soaked in neon green ice water, we continued on our merry jog. The terrain in between the obstacles varied from flat grassland, hilly trails in in the trees, and muddy swamp areas.
Obstacle #3: Berlin Walls 1
Since we were nice and wet at this point, the course designers thought it would be prudent to make us climb a couple 9' walls. They were not too bad since there's a little step a quarter up on the wall. If you're a guy, be careful of sitting on your "cash and prizes" when swinging your leg over the wall. Ouch.
Obstacle #4: Firewalker
A mystery obstacle and one that was quite pleasant I must say. Simply run through a path that is lined with burning bales of hay. The fire was nice and toasty and the smoke reminded me of campfires.
Obstacle #5: Bale Bonds
Simply get a running start and climb over a few large bales of hay. Nothing too complicated.
It should be noted that the distance between obstacles averaged about .5 miles, although some stretches were longer than others.
Obstacle #6: Killa Gorilla
We jogged out of the woods into a clearing and our next two obstacles were in front of us, along with the first Water and Aid Station. Killa Gorilla consisted of scaling a couple large hills of dirt and sand, wading through some water, and returning from whence we came. As we approached the obstacle, a sign mockingly declared that this was where Warrior Dash ended, but Tough Mudder was only beginning. In retrospect, it was at this point (about 3 miles in) that I feel the course stopped being "fun" and really turned the screws in terms of pushing the limits of human endurance. From this moment on, there were no simple bales of hay to climb. It was now time to meet the first obstacle that I like to call the Unholy Duo...
Obstacle #7: Walk the Plank
There was a lake formed by the quarry and on the edge were 4 large wooden platforms that had been erected. The object was to climb to the top, patiently wait your turn, and fling yourself off a 25 foot drop into the 40 degree lake below...and THEN swim out to the shore. With Arctic Enema, you can simply jump in and jump out. Walk the Plank requires you to swim yourself to shore while your body is shutting down. When I finally got out, I felt completely drained. This obstacle is no joke.
We hit up the Aid Station for some water and then began a stiff-legged jog to our next obstacle.
Obstacle #8: Mud Mile
This consisted of an extremely muddey and meandering path through fens and weeds. Funny thing is on the way to this obstacle I asked Jason where the mud was. Here we got it in spades. Heaps of mud caked to your legs and feet. The last section consisted of 3 mud pits about 5 feet deep and impossible to jump over. Basically, this is the "I wish I went to Woodstock 94" obstacle.
The remaining obstacles:
As the course dragged on for miles, Jason and I really started to slow down. It seemed like the course designers made a concerted effort to place the more challenging obstacles later in the course when you were tired and beat to shit. After mud mile I pretty much forgot the order of the obstacles and I can't find any information online. The following list is from memory:
Dirty Ballerina: A series of 10 small dirt mounds with 5 foot gaps between filled with muddy water. This is the obstacle that both of us got hurt on. The mounds were so wet and muddy that I didn't have the traction to jump over the gap properly. I ended up smashing my knee into the side of it which tore a hole in the leggings and my knee itself which swelled up almost immediately. Jason tried the same thing and he slammed chest first into the mound. For the rest of the obstacle we crawled over each mound, getting soaking wet every time. Just an awful, punishing obstacle that wasn't on the original course map. Fuckers.
Boa Constrictor: This is a Mudder standard. Slide down a plastic drainage pipe into muddy water and crawl up another. When you are soaking wet and freezing cold, it is damn hard to crawl up tight pipe like that.
Devil's Beard: Crawl under a giant, heavy, muddy cargo net that is securely fastened to the ground. Sounds harder than it is. The net forces you to crawl and the ground was very muddy. Unpleasant.
