Okay ‘team’, I wanted to check in with you and talk a little about this mud run we’ve gotten ourselves into. This is a first for me, and as I understand it, for you, two, too! I’ve run a few 5ks (and one 10k that I trained hard for), but this is more than just running. The overarching challenge for us all will be running uncomfortably in wet, dirty shoes and clothes, interspersed with jumping, crawling, climbing, etc. I’ve looked at a few different mud/obstacle runs in preparation for this so I can get a feel for the kinds of challenges we will be handed. I’ll have a list of links at the end for you to look at, in case you’re an information/internet junkie like me. I am not going to get so technical as to reference each source as I spout information, but if you’re curious where I got some exercise or piece of information, please holler at me and I’ll gladly take you through the web of my thought process!
OKAY! First things First:
Know What You’re Getting Into
The race we’ve chosen is the Survivor Mud Run, held at Remlinger Farms in Carnation, on June 8th. My ‘team’ and I have signed up for the 9:30 am heat. I cannot seem to figure out how long the race is (geez, I hope it’s not longer than 5k!) but I’ll verify length here shortly. As for obstacles, there are 22.
# 1: Mystery obstacle
# 2: Mud Pit – you have to crawl through the mud under a line of flags (you know, the kind you see at the car dealerships)
# 3: Walking across planks. That is, 2x4”s that are on their SIDE, so very narrow.
# 4: Scrabbling over large rocks
# 5: Slip N Slide!!!!!
# 6: ‘hidden forest’ – I’m thinking downed logs across the path to scrabble under or climb over
# 7: “woven web’ – Imagine Catherine Zeta Jones going through that room of lasers in Entrapment, except these are bungee-type cords and you can pull/push and otherwise touch them to get through them.
# 8: Hurdles – toss yourself over a 5’ wall – I dare ya!
# 9: Tires – just like in all those movies about football training
# 10: Ladders – Looks like just a big uphill climb with footholds, or something.
# 11: Mystery Obstacle
# 12: Another Ladder
From here on out, the obstacles are pretty much stacked one on top of another:
# 13: Mystery Obstacle
# 14: Mystery again
# 15: Wall Climb – this involves a 10’ wall, with 2x4”s horizontally every 3 ft and a rope with about 5 knots in it. Climb your way up and then … just jump on down…
# 16: Log Jam – this is a series of ‘logs’ over a mud pit that you have to traverse. It looks like you need to hoist yourself over each one (no going under)
# 17: Another mud pit!
# 18: ‘Man hole’ - Who comes up with these names(?!) Because it looks more like a ‘woman hole’ – a long tube you have to crawl through to get to the light at the other side :-D
# 19: Another low crawl through tubes
# 20: THE GREAT WALL – or just another wall to climb over
# 21: Muddy Bayou – wading in knee-deep mud
# 22: Last Mud pit – and the finish line is in sight!
This is, of course, all subject to change and this is my best guess based on the photos online and what I know about obstacle courses.
Know How To Train
Training for a specific result can be as complex or as simple as you want it. I tend to land somewhere in the middle, where I can get my nerd safari on (Term coined from my nutrition nerd-crush, Mat Lalonde, Ph.D.) but still not get bogged down in following the plan EXACTLY, because life happens. We get sick, we have a meeting that runs late and right into our training time, the cat pukes first thing in the morning as you’re heading out the door for your morning run, etc. You get the picture. Some points I am considering as I put together this training plan are as follows:
· Length of entire race
· Discomfort level
· Length of longest sprint
· Strength/skills needed for each obstacle
Once I establish what I’m training for, I develop (or hack) a training plan and then proceed to break it down by week. Once we know what to expect for the training plan, we can further plot our workouts. I’ve divided the running and strength trainings into two separate components that can be worked together or split up. Either method is fine and I think should be mixed up from time to time. Itend to plan my training on the fly, by the week, or by planning the night before for the next day. However (HOWEVER!!!), I know myself well, and I do NOT put off working out because I just don’t feel like it. If you are remotely like that, I HIGHLY recommend you stick to whatever you decide, because all it takes is ‘not feeling like’ doing a workout for a couple days in a row and you’ve backed up your workout into next week, and the next, and… wait, when was that race, again?! My general rule of thumb is that I can move each component forward or back by one day, but no further.
