Tough Mudder Atlanta was this past weekend - 10.6 miles, 19 obstacles, lots of mud, and 3000 of your closest friends. Thanks to everyone that gave meadvice in my last thread- even those of you that told me not to even try
I was with a buddy from work, which I think made it a lot easier as their was someone to help push you along, both figuratively (“you got it man, let’s go!”) and literally (the 12 foot Berlin Walls you aren’t getting over on your own). But pretty much everyone there was in good spirits and all about helping each other out. You didn’t do the course on your own - you did it with a lot of fellow mudders.
It wasn’t perfect - registration started late, so the course started late, which means we waited around for an hour and a half or so instead of the 15 minutes we’d been hoping for. Some of the obstacles were pretty backed up (K2, which is a cargo net up a hill, Spider web, which is a cargo net over a wire, and Funky Monkey, which is a 20-foot monkey bar setup where the bars are not horizontal, were the worst in terms of line). But they made up for it with frequent water stations and snacks.
If you have to ask how it was: well, I’m signed up for next year already. I know what I need to work for it then (upper body strength), but that green legionnaires headband will be mine.
Congrats. A friend of mine did that, at age 45. He was in excellent shape already but he felt additional training was the key to success for him. He is one Tough Mudder and I’m sure you are too, I’m don’t think I could have succeeded when I was in my best condition.
$99 for this year, $69 for next (there was a discount if you signed up at the event).
They gave out a t-shirt and headband upon finishing, and that was enough for me - I’m not big into swag, so I didn’t buy anything while there. They did have a “You signed a Death Waiver to do this” shirt I was amused by, but I wouldn’t have anywhere to wear it.
To answer your first question: I did something during the course to upset my knee, but that was around mile 6 and I wasn’t making it that far and not finishing. I was fine by last night, but Sunday I wasn’t bending that leg without a lot of pain. I assume, since it’s better, that it was just a minor strain and not something being torn. The bigger, and more embarrassing one, is that I forgot to wear sunscreen so I have a mild burn on my forearms, neck, and forehead :smack:
Running wise, I was up to 5.5 miles at a 9 minute mile 3 times a week before the mudder. I’m hoping to get back at it by tomorrow, assuming the aforementioned knee doesn’t give me any trouble.
I did the Warrior Dash a few years ago with a buddy. It’s 5K of hills and obstacles and my friend stayed with me the whole time so it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be.
My husband’s co-worker was trying to get me to do Tough Mudder but I said no way in hell. I’m terrified of water and I see there are deep water obstacles. Ain’t gonna happen.
I recommend Warrior Dash for those of us who aren’t quite up for Tough Mudder.
You CAN skip obstacles if they’re too much for you - so if the only thing you’re worried about is the deep water on Walk the Plank (or a couple of others - each course is different), you could skip that and keep going.
I will say the walk the plank was the only obstacle in the Atlanta 2014 course with water I could not stand up in - and it was maybe a 10-15 foot swim to get to the other side, with a life guard for every person in the water, a lifeguard for every other board making sure people didn’t go in early, and a diver if someone didn’t come up, so it felt safer than most waterparks.
I do totally understand if it’s not for you even so - it’s not an easy course. My buddy also does Warrior Dash (and a bunch of others) and he did find WD to be much easier.
Awesome sauce–congrats! While I mostly do my running on good ol’ concrete sidewalks and asphalt, I love getting off road–it’s one of the things I love about the Hash House Harriers (other than the beer and lewd songs, of course). I’ve got no interest in doing a marathon, honestly–I feel like a half is about where I top out. (And I’ve done an almost-half already, at a particularly poorly laid HHH trail in Queens.) But these Tough Mudder things… much more my style. One of these days…
I quit running on concrete after an acquaintance of mine stress fractured her foot running on sidewalks. Lucky for me, there’s a lot of really nice trail systems near my house!
If you can do a half-mary, you can do a tough mudder. Well, assuming you have some upper body strength.