Electric Eel: Going into the event I was pretty nervous about Electroshock Therapy...I've never been shocked by electricity before. What I didn't realize was that about 14 obstacles prior to that I would have to deal with Electric Eel, and it would be 100 times worse than Electroshock. Basically, you army crawl under numerous live electric wires that hang down, all while you are in a few inches of water. Every time someone would get shocked, everyone in the water would feel a jolt which was truly heinous. I managed to get through the obstacle unscathed.....until I decided to give my hand to a guy to help him up at the end. When I lifted him up I pulled him right into a wire and I felt every nerve in my body spasm. I was still feeling the effects a half hour later.
Funky Monkey: Ahh the monkey bars. Half inclined and half declined, all over cold water. I thought I had it, I thought it would be one of the "easy ones." Unfortunately I was so beat, soaking wet, and weak that when I grabbed the third rung I fell into yet another pool of water. Not the last time!
Hangin' Tough: More upper body work. Free-swinging rings over another pool of.....you guessed it! Cold water! Once again, I had no strength to hold on which resulted in another dunk for me.
Hold Your Wood: Grab a large log and lug it through the woods. Pretty straight forward but more challenging than it sounds.
Twinkle Toes: Balance beam over more cold water. If you fall off, which I did, don't grab the beam which is wired for electric shocks.
12' Berlin Walls: The fuckers had more Berlin Walls three obstacles from the end, and these were 12' high. This was one of those obstacles that if it were not for my fellow mudders, I would not have made it over. I simply had no strength.
Everest: The second to last obstacle and to be honest, the one I was the most intimidated by. Standing in front of that huge half pipe, surrounded by a throng of spectators, I truly understood what pressure was. I did not want to be the guy who couldn't make it over. On my first attempt, I made it to the top but the guy who gave me his hand couldn't hold on. On my second attempt, in pouring rain, I got to the top again, begged for my fellow mudders to hold on, and luckily I was able to summit. Soooooo happy!
Electroshock Therapy: Compared to Everest...meh...this was easy. With the finish line in sight, the only obstacle in the way was a grid of live wires to run through. I didn't get even get shocked. Once through I let out a yell of triumph. We had done it!
At the finish line you get your orange headband, a free Dos Equis, and a free t-shirt. Then we jumped on the bus back to our car. I was so cold that I stripped butt-ass naked in the parking lot because I simply did not give a fuck. I changed into some dry clothes and I felt great! Tired as all hell, but I was now a Tough Mudder!
A couple quick notes about my gear. The Vibrams held up great on the course. The only problem I had was that it was a little painful to run on rocks all day. That is the direct consequence of the course being at a rock quarry. The Under Armor was AMAZING and I strongly recommend that you use Coldgear compression wear if your event will be in weather 50 degrees or less. The Carhart gloves were great for protection but terrible for grippiness on Funky Monkey and Hangin' Tough. When they got wet, they were utterly useless.
So that's that. It was an amazing experience and I would love to do it again...........
The End?
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
10 Days left...time for another update
I don't have much to update at this point. I got a little off track recently with working out, which is kind of stupid since I'm so close to the event. However yesterday I did my neighborhood run and finished by cutting 10 minutes off my previous time. I am posting my runs here. I really want to try my other route which is twice as long so I'll probably do it in the next 3-4 days. Tough Mudder is all about endurance so these runs are good for me.
I lost one of my Injinji socks so I have to go buy another pair. That's what happens when you only buy one pair of socks I guess. Other than that, I am counting down the last 10 days until my event and my excitement is reaching a fever pitch. The only two obstacles that I am concerned about at this point are Arctic Enema and Everest. Everest for fear of not being able to scale the wall in front of everyone and Arctic Enema for fear of freezing my nuts off...literally have them crack off.
I will probably post the day before the event so that I can give you my final thoughts and then I will post a full report on the event itself. Later.
I lost one of my Injinji socks so I have to go buy another pair. That's what happens when you only buy one pair of socks I guess. Other than that, I am counting down the last 10 days until my event and my excitement is reaching a fever pitch. The only two obstacles that I am concerned about at this point are Arctic Enema and Everest. Everest for fear of not being able to scale the wall in front of everyone and Arctic Enema for fear of freezing my nuts off...literally have them crack off.