Approach A
Your running and strength workouts are divided into individual components on the workout matrix. You can do one piece in the morning and one in the afternoon. Do your run first thing before starting your day and then stop by the gym or park and bang out a strength workout in about 30 minutes after you’ve got your biznizz taken care of. I personally recommend getting your run in first thing, for a number of reasons, but if that really doesn’t work for you, no biggie. Breaking the two up can help you get all your workouts in when your schedule gets crazy, but it also can be easy to ‘skip’ the component that’s giving you the most trouble, so be aware.
Approach B
Do both your strength and running components in the same session. This will make for a more intense session but you only have to suit up once. If you are going to lump them together, I would recommend doing the run first, THEN do the strength work and then After strength work, finish off with the sprint or pace run, but skip the last ‘mile or so’ cool down.
RUN TRAINING
You can do run training at a local high school stadium where there are stairs to run or a shorter hill to run. I remember my volleyball days and running the hill up the side of the high school - I hated it. This will be interesting to see how I feel now, 25 years later! If you have to, you can do it on a treadmill. I recommend you try a few of these runs in the rain and/or in wet shoes. I'm serious. Even if it's just 2 runs, it will help get over the anxiety you may feel about getting muddy and then having to just stay muddy.
Day 1 & 2 is sprint training. Warm up with a laid back, easy run for about a mile. Then you’re ready for sprints. Then get ready for Sprint work. Find a hill, (length and steepness is up to you) For each rep sprint up the hill and walk down. Then repeat as many times as instructed in the plan. Finish up with a Slow steady jog for 1/2-1 mile.
The third day is your fun, race pace run. Get off the road and run over uneven terrain. Trail running is the name of the game. Run at least 3 miles at race pace and time yourself.
STRENGTH TRAINING
Strength training can be done with kettlebells or dumbbells. If you lack either of those, try gallon sized water jugs filled with water or sand, or even grocery bags with cans of food! Get heavy. Err on the side of too heavy and then back off by a lb or tw so you can complete the entire workout. Each day will be different, so just be honest with yourself as to what weight is right for you each workout.
Each circuit is a series of performing each move for as many reps as possible for 1 minute. If the move is a one-handed move, break up the minute into 30 seconds on each side.
Circuit 1:
- Dumbbell or kettle bell thruster: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smp5DOA9n3k
- Push-ups: whichever way you can do them for a minute
- Dumbbell or kettlebell swing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0jalJ-3e7U or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTeBkm2-gQs
- Dumbbell or kettlebell Renegade row: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyHls4EKqxU
- Walking lunge with dumbbells or kettlebells: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OYsCRAb5c4
- Spider Push-Ups: push up position and draw one knee in towards your elbow as you go down into a push up, alternating sides. If this is too much for you (It is for me, right now) just focus on the knee to elbow and skip the push up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEbGvnKE87M
Circuit 2:
- Dumbbell or kettlebell snatch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkYdyAM-TSY
- Dumbbell or kettlebell alternating step up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exORqNrDQ6U
- Dumbbell or kettlebell overhead press: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-aVuyhvLHU
- Dumbbell or kettlebell swing: (see circuit 1)
- Chin-up or pull down: Work towards unassisted chin-ups, but until you can, alternate doing assisted chin-ups with lat pulldown machine.
This is an interesting approach to increasing chin-up reps. Skip to 4:00 (the first 4 minutes is a bunch of male/urban posturing): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni9TfOLNCyk
- Dumbbell or kettlebell windmill: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQrQkvVJNKk
One last comment on Rest days: You need to allow yourself at LEAST one rest day a week. I could go on and on about the importance of resting to allow your body to repair, and for your mind to relax and integrate the changes in your body. However, I will spare you another lecture because, seriously, I've given you enough to think about, but trust me on the rest day.
Are you ready to get started?
Here we go! I will be checking in with you weekly to answer any questions, but please let me know if you have any questions/comments as you go along.
Print your own personal training calendar by copying this link to download a pdf copy
:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0Agxzk2EFUPfYdE5kWW13ZmNXWlR2VF9ialFJR1FrSmc&single=true&gid=0&output=pdf
Resources/References:
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