Tough Mudder

[Suzanimal]

I have my first TM injury. My husband (grrrr..) was teaching me how to exercise my upper body and drew his elbow back and hit me in the eye. Now I have a f-ing black eye, it's pretty swollen and it hurts like hell.

 

[specsaregood]

./

 

[Suzanimal]

Next time I beat my wife I'm going to tell her to use that story.

LOL, that's what my neighbor said. He took a pic of me with his phone to brag about what a bad ass he is at work tonight. He gave me a black eye once before, he walked up to me, grabbed my face and sucked on my eye really hard (I don't know why he did it, he was just goofing off). A few minutes later he was like, oh shit, don't be mad, I think I gave you a black eye. I wasn't swollen and didn't hurt but it was black. I guess that was more like hickey eye.

 

[cjm]

I have my first TM injury. My husband (grrrr..) was teaching me how to exercise my upper body and drew his elbow back and hit me in the eye. Now I have a f-ing black eye, it's pretty swollen and it hurts like hell.

There's a Dave Attell joke about this. I hope your eye feels better.

 

[hotbrownsauce]

I completed Tough Mudder last year. Doing it again this year! I ran 12 miles through all the obstacles. In the back of my mind I thought it would be scary. But I never let that fear surface. During the whole race it was just pure focus! We finished in 3 hours even though we ran the whole time (lots of waiting at each obstacle along the way which increased our time).

Tons of people go that aren't 100% ready. So I personally wouldn't worry if I wasn't in impeccable shape.
The shock does NOT hurt.. it does not hurt at all! But however, if you get shocked you will go limp! (Happened to me twice... just do the obstacles. Don't think about it! You WILL be glad you did them all, trust me! Finish them all don't wimp out!!!)

As for training if you don't exercise regularly I would advise it. You don't have to be a body builder, I am not. Just be sure you actively exercise your body regularly. I feel as long as you exercise regularly (30 minutes for each body part e.g. arms, legs, back, chest, abs) you'll be okay when the time comes. I work out each part of the body twice a week by habit to give you an idea.

If you can run a mile or two in spurts over a few hour period you'll be okay on running. Please note the BIGGEST THING I DID NOT DO is this... we were running in open fields at our tough mudder event.. tons of little natural twists and bends in the dirt and therefor your ankle will not be "stationary" as it would be against a road. Your ankle will bend to the contour of the ground. So I advise strengthening your ankle muscles by either running in fields or running on a machine with the incline up/down. If you have weak or bad ankles be sure to wear ankle braces so you don't twist an ankle!! The reason this was the biggest thing for me is that my ankles and calf muscle started getting stiff and sore.

Be sure to eat plenty of bananas days before so you don't get cramps!!! If your calf cramps look at picture two in this diagram http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-a-Charley-Horse

Be excited!! It is so much fun!!! You'll love yourself! =) When I did mine it was to celebrate 3 yrs after joining a gym and losing 50lbs. I now have 6 pack abs after being overweight my whole life... GO ME! lol =)

Any questions drop me a PM. I don't check the boards anymore.

HBS

PS They have a few food/water stops on the way. They seemed to be located about ever 2-4 miles. Each station had either a half a banana or half a Cliff protein bar and water with portable restrooms.

Hope you have fun! They will get you pumped before you go... a motivational speaker will be present! Then BANG! You're off!

PPS
You will most definitely swallow mud. You will be picking it out of your toes for days, ears for hours, it will get in your eyes, and every part of your body imaginable. There is a lot of mud!

 

[Suzanimal]

I completed Tough Mudder last year. Doing it again this year! I ran 12 miles through all the obstacles. In the back of my mind I thought it would be scary. But I never let that fear surface. During the whole race it was just pure focus! We finished in 3 hours even though we ran the whole time (lots of waiting at each obstacle along the way which increased our time).

Tons of people go that aren't 100% ready. So I personally wouldn't worry if I wasn't in impeccable shape.
The shock does NOT hurt.. it does not hurt at all! But however, if you get shocked you will go limp! (Happened to me twice... just do the obstacles. Don't think about it! You WILL be glad you did them all, trust me! Finish them all don't wimp out!!!)

As for training if you don't exercise regularly I would advise it. You don't have to be a body builder, I am not. Just be sure you actively exercise your body regularly. I feel as long as you exercise regularly (30 minutes for each body part e.g. arms, legs, back, chest, abs) you'll be okay when the time comes. I work out each part of the body twice a week by habit to give you an idea.

If you can run a mile or two in spurts over a few hour period you'll be okay on running. Please note the BIGGEST THING I DID NOT DO is this... we were running in open fields at our tough mudder event.. tons of little natural twists and bends in the dirt and therefor your ankle will not be "stationary" as it would be against a road. Your ankle will bend to the contour of the ground. So I advise strengthening your ankle muscles by either running in fields or running on a machine with the incline up/down. If you have weak or bad ankles be sure to wear ankle braces so you don't twist an ankle!! The reason this was the biggest thing for me is that my ankles and calf muscle started getting stiff and sore.