I will probably post the day before the event so that I can give you my final thoughts and then I will post a full report on the event itself. Later.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Final Gear Purchases, Training, and Mudder Essentials
With almost one month to the date until my event, it's pretty hard to express just how excited I am. Every single day I am watching Tough Mudder videos, going on their website, going to the Mudder Nation website, and overall just becoming completely absorbed by this whole experience. This has been a long road full of great successes (I am down 10 pounds since January!) and predictable failures (my long absence during the holidays). When it comes down to it, I am glad I signed up for this event and now that it is finally coming up I am mentally ready for the challenge it presents. Physically? I am almost there.
The good news is that I am up to week 3 of the second phase of P90X. Only 1 more week and then I move onto the last phase. I have supplemented a couple days of my weeks to include more cardio and this past Sunday Jason and I went to a local High School and ran for a couple miles. Keep in mind that I haven't "gone for a run" since Junior High and it's quite important that I become conditioned to do so by the event. I thought two miles was a good start and our plan is to go 2-3 times a week and increase our distance each time. If we can get to running 5 miles without stopping than I believe we will be ready.
I have updated the blog with my final gear purchases on the left column so you can see what I will be using for the event. The gloves were my final purchase as I took some Mudders advice and looked at the Mad Grips gloves. Unfortunately, Amazon was out of stock so I went with a similar brand and they will be arriving on Thursday. The Under Armour shirt and leggings are great and I know that I will be warm enough for the event. My advice to anyone looking to buy some gear for event:
The good news is that I am up to week 3 of the second phase of P90X. Only 1 more week and then I move onto the last phase. I have supplemented a couple days of my weeks to include more cardio and this past Sunday Jason and I went to a local High School and ran for a couple miles. Keep in mind that I haven't "gone for a run" since Junior High and it's quite important that I become conditioned to do so by the event. I thought two miles was a good start and our plan is to go 2-3 times a week and increase our distance each time. If we can get to running 5 miles without stopping than I believe we will be ready.
I have updated the blog with my final gear purchases on the left column so you can see what I will be using for the event. The gloves were my final purchase as I took some Mudders advice and looked at the Mad Grips gloves. Unfortunately, Amazon was out of stock so I went with a similar brand and they will be arriving on Thursday. The Under Armour shirt and leggings are great and I know that I will be warm enough for the event. My advice to anyone looking to buy some gear for event:
- You don't have to buy special clothing/gear for this event. I did because I am taking this WAY too seriously. There are many people who dress up in Speedos, Tutu's, etc.
- Comfortable shoes are key. My personal recommendation are Vibram Five Fingers because they have worked so well for me and many others. With the Injinji Toe Socks they are very comfortable and strengthen your foot as you use them.
- Purchase gear that is weather-appropriate i.e. Don't buy Under Armour ColdGear leggings if you are running Tough Mudder during summer.
- I feel that gloves will be important for protecting my hands on the various wooden obstacles like Berlin Walls and Log Jammin. By no means are they necessary.
Once I have completed the event I will list my opinions of all my gear choices and how they worked out along with a full review of pretty much every aspect of my experience.
Also, a lot of people always wonder what they need to bring to the event. Here is what I am packing (Keep in mind I am spending Friday night at a local Motel 6. I hope they leave the light on for me...)
- Basic Toiletries
- Gear for the event
- Directions to the event
- Photo ID for event registration
- Copy of registration confirmation email
- Change of clothes for post-event activities (Hoodie, jeans, skull cap...stay warm)
- Towel
- Trash bag to store muddy clothes and shoes
- Gatorade/Energy Bars (My friend Paige will be spectating so he will bring these on the course for us)
This is all I have for now. Tough Mudder stresses that you bring a photo ID and your confirmation email to the event so that you can sign in. I'm bringing all of my important documentation (ID, directions, hotel confirmation, etc.) in a folder to keep it organized. Once again, I will post about the whole race-day procedures after I actually do the course so you can get a clear idea for how the event works.
