JonFirestar Getting Dirty in May

[jonfirestar]

Getting Dirty in May

 

 

I racked my brain for a theme but came up short. So I'm just gonna say it as it is. This challenge is about getting muddy, getting dirty and getting filthy and, hopefully, not dying in the meantime. So here is what is coming up this time round:

 

Tough Mudder!! 

 

On Week 1 We have Tough Mudder. My team consists of the totally badass @Rhovaniel and I think we are both quite keen to tear up the course. 

 

 

But Tough Mudder is the Warmup because coming up on Week 3 we've got the 'biggest obstacle course race in the world'

 

Rat Race Dirty Weekend! 

 

 

You might have heard a few of the Rangers talking about this one recently. It's been in the work for a whole year and will become an epic Ranger Meetup. OCR, beer festival, camping trip and after party with some of the finest Ranger's in the guild this side of the pond in attendance. We've got @Mr_Willes, @Rhovaniel, @Jarric, @iatetheyeti,  @Charlie_Quinn and myself. This one event  promises to be a massive heap of fun and excitement. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that I'm very, very excited about this race. 

 

To Round Things out  Week 4 as a 'recovery' run. 

 

Nuclear Rush

 

(incase you don't know, the magnificent flying ass on the right hand side is me) 

 

If I'm honest, this race is just insanity. I'm only doing it so that I don't end up running a hard 10k road race instead. It'll be interesting to see how my body copes with it. 

 

So as you can see I've got a lot of stuff coming up and a lot of it is going to beat me up and leave me staggering around. Because of this I'm going to take a break from my own convention and not promise a damned thing in regards to workouts. Instead this challenge is all about recovery. 

 

I'm going to try to maintain 4 runs a week because I still have a marathon coming up in the summer but I will skip runs if needed after Tough Mudder if I feel like I need the recovery time. I'm pretty stubborn about that so don't expect many skipped runs. 

 

I'm going to try to lift 4 times a week but I will skip sessions if I need to before and After Tough Mudder. My aim would be to do at least 2 per week but I'm very much playing it all by ear. 

 

So here are my actual goals

 

Update Every Day

Update the forum every day. Report on workouts, recovery and calorie intake for each given day. That'll simply help me from taking this challenge as an excuse to go haywire. Obviously there probably won't be much updating on the days that we're camping at RRDW. 

 

Do Something for Recovery Every Day

There are no hard rules here. It can be anything. Stretching, yoga, a bath, meditation and even swapping out a run for a walk because I ran 20 miles the Saturday before. Just something to keep me mindful about recovery and report on what I'm doing. The idea is to make me actively focus on it a bit.

 

That's it. I'm really excited for this challenge even if I'm being very nebulous about the whole thing.

 

 

[Sloth the Enduring]

This looks like an awesome challenge to follow.

[TGP]

I knew you would be coming along soon.

ofc, I will be following your challenge! 

[Wild Wolf]

Epic. PURRRRRE Epicness right here! You're definitely going to want to recover after some of these epic OCR's but you're becoming one with the mud these days and I'll think your body will recoop in no time. It's really a shame that I can't be there with you guys but I'll be there in spirit. @Mr_Willes more than brings enough Wolfie flavor with him, so I'm counting on him to represent me on Rat Race weekend  

 

You're a beast, Jon! Keep it up, brother!

 

Wolf

[jonfirestar]

19 minutes ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

This looks like an awesome challenge to follow.

Good to have you back Sloth! 

 

17 minutes ago, TGP said:

I knew you would be coming along soon.

As bet's go that was a pretty sure one but I'm glad to have you back along. 

 

 

Week 0, Monday:

 

While we are here let's do this. I did a first this morning. I ran to work. That isn't really a big deal. It's 4 miles in almost a dead straight line. Four miles isn't a big deal for me but I've nonetheless never done it before. Although I actually ran to the gym, which is directly around the corner from work. Any other challenge I'd make this a goal. I do want to run to work twice a week. Just because it's going to make it easier to get all the things done whilst avoiding the dreadmill but I don't think many plans are going to last past week 1. 

