Chili is signed up for a 7-mile run/17-obstacle competition on May 2 called the Tough Mudder. The team is Kera, me, and two young guys names Preston and Ryan. I may be the old gal on the team, but damn it I'm proud to say I'm experienced at much of what we'll encounter in this race and hopefully can give the team some tips. The Krista Griesacker 12-hour adventure race is one of the races that brings to mind a true-blue obstacle course. Full pictures are here of the whole race. The obstacle course was actually a training course for outdoor survival skills for search and rescue folks. There were mud pits, ropes, walls, and of course water. We climbed walls, crawled through tunnels, jumped over a water pit, walked a tight-rope, pulled ourselves across a ladder, and swung like monkeys. The race itself was much of the same. We had to run, jump, skip, crawl, and pick our way through all kinds of terrain - briers, rocks, trees, underbrush, etc. It was hard. The Capital City Challenge is the other race with many obstacles. While it wasn't as natural and mountainous as the Krista, the obstacles are equally hard - maybe harder. Comparing past race obstacles with what's in the Tough Mudder, the similarities appear to be the crawling u
nder webbing, tunnels, the rope ladder, the muck/water stuff, the wall, and the tight-rope. Obstacles are where some strength coupled with endurance comes in handy. The strength obviously is needed to pull yourself through tunnels, under ropes, up walls, over things and under things. And the endurance is needed to continue on that 7 mile run we also need to do. Climbing up over a 12 foot wall and carrying a log up a hill will zap more energy from you than you realize. Training for obstacles? Rock climbing (Climbnasium) comes to mind, along with just plain climbing around in the woods and the backyard. Find a good wooded area that is super, super steep and start climbing up and coming back down. Don't just go for a run on a trail -- hop, skip, jump, go off-trail, climb, wiggle, and duck under and through things. I'm really looking forward to changing things up a bit this. Now if only the snow would melt in the woods...
nder webbing, tunnels, the rope ladder, the muck/water stuff, the wall, and the tight-rope. Obstacles are where some strength coupled with endurance comes in handy. The strength obviously is needed to pull yourself through tunnels, under ropes, up walls, over things and under things. And the endurance is needed to continue on that 7 mile run we also need to do. Climbing up over a 12 foot wall and carrying a log up a hill will zap more energy from you than you realize. Training for obstacles? Rock climbing (Climbnasium) comes to mind, along with just plain climbing around in the woods and the backyard. Find a good wooded area that is super, super steep and start climbing up and coming back down. Don't just go for a run on a trail -- hop, skip, jump, go off-trail, climb, wiggle, and duck under and through things. I'm really looking forward to changing things up a bit this. Now if only the snow would melt in the woods...
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I came down with a nasty sinus infection over the weekend, which has put a damper on training this week. I did get in a 3.25 run this afternoon, but I was all snotty and dead tired at the end of it. The hope is the antibiotic kicks in quickly and I'm back at it next week. Hills, here I come! And maybe I should add some more weights in too....
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