That's it for now. I am in my final training phase for the event which will mainly be focused on increasing my cardio endurance. I will still have 2 days out of the week to focus on resistance training but at this point I don't think it's as important as being able to run for long distances. I will post again soon as we get closer to the event but at this point it will be to update my training. Later.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Locking in the final details...40 days left
Today's post is not really exciting in any way, other than the fact that I am less than 40 days out from Tough Mudder. My friend Jason FINALLY registered for the event and my friend Paige will be joining us as a spectator. This will be helpful because he will be able to bring a change a clothes for us without us having to check bags at the event, which I heard is very time-consuming due to the amount of people.
Yesterday I remembered that I still needed to book a hotel room for the night before the event. A lot of places in the area were booked up for obvious reasons, but I eventually booked a room at the luxurious Motel 6 where Tom Bodett will hopefully be running the course with us as well. So now I have officially completed all planning aspects of the event. The only things left to do are to continue my training and purchase the rest of my gear for the event. I plan on buying the Injinji toe socks and gloves this weekend but I am still unsure about the Under Armor stuff. I just don't know what the weather will be like and I want to wait a little bit before committing to the cold or warm weather gear that UA provides. The clothing is not very cheap.
I am finally getting back into a workout schedule this week after a couple weeks off. From 2/18 thru 2/25 I was in Florida for my birthday and when I came back from the beautiful 80 degree weather to 20 degree shit in Detroit, I immediately got sick. So I spent most of last week recovering and I started my second week phase 2 for P90X yesterday. Scratch that, I picked up where I left off as I did the first day last Monday and then came down with a cold. Plyo yesterday was pretty rewarding and I felt very energized to do the workout even though I didn't get much sleep the previous night. I's really amazing to see the improvements you make as you continue through the program. I really felt less winded through a lot of the moves and I wasn't completely wasted by the end of it.
Very soon I am going to start running outside in order to build up my endurance so I will be purchasing a heart monitor/step tracker for this so I can gauge my runs. Hopefully P90X will provide enough strength training to get me through the upper body-based obstacles such as Funky Monkey and the Rope Climb, while the running will help with the...uhh...running..part of the course.
Today's workout is Back/Bi's which is tough as hell but is a killer arm workout. I look forward to the coming weeks of training and preparation for the event.
Yesterday I remembered that I still needed to book a hotel room for the night before the event. A lot of places in the area were booked up for obvious reasons, but I eventually booked a room at the luxurious Motel 6 where Tom Bodett will hopefully be running the course with us as well. So now I have officially completed all planning aspects of the event. The only things left to do are to continue my training and purchase the rest of my gear for the event. I plan on buying the Injinji toe socks and gloves this weekend but I am still unsure about the Under Armor stuff. I just don't know what the weather will be like and I want to wait a little bit before committing to the cold or warm weather gear that UA provides. The clothing is not very cheap.
I am finally getting back into a workout schedule this week after a couple weeks off. From 2/18 thru 2/25 I was in Florida for my birthday and when I came back from the beautiful 80 degree weather to 20 degree shit in Detroit, I immediately got sick. So I spent most of last week recovering and I started my second week phase 2 for P90X yesterday. Scratch that, I picked up where I left off as I did the first day last Monday and then came down with a cold. Plyo yesterday was pretty rewarding and I felt very energized to do the workout even though I didn't get much sleep the previous night. I's really amazing to see the improvements you make as you continue through the program. I really felt less winded through a lot of the moves and I wasn't completely wasted by the end of it.
Very soon I am going to start running outside in order to build up my endurance so I will be purchasing a heart monitor/step tracker for this so I can gauge my runs. Hopefully P90X will provide enough strength training to get me through the upper body-based obstacles such as Funky Monkey and the Rope Climb, while the running will help with the...uhh...running..part of the course.
