Tough Mudder Prep. Blog 5/5 - THE END IS ONLY THE BEGINNING

My endurance is getting better and better. This was my final week and Tough Mudder was on Sunday. Here is how the week went: 

Tuesday: 5.9 miles

Fastest time yet. Three weeks ago today I barely could finish 6 miles at a 12min/mile pace. Today I was able to finish it at an 8:35min/mile pace. That’s 3.5 minutes faster per mile in fairly hilly terrain in just a span of 3 weeks. Avoiding weight training my legs, keeping my breathing under control, and keeping my muscles relaxed have all helped decrease my run times.

Thursday: 11.8 miles

Once again, my time has improved massively. I was able to finish 12 miles at a 10min/mile pace in pretty hilly terrain. I definitely felt destroyed afterwards, but man, I was proud of that time. 3 weeks ago today I could barely even run 8 miles at a 13min/mile pace. Once again, not weight lifting with my legs, keeping the heart rate low and steady, and keeping my muscles relaxed has made my run times better, and running is now more enjoyable in general. I will return to weight training my legs once the Tough Mudder is done. I’ve been taking a break for the last three weeks just to improve my running times. Just know that strengthening your hips through weight training, in the long term, will actually improve your run times, not hinder them. The stronger your leg muscles are, the lighter your body will feel, and you’ll be able to run longer and faster.

Friday and Saturday:

I hit up a few weight training sessions on these days but I didn’t run. However, I did make sure to eat a lot of carbs (whole grain) on Friday and Saturday and drank about 1.5 gallons of water per day. I wanted to make sure my body was extremely hydrated before the run.

Sunday: The Tough Mudder

I went with a group of friends, which made it really fun, and our start time was 10:20am. I got up 5 hours beforehand just to give my body time and to be fully awake once the run began. (It usually takes about 4 hours for your central nervous system to gain full function after 8 hours of sleep—hence the 5-hour head start). First thing upon waking up, I had a massive bowl of whole grain oatmeal and 1.5 liters of water. I also had a small sandwich on the way to the event. I try to cut out the water about 45 minutes before the run, just to reduce the need to go to the bathroom during the run. I did this entire stretching routine about 30 minutes before the run.

The Tough Mudder itself was actually really enjoyable and not as tough as I thought it would be. It was challenging at times, but definitely not impossible. The fact that there were obstacle courses actually made the run easier than if it had been just one continuous run, because they gave you a short rest time before you had to start running again. Overall, it was an awesome experience, and I actually want to do it again. You shouldn’t shy away either. Use this blog series to help you prepare and do one yourself. I finished the race in about 2.5 hours.