 

My preliminary plan has 4 lifting days. Alternating between light and heavy days. So Mon light lower, Wed Heavy Lower, Thurs light upper, Fri Heavy Upper and vaguely following the big four lifts alternating the heavy and light movements week on week. I'm trying to do all the things and work on power and strength endurance at the same time. We'll see how it goes. Along with the basic lifts and some accessory work I'm also adding in some 'ocr specific' type training. It's not really ocr specific but stuff that I am doing to try and work on my specific weaknesses in regards to the sport. 

 

They are:

Core 

Grip

Hangs and Pulls

Balance

 

Today was core and balance. So there was a core circuit and some unilateral leg work to help improve balance. 

My workout in full. The weights were relatively low (approx 60% of my working max) and the reps high. 

 

4 mile easy run

Blugarian Split Squat 3x10x32kg 
Lunges, front Rack 3x8x45kg 
Back Extensions 3x12x10kg 
Squat 1x12x60kg 2x12x80kg

 

4 rounds 
Plank 30 sec 
leg raises x10 
Russian Twist x10 (6kg) 
Medicine Ball Slam x10 (6kg) 
Pushup x10

 

Stair Climber 10 minutes (very slow zone 1 effort)

 

 

 

[Salinger]

good start Jon! WIsh i was along for the camping fun! Following you to support and encourage you xx

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Here to keep checking in and realize there's no way I can keep up.

[Novaurora]

Love this!  Following

[Cheetah]

Sounds like great fun!  Following!

[WhiteGhost]

Folloooooooooooowing!

[Xena]

Like your very realistic challenge goals this time around. Will be curious to see how they work for you. As you know, some challenges it's hard to find useful but realistic goals. All the races sound awesome. Much fun!

[Charlie_Quinn]

Of course I'm following! I don't think I need to say how excited I am for muddy Ranger adventures

[jonfirestar]

14 hours ago, Salinger said:

good start Jon! WIsh i was along for the camping fun! Following you to support and encourage you xx

We'll get you out for some crazy Ranger fun sooner or later. 

 

13 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Here to keep checking in and realize there's no way I can keep up.

So long as you understand that I'll be following your thread with the same intention I'm sure we can come to an understanding  

 

12 hours ago, Stribs said:

Love this!  Following

Good to have you here, Stribs! 

 

8 hours ago, Cheetah said:

Sounds like great fun!  Following!

Fun in the mud is the name of the game this time round! 

 

8 hours ago, WhiteGhost said:

Folloooooooooooowing!

 

8 hours ago, Xena said:

Like your very realistic challenge goals this time around. Will be curious to see how they work for you. As you know, some challenges it's hard to find useful but realistic goals. All the races sound awesome. Much fun!

 

Yeah exactly this. I've got a bunch of ideas of what I want to do for training but, realistically, it's just not going to be possible to implement this side of May. So I'm just going to do the best I can and concentrate on having fun with all the races! 

 

1 hour ago, Charlie_Quinn said:

Of course I'm following! I don't think I need to say how excited I am for muddy Ranger adventures

 

No you don't need to say. I jump around like a loon every time I think about it  

[Salinger]

31 minutes ago, jonfirestar said:

We'll get you out for some crazy Ranger fun sooner or later. 

 

Yes i hope so!!!! x

[jonfirestar]

22 hours ago, Wolfpool said:

Epic. PURRRRRE Epicness right here! You're definitely going to want to recover after some of these epic OCR's but you're becoming one with the mud these days and I'll think your body will recoop in no time. It's really a shame that I can't be there with you guys but I'll be there in spirit. @Mr_Willes more than brings enough Wolfie flavor with him, so I'm counting on him to represent me on Rat Race weekend  

 

You're a beast, Jon! Keep it up, brother!

 

Somehow missed your post Wolfie. We all know that Willes wouldn't go anywhere without bringing his Wolfie shrine so I'm sure that there'll be plenty of Wolfpool to go round  

7 hours ago, Salinger said:

Yes i hope so!!!! x

I can't do it this year now but if they still are doing the Tough Mudder 5K in Manchester next year I say we try and make that a thing. I know we could get you through a 5k! 

[Maigs]

23 hours ago, jonfirestar said:

Nuclear Rush

 

(incase you don't know, the magnificent flying ass on the right hand side is me) 

I love this picture and want to go down that slide and get an equally hilarious picture

[jonfirestar]

Week 0, Tuesday!

