training

Goals for Tough Mudder Philly

October 14, 2015 - By 

Woah…I’m doing a Tough Mudder in 4 days.

I can’t believe the time is finally here!  And at the same time, I can’t wait for it all to be over!  The most challenging event I’ve ever attempted to do is on Sunday, and my head is spinning!

Today I’m linking up at Wild Workout Wednesday with Annmarie at The Fit Foodie Mama, Angelena Marie at Angelena Marie: Happy, Healthy & Balanced, Michelle at Fruition Fitness, and Nicole at Fitful Focus!   Check out their blogs for some great workouts!
The Fit Foodie Mama

I’m also linking up with Jill Conyers for Fitness Friday! 

[bctt tweet=”Tough Mudder Philly is THIS weekend! Sharing my goals for this insane event! #toughmudder”]

I'm completing my very first Tough Mudder and there's still so much on my mind! Check out my goals for the event!

Goals for Tough Mudder Philly

Don’t Die…Or Get Injured

This is my biggest fear.  Not the dying, of course, but hurting myself and negatively impacting my running.  I have heard SO many horror stories about people getting hurt, and I refuse to be one of them.  I know that when the adrenaline is pumping, you can feel invincible….and that can lead to reckless decisions.

I’m very worried about my knees, especially since they haven’t been feeling great for the past month or so.  I’m thinking of wearing capris to cover my knees or investing in some knee pads for extra cushioning.  I’m also going to make sure I properly warm up, hydrate and fuel before and during the event.

The only mud pit in the Warrior Dash!
The only mud pit in the Warrior Dash!

Attempt Every Single Obstacle…No Skipping!

This is definitely something that I can’t stop thinking about.  They have already revealed the course map, and it’s not going to be a cake walk!  I know that my upper body is still a major weakness, but I do want to try to do those obstacles with monkey bars, even if/when I fall and end up in the mud pit.

I’m a bit stubborn so I would feel like a failure if I didn’t even try.  Do I really want to go through tear gas,  get electrocuted and dive into ice-cold water?  No…but if I can be tough on the road, I can get through this.

Jump over fire? No problem!
Jump over fire? No problem!

Stay Properly Fueled and Hydrated

As I mentioned above, it’s so important to fuel and hydrate for a regular race, but I can tell that it’s going to be crucial for my success with the Tough Mudder.  One of my friend’s biggest piece of advice was to hydrate in the days leading up to the race.  Because you’re putting your body through so much – jumping, climbing, swimming…you’ve got to keep everything loose, and that’s where hydration comes in.

There will be support along the course (thank goodness), but I’m thinking of bringing some Clif Shotbloks to take during the course.  It will probably take at least 4 hours to get through the Tough Mudder, so it just seems like a good idea.

Help And Encourage Others Who Need It

The thing that I am most looking forward to with the Tough Mudder is the fact that people are willing to help each other out to get past each obstacle.  Teamwork is a must and I plan to be a team player, not a lone wolf!  It’s important to know you can’t do it all yourself.

This will be a great bonding experience with my teammates, and I really hope that I can encourage others, especially since I know so many of them are intimidated by running (at least I can say I have one strength!).  And maybe I can get a boost over one of the obstacles?

Have Fun?

We did it!
We did it!

If you’ve been reading my training recaps, you know I’ve been dreading the Tough Mudder ever since I signed up!  I am still pretty scared about the whole thing, but we have a group of 13 that I really look forward to conquering this event with – and I can’t imagine not having fun with some of the personalities on the team!

I can take myself too seriously sometimes.  This isn’t the time to do it.  There’s a good chance that I will NEVER do a Tough Mudder again, so why not have fun in the process?  No matter what happens, I know it will be a very memorable experience!

Tough Mudder Week 7 Workouts:

Tuesday 10/6:  6-mile run with Bret in the evening.  I have to say, this was one of the worst feeling runs I’ve had in a LONG time.  I wore my PROCompression socks and for some reason I think they negatively impacted my run – I just didn’t feel comfortable at all! My knees were miserable the entire time, then my left hip felt discomfort.  Gotta get back to hip strengthening!

Wednesday 10/7:  4-mile easy run, solo.  This run felt SO much better, thank goodness! I ran down the Schuylkill River Trail for a change of scenery, but I won’t do that again – the trail is extremely crowded and there are groups of guys on bikes that harass runners, especially women.  Maybe I ran faster to get away from them…

Thursday 10/8:  I had a half day at work and flew down to Orlando for my vacation in Disney World with my sister!  We went out to Downtown Disney (aka Disney Spring), and before bed, I did do my pushups and sit ups!

Friday 10/9:  All day Disney:  The Animal Kingdom in the morning, then Epcot in the afternoon and evening for the International Food and Wine Festival.  I walked nearly 25,000 steps that day!  We really had a great time.

Saturday 10/10:  More walking all over Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and the Magic Kingdom. We were everywhere! I only ended up with around 21,000 steps…geez!

