In which Sarah Barr chronicles her attempt at Tough Mudder

[Sarah Barr]

This year's Tough Mudder event in Edinburgh was in June. So, it being early July, I have just shy of a year until the next one, and I want to sign up.

 

Reason:

I want to get the hell out of this office job and become a field ecologist. I will settle for general adventurer. If I can complete a Tough Mudder, I can handle pretty much anything field ecology can throw at me. Except perhaps angry squirrels, I don't think they have them at events. You can be a great field ecologist without crawling about under live wires and scrambling up greased halfpipes, but I hate doing things half-arsed.

 

Problems:

• I can't run for shit. Can just about catch buses. 10-12km? NO. Don't think I've even hiked that before.
• I'm not that weak, but I can't do pull ups, let alone swing across monkey bars.
• I am fat as fuck. I am perfectly fine with being fat as fuck as long as I also get healthy, but I do not plan on getting stuck in any underwater pipes, and it would be so much easier to lift my bodyweight if my bodyweight was less than 229lbs. So, sorting that out, but the priority is strength and endurance, not deflating. That said, if I incidentally get small enough to fit into clothes from Primark, score.
• I have a broken handbone at the moment. Technically a problem. Practically, as long as I don't go around punching things and crawling about on my knuckles until it's healed, should be fine.

 

Training Plan:

This'll be broken down across several six-week challenges, and will consist of following the prescribed workouts available on the Tough Mudder website, from Mudderling to Tough Mudder, as well as getting my running endurance up - from Running At All to 12km and beyond. Will throw in some hiking as well.

Meanwhile, I'll be following the diet that's served me well whenever I've stuck to it - put in all the protein and vegetables, watch portion sizes (keep intake around 1500-1800kcal), try to avoid nutritionally crap food. I won't include processed food in general in "nutritionally crap" because my main source of protein is Quorn and I NEED MY SAUSAGES. Sod those veggie sausages that are basically just cheese and potato. That is not proper sausages.

 

Not proper sausages at all.

 

 

Draft Timeline:

 

Now: Stop procrastinating, get back to work.

 

Weeks until next 6-week challenge: Start Couch to 5k. Work on the strength training program you've been working on this challenge. Do not re-break hand. Try out new exercises from Mudderling program so you can start it with good form. Eat clean. Hike on weekends.

 

1st 6 week TM-related challenge: Mudderling training program. Continue running program; aim to do 5km by end of challenge. Eat clean, hike on weekends. 

 

2nd 6 week TM-related challenge: See above. (Aim to run 7.5km by end of challenge.)

 

3rd 6 week TM-related challenge: See above; move on to Maybe Mudder; aim to run 10km by end of challenge.

 

4th 6 week TM-related challenge: Same as above, but aim for 12.5km.

 

5th 6 week TM-related challenge: Blah blah, Tough Mudder program, 15km

 

6th blahblahblah: Blah. As far as you possibly can. Blah. Odd object training to toughen up skin on hands.

 

Between challenge breaks - focus on maintenance and troubleshooting.

 

So let's say that's 36 challenge weeks, 1.5 weeks between each one, and about three weeks till next challenge. That's 46.5 weeks. 

 

Beyond 6th Challenge: See 6th challenge. 

 

I am expecting things will not go completely smoothly, but there are a couple of weeks' leeway between the end of the 6th challenge and when the event might roughly be, so there will be catch-up time. On the other hand, if by some miracle I progress really rapidly, then there are always ways to make it harder. Overaiming regarding running, but if I aim high I might just scrape a pass for what I probably should be aiming for. 

 

This is going to be shit, isn't it?

 

Yay.

[Barfly]

This looks so cool!

[LadyWitch]

Sounds like a brilliant plan of attack! May have to think about doing the same if I want to run my local TM next July

[deftona]

Great plan subbed for what is surely going to be awesome progress. I'm with you on wanting to be able to go into real shops and look around the whole store instead of being herded into the "Fat girl" section. I want to start running too but I'm too fat right now.

 

We're not built for earthquakes, the UK...

[Sarah Barr]

My friend and I, wanting to plan regular running things, were discussing if they made some sort of sports bra for stomachs, and after much debate we think we may have come up with a use for the crappy plastic-boned corsets we have. Useless as corsets, but you know, they might just stop the stomachs from doing painful things when running, and corset sounds so, so much nicer than "panty girdle".

[Sarah Barr]

Stage 0 Plan: Now to Next Challenge

 

Exercise:

 

• Mon: Strength Training  (For this stage, strength training consists of a full body dumbbell workout [including goblet squats, dumbbell lunge rows, presses, planks, curls] with some yoga poses thrown into the rest periods, increasing the weight as days progress)
• Tue: Couch to 5k
• Wed: Strength Training
• Thu: Couch to 5k
• Fri: Strength Training
• Sat: Hiking or Walking
• Sun: Rest (Although cleaning counts as exercise I suppose.)

 

Diet:

• 1500-1700kcal a day; up to 1800kcal if hiking (as in, hoofing about up mountains for a day making pained grunting noises, not strolling through the park)
• Aim for 110g protein, 35g fat, 46-57g fibre and 126g carbs a day
• Aim for around 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day

 

Other things:

Cook food for rest of week on Sundays

Look at new exercises in Mudderling workout and learn how to do each with good form during at least one workout before you start next challenge.

 

 

Today:

Went to gym, and cor, you really do notice when it's been a while. Managed to complete one and a half circuits, which is only half a workout, but I did try hard and I did not injure my hand. A little disappointed I couldn't get through another half circuit but I am happy I gave it a good hard go and I'm confident I'll be back up to where I was soon. I can do all the movements without hurting hand, so that's promising.

[Sarah Barr]

Actually, change Saturday's exercise to hiking or Couch to 5k, I think walking is a bit of a cop out when I'm trying to up my running stamina.

[LadyWitch]

That's pretty much what I'm planning on doing, alternative days of strength training and C25K, and one rest day. Starting the C25K this evening when it cools down a bit!

[Sarah Barr]

Started Mudderling this week - also started C25K and hmm, dilemma. There's a lot of running-kicking type cardio in Mudderling, and since I alternate Mudderling and C25K I don't think I have enough rest on the running front. Don't want to stop C25K, because one cannot run 12 miles by doing jumping jacks. So I'm going to do the strength part of Mudderling, and keep in things like burpees and jumping jacks, but cut out things like the running, butt kicks and skates. 

 

Also slightly fuming this morning because workout did not go well. My gut really gets in the way in burpees, and I just keep falling over and I can't get my legs back into squat position. This is the same for the cage crawl exercise. As I lose weight, hopefully this will get better, but it's so frustrating, especially since it's in front of people.

 

BUT I got my high plank to 1 minute! And I bought a stopwatch, so it's definitely 1 whole minute!!

[LadyWitch]

I hate BURPEES!!! I can't manage more than 6 at a time, without falling flat on my face, and even those 6 aren't what I'd call 'good form'! 

 

Good idea on changing it about a bit... I'm doing the same as you (C25K and TM training) and was trying to work out how I can do them on the same days rather than alternate days, and cutting the running section from the TM might do the trick (I only want to do them on the same days, as I'm terrible at working out at the weekend when my husband is home )