 

I'm on call this week. It happens about once a month. Last night I received a call at quarter to one in the morning  It is really not fun to be woken up not four hours after you go to sleep but it was a major incident. I got back to bed after 3am and switched off my alarm and went back to sleep. It took me a little while to drop back off but not an extreme amount of time. 

 

I didn't sleep particularly well. I was a little uptight and after 5am my body and mind were sure I was supposed to be awake  so I got up at 7am. Now I could have just gone in to work but I was excused from having to turn up until 11am due to the hours I'd worked overnight so I decided I'd use the time to get in the run that I'd slept through. It would have been very easy for me to blow off the run and I was tempted. 

 

The run today is hands down the hardest running workout I've done and I'm just beginning my program! 

7.5 miles (I misjudged the distance here I was aiming for 6 miles) 

At 3 miles in I did the hill repeat workout: 

2 mins at effort 2 (easy)

2 mins at effort 3 (tempo)

2 mins at effort 4 (all out, which turned out to be threshold although I did tip into anaerobic zones for some sections) 

Rest 1 min and repeat 3 times. 

 

That turned into a pretty gnarly workout but the differing paces made it much easier to keep up the effort over the 9 repeats. I was pretty thankful when I ran the last one. It did put me in mind that if anything is going to train me better for a mountain marathon I think these workouts fit the bill. Upon uploading the run I found myself quite impressed with my times. Given the hill repeats and recovery walks. I might be getting fitter  

 

The run, coupled with yesterday's squats, left me pretty sore this afternoon. I really hope it's going to calm down a little by tomorrow. 

 

After the run I headed into work where we spent the rest of the day trying to figure out wtf happened. There were cookies at work today but I'm feeling dialed in with my eating at the moment and I wasn't really tempted. A little, but not seriously. I know that some people will disagree with this approach but I've moved the bulk of my calories to the beginning of the day. The single most calorific meal I'm eating right now is breakfast. Although I'm very much a morning person and it sort of just feels right when I do it this way (I also think it might help with recovery a bit, at least during training) even if psychologically I still want my main meal in the evening. 

 

After work in the evening I broke out the foam roller and pain stick and went to work on my back and thighs. I have some mid-upper back issues that I've suffered with since I was a kid that can be completely mitigated with a foam roller so long as I'm somewhat diligent about it. This counts as my recovery work for the day though I don't find that rolling helps one iota with DOMS. 

[jonfirestar]

14 minutes ago, Maigahane said:

I love this picture and want to go down that slide and get an equally hilarious picture

Well, if you ever find yourself in the UK at the right time I'm sure we can make that happen  not gonna lie though. That slide was slightly terrifying! 

[Wild Wolf]

6 minutes ago, jonfirestar said:

After work in the evening I broke out the foam roller and pain stick and went to work on my back and thighs. I have some mid-upper back issues that I've suffered with since I was a kid that can be completely mitigated with a foam roller so long as I'm somewhat diligent about it. This counts as my recovery work for the day though I don't find that rolling helps one iota with DOMS. 

 

I always imagine what life woulda been like if I had had a foam roller in highschool....oh sweet Lord it would've been AMAZING! I'm thankful for having one nowadays because my back would be jacked up if I didn't. You're right though...it doesn't help on lick with DOMS lol. I do find it eases things when my hammies are sore though. Not taking away the DOMS per say, but at least breaking up the tight muscle.

 

41 minutes ago, jonfirestar said:

Somehow missed your post Wolfie. We all know that Willes wouldn't go anywhere without bringing his Wolfie shrine so I'm sure that there'll be plenty of Wolfpool to go round  

 

LOL! He's gonna need that shrine. It gives him a +4 to vertical leap and +2 to overall goodlookingness  

 

Wolf

[Maigs]

18 minutes ago, jonfirestar said:

Well, if you ever find yourself in the UK at the right time I'm sure we can make that happen  not gonna lie though. That slide was slightly terrifying! 

