Tough Mudder; the Pinnacle of Mud Races

When you hear the words 'Tough Mudder', what do you think? Tough mothers? Hard mud? A 12 mile race through mud and obstacles? If you thought the 3rd one then ding! You are correct, 5 kudo points to you!

The Tough Mudder, self described as 'Probably the Toughest Event on the Planet', is a 10-12 mile race that includes dozens of obstacles. I haven't counted them all, but there are at least 16. Here's what Tough Mudder has to say about itself:

Tough Mudder events are hardcore 10-12 mile obstacle courses designed by British Special Forces to test your all around strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie. With the most innovative courses, half a million inspiring participants, and more than $2 million dollars raised for the Wounded Warrior Project, Tough Mudder is the premier adventure challenge series in the world.


And what did I do after overhearing that my workplace was putting together a team to compete in this event it 7 months? (think October 2012) I took 15 minutes to think, and then signed up for it!

Now I realize that a half-marathon full of mud and obstacles like the Boa Constrictor (belly crawl down a tub into a muddy puddle up to your chest, then worm your way back up) and the Electroshock Therapy (run through a bunch of electrified wires) isn't most people's idea of a good time. I saw this however, and I got more excited than I have been in a long time. Plus, who wouldn't like the mud? I've been trying forever to get into shape, but without a goal to work towards, I would only stay motivated for a few weeks before slacking off and making excuses about why I didn't need to work out. 


Now I have a goal! In retrospect, maybe I should have chosen an easier goal. On second thought to the retrospect, I used to run cross-country, track, perform in theatre, and do cheerleading, the 4 hardest sports on the planet (self described hardest sports anyway  :) I have revamped my workouts and started doing something I've never done before, working on a nutrition program!


So here's what I'm going to do. I have a goal, finish the Tough Mudder on October 13th (or 14th, we haven't gotten our race time/day yet). I am going to lay out the countdown on this blog, I'll post about my workouts, new methods, and more importantly, my goals that I reach along the way. I'll also post about other random topics that hit my brain, just to shake things up. The posts will keep me honest and on track, I mean, I can't very well post that I've done nothing but go to work, come home and laid on the couch all evening? That's boring, not to mention getting me nowhere close to my goals.

Goal: Compete in and finish the Tough Mudder

Timeline: October 13th or 14th, 200 or 201 days from now (depending on our start time)

Next blog will be about my sub-goals and my checkpoints. Also all the other stuff that goes into accomplishing a task as big as this one. After all, I can run 3-4 miles comfortably now, but I need to add 8-9 miles onto that plus another 3 miles of energy if I want to take into account all the obstacles. Good luck to all that have lofty goals and want to attain them, and see you next time!