Sunday 10/11:  Went for a 4-mile morning run at the resort!  It started out great as I ran around the 1.3-mile lake, but I got bored and pretty hot very quickly!  Then we went to the Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios all day and all night for our last night.  We even had dinner at Be Our Guest restaurant and got a picture with the Beast!

Monday 10/12:  Traveling back to Philly.  No running, but I did do clam shells on each side to get back to hip strengthening.

Tuesday 10/13:  At lunch I went to core class in the company gym after missing it the past 2 weeks.  We worked on the Bosu ball which was really challenging!  After work, I went for a 4 mile run with the Philly Runners.  I’ll be sharing my experience in the Running Club Roundup – be sure to check it out on Thursday!

Hourglass Lake at the resort
Hourglass Lake at the resort

Tough Mudder Week 7 Report Card:

I’m pretty happy with how this past week of training progressed.  Am I ready for the Tough Mudder?  I really don’t know.  I do know that I am stronger now than I was when I started, so I hope that helps me get through it.

I’m also happy that I stayed pretty active while on vacation in DIsney.  But then again, how could you not when you’re walking 10 miles a day?

I’m very proud that I broke out of my shell and joined the Philly Runners for the first time.  I can’t wait to tell you about that experience – it was very interesting!

So with all that said, I’ll give my final week of training an A.  I just have a couple more runs before the weekend, and then we’ll see what happens on Sunday!  Fingers crossed!

My sister took all the good pics of us in Disney!
My sister took all the good pics of us in Disney!

Have you ever done a mud race?  Any last-minute tips to help my sanity?  Are you a Disney fan?  

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56 Comments on “Goals for Tough Mudder Philly”

  1. Hi,
    Good luck to you for the challenge and I’m sure you’ll be able to do it without any problem. I stayed away from the ground all my life as I afraid of getting hurt but now I’m seeing myself getting hurt even without getting hurt. I stayed away from running and all other sports activities and now my stamina is so bad, however I’m trying to slowly build it up. Getting injured hurts but it doesn’t hurt as bad as getting hurt ( sentimentally) without even trying.

    Thanks,
    Bharat

    Reply

  11. I think you have a great plan to have a successful race! You are already paying attention to the things that get most people hurt! I have never done one of these, but it does look fun! I am running my first marathon in Disney this January. My family goes to Disney each Thanksgiving too so yes ma’am I am so a fan!!! 🙂

    Reply

  13. Your first and last goals are the most important – don’t die and have fun! I think it’s awesome how you’ve really cross-trained to get ready for this event.

    Reply

  14. holy wow, only a few days to go! Wow that came quick! I can wait to hear how you do, I know you are going to have a great time. Please dont hurt your knees ! Have Fun!

    Reply

  15. So excited for you! Just have fun, that’s the most important right?! I am definitely a Disney fan, but haven’t been in years. We are actually taking the kids on a Disney cruise this winter! So excited! Good luck this weekend!!

    Reply

  16. Oh, yes!!!! HUGE Disney fan here!! We’ve taken our kids there numerous times……and I may have to play the Disney “trump” card to get them to do a race with me at Disney World someday. Best of luck at your Mudder…..I’m excited to hear all about it!

    Reply

  19. I hear those mud races are cold and prone to injury – I doubt I ever do one but I love looking at photos of folks who have. OH and when I went through the survey where they ask you if you are afraid of being shocked or fire – I was done. LOL. ENJOY!

    Reply

  21. Oh my I love this!! You are training like a mad woman and you are gonna kill it! I’m definitely jealous as I can’t run it this year so run for me!

    Reply

  22. Wow! I can’t wait to read your race re-cap! You are going to be absolutely awesome! Good idea for the knee pads and capris.

    Reply

  25. I have always thought about doing one of those challenge runs, but I hate mud and crawling through it sounds like my worst nightmare! I loved your pics from the warrior dash!
    I think you’ll do great at the tough mudder and can’t wait to read all about it!
    Okay…want to hear something crazy…we were at downtown Disney on Thursday night too! We had dinner at the Boathouse! It was our last night there…we did magic kingdom for 3 days, one day at Epcot (my hubby loved the food and wine festival), and the last day was Animal Kingdom, although I didn’t make it (it was too hot so I left him and our friend there to explore, lol). It was so fun being back at Disney since the last time I was there I was 8! My daughter loved it! We met all the princesses!!
    Anyway, too funny that we were at downtown Disney the same night!

    Reply

  28. I just completed my 4th Tough Mudder this weekend (17th October). It was by far the most challenging course I’ve ever competed on.
    Killa Gorilla was no joke! Ran the whole thing (walking up Killa Gorilla doesn’t count, cause everyone was walking, it was a 30% gradient!), and attempted every obstacle.
    Really loved cry baby (menthol!), owned funkey monkey and had a ball.

    Reply

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