One of these days I might just have to make that happen. Though explaining to Hubs that I'm traveling out of the country to play in the mud with my internet friends (and that he can come if he wants) might be tricky. He knows about NF forums and even that I talk with a few UKers but he doesn't get meeting people from the interwebs....or mudruns for that matter

[Jarric]

On 16/04/2018 at 9:13 PM, jonfirestar said:

4 rounds 
Plank 30 sec 
leg raises x10 
Russian Twist x10 (6kg) 
Medicine Ball Slam x10 (6kg) 
Pushup x10

 

My abs hurt reading this! Good challenge goals man for a busy month. Meanwhile I'm contemplating whether running a TM the week before Dirty Weekend is a good idea!

[Xena]

really cool that you were able to use the well-earned late start and get in a killer workout!

[Charlie_Quinn]

12 hours ago, jonfirestar said:

I can't do it this year now but if they still are doing the Tough Mudder 5K in Manchester next year I say we try and make that a thing. I know we could get you through a 5k! 

 

I'd be up for that.

 

12 hours ago, jonfirestar said:

The run today is hands down the hardest running workout I've done and I'm just beginning my program! 

 

I was worried you were going to say that. I'm due to do this workout this evening and was feeling a little anxious about it. Now I'm dreading it!

 

9 hours ago, Jarric said:

Meanwhile I'm contemplating whether running a TM the week before Dirty Weekend is a good idea!

 

Tough Mudder averages about 8-10 miles these days don't they? Surely that counts as a taper of sorts? Right? 

[Novaurora]

2 days in and already killing it!  Go you!!

[jonfirestar]

12 hours ago, Wolfpool said:

I always imagine what life woulda been like if I had had a foam roller in highschool....oh sweet Lord it would've been AMAZING! I'm thankful for having one nowadays because my back would be jacked up if I didn't. You're right though...it doesn't help on lick with DOMS lol. I do find it eases things when my hammies are sore though. Not taking away the DOMS per say, but at least breaking up the tight muscle.

 

Yeah man, I love my foam roller. The things it does for my back and my hips are nothing short of magical. The  thing is I first tried one because I thought it might help with the old DOMS and it doesn't do that and I'm just sad about it  

 

12 hours ago, Wolfpool said:

LOL! He's gonna need that shrine. It gives him a +4 to vertical leap and +2 to overall goodlookingness  

 

I'm only going to get worried if @Mr_Willes starts handing out Wolfie masks...

 

 

10 hours ago, Jarric said:

My abs hurt reading this! Good challenge goals man for a busy month. Meanwhile I'm contemplating whether running a TM the week before Dirty Weekend is a good idea!

Oddly my abs didn't really suffer that much for it. That might just be because it was the first time I'd squtted in a month and my thighs are really letting me know about it! I specifically picked the TM on the 28th because it was a couple of weeks out from TM. Like I said on FB it makes it the perfect slot for the last hard workout before I taper into RRDW. If you take it easy I don't see that doing it the week before will be too hard. It doesn't mean too much but the course was just under 10 miles last year. 

 

12 hours ago, Maigahane said:

One of these days I might just have to make that happen. Though explaining to Hubs that I'm traveling out of the country to play in the mud with my internet friends (and that he can come if he wants) might be tricky. He knows about NF forums and even that I talk with a few UKers but he doesn't get meeting people from the interwebs....or mudruns for that matter

Yeah it is one of those weird things.  Although the next time I'm in the States I'm sure going to be trying to do some OCR or trail race  Although that's likely to be Florida and doing it there is utterly terrifying to someone from the UK  

 

9 hours ago, Xena said:

really cool that you were able to use the well-earned late start and get in a killer workout!

When life gives you lemons and all that! 

 

1 hour ago, Charlie_Quinn said:

I was worried you were going to say that. I'm due to do this workout this evening and was feeling a little anxious about it. Now I'm dreading it!

Yeah, I don't know what to say. It was something. I'll tell you that at no point did it seem impossible to do. I'm also sure that your not silly enough to do a 5k uphill run before trying to do 9 repeats  (I really misjudged that beginning bit). The whole time I was doing it I couldn't help but think about how the hills at Spartan killed me and how these workouts are going to make it so much easier the next time I come across something like that! 

 

5 minutes ago, Stribs said:

2 days in and already killing it!  Go you!!

We'll see how I do once the races start  Really this week is my last really hard week. I'm going to start backing off next week and my last hard 'workout' will be Tough Mudder. From there I'm going to be cruising easy workouts