Toughmudder

I have only ever known one other person crazy enough to do this. He said that the worst part was the ice water, where you basically have to swim through slush. So I guess take cold showers to build your resistance?

 

I think every Tough mudder is kind of different as far as distance - but I think most are about 11-13 miles?
Do you have the event information for your specific run?

For training, just start running. See how good of shape you're in. Run 5k and see how you fare. Remember that you're not going for speed - simply endurance, so 'get into your groove' (homeostasis) and then stay there.

There's climbing and jumping involved in Toughmudder I know, so you can always throw some anaerobic/strength things into the middle of your run. Example: Run for four minutes, do twenty pushups, run for four minutes, do twenty box jumps, run for four minutes, do twenty sit-ups, run for four minutes, do a full minute of forearm plank.

But ye - looking up what events there are at your event would help you develop an idea for training.

Eating - I never care about what I eat. As long as you're not eating absolute garbage junk food every day, you'll be fine. That's how I roll though.

 

To be honest I think it would be a lot easier than a road race of a comparable distance.

The reason? You have obstacles and interesting features to break up the run (they all look fun to me, bar the electric shocks - I had a nasty run in with a plug socket so electricity scares me!). The hardest part of running is having no distraction from the fatigue and pain (it is incredibly monotonous), whereas you get a lot of distractions in a Tough Mudder.

So if you can run the distance normally (on normal roads or preferably cross country) I'm sure you'll have no problem. :icon_bigg

 

My sister and brother-in-law did this last year. They said the worst part was the giant container of ice water you have to swim though. The thing you should work on most is your stamina. The best thing you can probably do is start running more

 

When I read about polar expeditions in the early 20th century, it was mentioned that some explorers tried to build resistance against the cold by ice baths. As far as I know these attempts were not really successful and subsequent scientific tests didn't work either. It might train your perseverance a bit though.

A body getting cold is just a thermodynamic process. Your body can't really resist it apart from shivering and burning fat, but there's a limit to that. Therefore feeling cold is very important to survive, so you move to a warmer/drier place and start moving.

The only way to really build 'cold resistance' is to slow down the physical process of getting cold. This can be done by moving quickly and by having a thick insulating layer of body fat. The bigger you are the slower you will cool. 'Cheating' by applying a thick layer of fat to your skin before you jump in cold water might work too.

 

Ahhhhhh!

I just did the warrior dash yesterday here in Massachusetts. Training is no different than any event that requires trail running and general body strength... But also fear of climbing over stuff and possible going up high. Military training definitely helps if you are seriously competing.

I'm just glad that while my group was at the very end of our wave, we ended the race in the top 3rd.

 

I've always loved climbing/adventure playgrounds etc so most of the obstacles (bar the ice bath and electricity) look right up my street!

Well hopefully the ice thing is mid-race or towards the end, if so you can just try to mentally think of it as a refreshing cool down after your run. Or visualize the benefits for your sore muscles!

And if you'd like a bit of inspiration read this amazing ladies story:

Anne-Wafula Strike's Blog: Tough Mudder Challenge.

 

Or you can just imagine yourself wading through a giant Slush-Puppie (don't think of drinking any though).

 

Oh my gosh just looked at what that is. I think if I tried that I'd run out of puffs on my inhaler half way through and die.

 

Don't use cotton underwear (or cotton anything, if you can help it).

 

Let's just say while I was fit enough to complete it within respectable time my body hurt for almost 5 days afterwards. I'm still sore (this was last Saturday).

Real military training is not necessary but helpful.

 

I would love to do this.

Just a suggestion. I once did a race called the Para 10 a few years ago where you had to run 10 miles over man made hills (extremely steep) while wearing a 35lb bag and I felt like shit for days afterwards haha (my shoulders ached like hell). For training we would either jog or do the odd sprint while wearing this heavy bag but I reckon my stamina and endurance improved a lot from doing this. After the race I went back to jogging without the weight and I ran better then I had ever done before. I just got a rucksack and added a bag of sand or some dumbbells in it to reach the 35lb (I started at a low weight and increased it every so often). Running felt hard with the weight but if you got good at this, imagine how easier it would be to run without the weight.

Good luck with Toughmudder, let us know how you get on .