Today's workout is Back/Bi's which is tough as hell but is a killer arm workout. I look forward to the coming weeks of training and preparation for the event.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Anticipation...Good workouts and CrossFit
I spent a lot of time today watching Tough Mudder videos; both the official videos on their site and one's made by people who ran the damn thing. My excitement is building along with the apprehension of knowing that my friend Jason has yet to sign up...bastard. This poses a problem because Jason was the one who told me about the event in the first place, and now the Saturday date is 90% sold. Damnit.
I also was reviewing different blogs from people who did Tough Mudder and I came across one that mentioned CrossFit as a training method. I've never heard of it but I was intrigued by their horrific stories of sweat, vomit, and dramatic weight loss and muscle building. Here's the link:
Crossfit
First off, let me say that I don't think this workout is for me. I like P90X for how tough it is but I can still do the workouts from Day 1. CrossFit is completely fucking crazy because they expect you to do 15 minutes of non-stop exercises, including olympic-style deadlifts, from Day 1. I imagine that any CrossFit student that would hear me whine about the program, without trying it first, would call me some colorful names. From what I've seen....well, I know my limits and CrossFit just may be beyond them. A lot of people swear by the program and I may look into it further as I get into better shape, but for now I will stick with P90X. Hell, I had a very hard time with Insanity so I can't push myself further into a program that looks 10 times HARDER. Not yet.
After watching all those videos and learning about CrossFit, I was pretty amped up to do Core Synergistics today. It's pretty fucking weird to admit that considering I hate Core Syn. I had an awesome workout today! I really tried to limit my breaks and push myself further than I had a couple days ago. You know what? I was topping my rep. goals and really crushing the workout. I checked my weight and I am officially down 6 pounds as of today!!
I only have one more day of my recovery week and then I start phase 2 of P90X which means I have to deal with the pure hell that is Chest, Shoulders, and Tri's. That workout is a fucking monster! My goal for the next phase is to do Ab Ripper after my resistance days since I skipped it during phase 1. Also, I plan on purchasing the rest of my Mudder gear so that I can start my trail running.
I am getting close guys...only 63 days left until I am deep in the shit at Amherst Quarry. 6 pound weight loss is nice but for me it is just the beginning. Tough Mudder awaits and I need to be in fighting shape.
Tough mudder tough mudder tough mudder tough mudder...
I also was reviewing different blogs from people who did Tough Mudder and I came across one that mentioned CrossFit as a training method. I've never heard of it but I was intrigued by their horrific stories of sweat, vomit, and dramatic weight loss and muscle building. Here's the link:
Crossfit
First off, let me say that I don't think this workout is for me. I like P90X for how tough it is but I can still do the workouts from Day 1. CrossFit is completely fucking crazy because they expect you to do 15 minutes of non-stop exercises, including olympic-style deadlifts, from Day 1. I imagine that any CrossFit student that would hear me whine about the program, without trying it first, would call me some colorful names. From what I've seen....well, I know my limits and CrossFit just may be beyond them. A lot of people swear by the program and I may look into it further as I get into better shape, but for now I will stick with P90X. Hell, I had a very hard time with Insanity so I can't push myself further into a program that looks 10 times HARDER. Not yet.
After watching all those videos and learning about CrossFit, I was pretty amped up to do Core Synergistics today. It's pretty fucking weird to admit that considering I hate Core Syn. I had an awesome workout today! I really tried to limit my breaks and push myself further than I had a couple days ago. You know what? I was topping my rep. goals and really crushing the workout. I checked my weight and I am officially down 6 pounds as of today!!
I only have one more day of my recovery week and then I start phase 2 of P90X which means I have to deal with the pure hell that is Chest, Shoulders, and Tri's. That workout is a fucking monster! My goal for the next phase is to do Ab Ripper after my resistance days since I skipped it during phase 1. Also, I plan on purchasing the rest of my Mudder gear so that I can start my trail running.
I am getting close guys...only 63 days left until I am deep in the shit at Amherst Quarry. 6 pound weight loss is nice but for me it is just the beginning. Tough Mudder awaits and I need to be in fighting shape.
Tough mudder tough mudder tough mudder tough mudder...
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