Tough Mudder Oct. 26th Prep Blog 2/5

Week one was fairly brutal, but not terrible – until Sunday’s run in the hills. That run was a deadly reminder that I’m not at king Leonidas’s level of testicular fortitude.

 Anyway, here is the breakdown.

Tuesday: I went for a 6 mile run. It was at night, I was fed and hydrated, so it was pretty easy and not that bad. Didn't have a running app. yet to record my stats. Will do so next week.

Thursday: This 6 mile run in super-hilly Foothill Ranch was done in the morning. I was starving and in a dehydrated state. I didn’t drink any fluids in the 10 hours leading up to the run, plus it was about a 100 degrees at that time of day. I figured it would be a good way to test my willpower and see how far I can go before I break down under less-than-perfect conditions. (If you have to ask why I did this, you just don’t get it.) Here are my stats for my first Thursday run.

Sunday: Run happened at 2pm. It was at least 100 degrees that day. Mission: to run 2 miles in extremely hilly, off-road terrain, do a bunch of body weight exercises, run 2 more miles, do some more body weight exercises, and walk back – if still alive. This shit really sucked. It’s very easy for me to run continuously. However, if you throw in bodyweight exercises randomly here and there, my endurance plummets quickly, and this is exactly what happened. However, I had some badass friends with me and they made the run way more enjoyable than it actually was. 

Below are some videos that demonstrate one set each of the two different circuits that were done the run. The video on the left is the circuit which was preformed after the first 2 miles. The video on the right is the circuit that was preformed after the second 2 miles. Each of the circuit were done for 3 sets with a minute rest in between.

Lesson from week 1:

 1.       Continue to work on endurance, continue to work on keeping muscles and heart relaxed under extreme physical exertion, and stay super hydrated.

 2.       I noticed it becomes extremely easy to run if I drink MORE than 1 gallon of high quality water daily.

 3.       Keep leg muscles relaxed by taking hot baths, constantly stretching and foam rolling legs after runs, and getting a massage once a week to loosen up all the muscles in the legs.

Week two routine: Notice, as compared to week 1 routine, all I did was up my running quantity.

              Main goal is still to work on increasing my cardiovascular engine.

 Monday: (Morning: cardio/off) Evening: weight training/chest: 3 exercises with a rep/set setup of 3,2,1,3 for each exercise with a rest interval of 2-3min)

Tuesday: (Morning: cardio/6 miles as fast as possible) (evening: weight training/legs/calves: 3-4 exercises with a rep/set setup of 3,2,1,3 for each exercise with a rest interval of 2-3min)

Wednesday: (Morning: cardio/off) Evening: weight training/back/calves: 3 exercises with a rep/set setup of 3,2,1,3 for each exercise with a rest interval of 2-3min)

Thursday: (Morning: cardio/ long steady distance run of 8 miles) Evening: off)

Friday: (Morning: cardio/off) Evening: weight training/chest/arms: 4-5 exercises with a rep/set setup of 3,2,1,3 for each exercise with a rest interval of 2-3min)

Saturday: (Morning: cardio/off) Evening: weight training/shoulders/calves: 4-5 exercises with a rep/set setup of 3,2,1,3 for each exercise with a rest interval of 2-3min)

Sunday: (Morning: cardio/run in the hills (5 miles) with body weight exercises at middle and end) Evening: active recovery/ massage and stretch nude in the steam room for 30 minutes)