Be sure to eat plenty of bananas days before so you don't get cramps!!! If your calf cramps look at picture two in this diagram http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-a-Charley-Horse

Be excited!! It is so much fun!!! You'll love yourself! =) When I did mine it was to celebrate 3 yrs after joining a gym and losing 50lbs. I now have 6 pack abs after being overweight my whole life... GO ME! lol =)

Any questions drop me a PM. I don't check the boards anymore.

HBS

PS They have a few food/water stops on the way. They seemed to be located about ever 2-4 miles. Each station had either a half a banana or half a Cliff protein bar and water with portable restrooms.

Hope you have fun! They will get you pumped before you go... a motivational speaker will be present! Then BANG! You're off!

PPS
You will most definitely swallow mud. You will be picking it out of your toes for days, ears for hours, it will get in your eyes, and every part of your body imaginable. There is a lot of mud!

I've been running on the street because it's really hilly and has lots of obstacles (road kill, potholes, stray dogs), it's way more of a workout for me.

When I did mine it was to celebrate 3 yrs after joining a gym and losing 50lbs. I now have 6 pack abs after being overweight my whole life... GO ME! lol =)

YAY! Good for you!

 

[Suzanimal]

There's a Dave Attell joke about this. I hope your eye feels better.

Gosh, I haven't heard that name in awhile. I liked his TV show, I wonder what happened to him.

 

[Suzanimal]

I hope your eye feels better.

Thanks, it does, I kept icing it yesterday and the swelling is mostly gone but it's kind of purple.

 

[Suzanimal]

I got off track for a couple of weeks but I finally got off my butt and ran today, I also bought a set of 5lb weights so I can get some muscles in my arms. My running is getting better, I don't feel like I'm going to die when I'm done so I guess that's good sign.

 

[Suzanimal]

I about three weeks ago I bought new running shoes and I was too lazy to drive so I went to Walmart (what was I thinking??) and found a cute pair that felt pretty good. They were pretty good for a couple of weeks but now my knees are killing me. So for $20ish bucks I got a pair of running shoes that barely lasted a month. *Sigh* Lesson learned.

Avoid these crappy shoes...

 

[tod evans]

I never buy "cute" tools..........

 

[phill4paul]

I about three weeks ago I bought new running shoes and I was too lazy to drive so I went to Walmart (what was I thinking??) and found a cute pair that felt pretty good. They were pretty good for a couple of weeks but now my knees are killing me. So for $20ish bucks I got a pair of running shoes that barely lasted a month. *Sigh* Lesson learned.

Avoid these crappy shoes...

Words of wisdom from my dad: "Son, always buy best shoes or boots and bedding you can afford. If you're not in one you are in the other."

 

[Suzanimal]

I never buy "cute" tools..........

I always buy "cute" tools....

Words of wisdom from my dad: "Son, always buy best shoes or boots and bedding you can afford. If you're not in one you are in the other."

Your Dad was a wise man. One of life's delights is climbing into a freshly made bed.

 

[Natural Citizen]

I don't know how I missed this thread but that's a tall glass of water that you're taking on, Suzanimal. Good for you.

Make sure you're eating right. Good luck.

 

[Suzanimal]

The running is getting a lot easier, the "I'm going to die" feeling has been replaced with an odd high. All that sweat is starting to pay off, my mind is sharper, more focused and my energy level is up - Yay! I found a workout I'm going to start next week. I also noticed the playground near my subdivision has monkey bars, I think I'm going to start running to the playground, do the monkey bars and run back - that'll add a quarter of a mile to my run and help with my upper body - I think it'll add some fun to my run, it's getting pretty boring.

I bought a cool pair of socks off Amazon to wear for the race but I might have to order an extra pair, I think they'll come in handy as the weather gets cooler. I bought the black maybe I'll get the extra pair in pink.

http://www.amazon.com/Womens-Knee-High-Tube-Socks/dp/B004X2PJGQ

 

[mika]

No matter how hyped up they get you at the starting line, don't sprint when they say "go" or your legs will pay dearly for it.

 

[Suzanimal]

No matter how hyped up they get you at the starting line, don't sprint when they say "go" or your legs will pay dearly for it.

No worries, I don't "sprint" on a good day.

I went to the playground today and did the monkey bars. What a fiasco, it rained last night and they were slippery - that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I never completed them without "slipping".:o

 

[Suzanimal]

My new "cute" shoes are working out pretty good. I liked the way the Nikes looked but I ended up buying the New Balance because they felt better. Ya hear that tod evans? Functional AND cute!

I think I hurt myself today. I fell off the monkey bars and on the run home my right arm started aching and now the right side of my neck is bothering me. I think I may have pulled something.

My new cute shoes...

Yep, I'm getting stronger.

 

[presence]

I never buy "cute" tools..........

Why not? I love my cute klein stubbys:

\
My cute palm nailer:

...and my cute mil surplus mini pick shovel

 

[Danke]

Definition of a Tough Mudder: An animal that can bleed for a whole week every month and still survive. Commonly referred to as a Suzanimal.