I'm running obstacle races hard. I thank God for my health and the US Army for 22 years of physical training. After retiring 10 years ago, I'm still trying to stay in shape. Run in Mud Obstacle Race Training keeps me motivated.
Today will be a challenging workout. I am continuing to
workout as I can throughout the day. True, I am not getting the benefit of
working out for a couple of hours straight. However, I am getting the solid
hour of workout, plus so much more as I extend the opportunities throughout the day.
My goal is to be in shape for the lifting and rig type obstacles that have
permeated through the mud runs. Specifically, I am getting ready for anything
that Savage Race, Spartan Sprint, and Battle Frog can throw at me. As a result,
I will be in shape for the Warrior Dash and other obstacles that don't rely on
carrying or hanging obstacles.
I will be able to tell whether or not I am stronger as I get better at carrying 5 gallon buckets of gravel, heavy stones, sand bags, and water jugs. Additionally, I can tell I'm winning when I DO NOT FALL OFF the rigs. So far, that hasn't happened yet.
Today's workout will feature a modified Murph. A traditional Murph
consists of a 1 mile run, 100 pull ups, 200 push ups, 300 squats, and a 1 mile
run for time. This modified Murph includes 225 pull ups, a 5.5 mile run and
converting at least 100 burpees into 100 push ups and 100 air squats followed by
100 additional push ups and 200 additional air squats.
My strategy of including sprint intervals has made my training runs faster. Hopefully that will improve my 2016 times. Each race is different, so there is not any real way to tell whether or not I'm running faster. The intervals are definitely working. I am reviewing my
Map My Run running results and seeing that my five mile training runs are now
consistently seven minutes faster than they were three months ago. So, here's
to your training. Cheers!
Walk hand over hand or do pullups on the horizontal bars or the pull ups bar set up.
Morning: 8-11 am (120 pull ups, 20 Romanian dead lifts,
100 burpees (1 burpee = 1 push up and 1 squat))
20 pull ups
10 alternate grip pull ups
10 Romanian dead lifts
10 chin ups
10 Romanian dead lifts
20 alternate grip pull ups on weight rack
10 pull ups on weight rack
10 chin ups on weight rack
4 sets of 10 burpees (40 burpees)
20 chin ups
10 alternate grip pull ups
10 pull ups
2 sets of 10 burpees
1 set of 20 burpees
1 set of 10 burpees
1 set of 10 burpees
Lunch (5 mile run)
Run 5 miles with sprints
1st mile-warm up (I did 7.5 miles per hour) 2nd mile-.33
mile sprint / rest intervals (I did 8.2 mles per hour) 3rd mile-.25 mile sprint
/rest intervals (I did 7.2 miles per hour) 4th mile-.1 mile rest / sprint
intervals (I did 8.1 miles per hour) 5th
mile-run entire mile 15 to 30 seconds faster than warm up mile (I did 8 miles
per hour) Last .5 mile-cool down
Just registered for the Spartan Sprint Nashville Elite
Heat. Seriously contemplating a follow on in November of the BattleFrog
Master's heat as well. Both require more miles and endurance than the Warrior
Dash and different preparation. I'm increasing miles and obstacles during my
training to meet the challenge and finish well. The following is from the Block
Party workout. A 1.1 mile loop with steep hills.
Run 4.1 miles with 20 obstacles
Run .75 miles
Obstacle 1: Monkey bars x 2
Obstacle 2: 10 Spiderman burpees
Run .25 miles
Obstacle 3: 5 burpees
Obstacle 4: 18 foot rope climb
Obstacle 5: 5 pull ups with leg lifts from 6 x 6 bar
Run .25 miles
Obstacle 6: Monkey bars x 2
Obstacle 7: 10 Spiderman burpees
Run .75 miles
Obstacle 8: 5 burpees
Obstacle 9: 18 foot rope climb
Obstacle 10: 5 pull ups with leg lifts from 6 x 6 bar
Run .75 miles
Obstacle 11: Monkey bars x 2
Obstacle 12: 10 Spiderman burpees
Run .25 miles
Obstacle 13: 5 burpees
Obstacle 14: Cinder block pull (three cinder blocks tied
to thin rope. Bring toward you with hand over hand for 25 feet) Obstacle 15:
Climb rope up 6 foot wall (keep body in l-shape position on the way up and down
the wall)
Run .25 miles
Obstacle 16: Monkey bars x 2
Obstacle 17: 10 Spiderman burpees
Run .25 miles
Obstacle 18: 5 burpees
Obstacle 19: Balance on curb for 25 feet x 2 Obstacle 20:
Spear throw practice using small target
Block Party! Oh yeah, we're back. It's been way too long since we celebrated fitness. The block party is intense, but fun and keeps you close to your home. The idea is to start at home, complete a circuit, then return for some water and repeat.
My block is 1.1 miles with a hill, a playground, and some equipment at my house. Here's a great workout:
Warm up: Stretch muscles and rotate joints for 6 minutes
Main set:
Repeat three times: Climb rope 5 pull ups with leg lifts 10 box jumps Monkey bars Balance beam (run along curb) Run 1.1 miles
Followed by:
Plank hold for 2 minutes (add spider man push ups during the time period) Side plank hold for 30 seconds on each side.
Cool down: Walk .2 miles
There are so many exercises to do. Many are covered in this great book from the US Army:
I've seen a lot of questions on Facebook obstacle race training pages about how best to train for a Spartan Sprint, Warrior Dash, Tough Mudder, Savage Race, and etc. So far the best answers come from those who responded with advice on improving the run. Someone stated that mud runs were running events with sporadic obstacles. I thought that was a great description.
Training doesn't have to be brutal either. The training goal is to finish a 3-5 mile race with up to 20 obstacles without walking. Run and reinforce with obstacle training workouts; that's my advice.
Warm up:
Stretch muscles and rotate joints for 6 minutes
5 burpees x 2
Main set:
Run 4.2 miles
every 1/4 mile, do 5 burpees or more.
You can do 80 at once, 20 every mile, or break it up into 5 burpees at every ¼ mile interval; your choice
Cool down: Walk .2 miles 10 walking lunges each leg 10 side lunges each leg 10 walking lunges each leg 6 pull ups with leg lifts 6 chin ups with leg lifts 6 pull ups with leg lifts
Main Set: Run a 10k Along the way do the following three times: Run along curb for balance for 20 feet x 2 Leap over 3 foot fence x 4 6 pull ups with leg lifts 10 box jumps Monkey bars
What can I say, it was a great race. This event took place
in Dallas, Georgia, a town of….well of not too much, just country and very
beautiful. Rolling hills, wooded property and peaceful views are first thoughts
that come to mind as I reflect on my drive to the venue.
I planned to drive in on Friday night, get a good night’s
sleep, and race the next day. I ended up staying in a Hilton Garden Inn in
nearby Cartersville, Georgia.
Why I chose the Pro Heat:
After two years of mud runs, I decided to sign up for the
pro or competitive heat. After all, I’ve done well in most venues and decided
that I did not want to wait in long lines for a chance at super obstacles as I had done in national level
events like Warrior Dash and the Spartan Sprints. If you don’t mind paying the
extra money, competitive heats are well worth it, as long as your fitness level is up to it.
The situation
After about a week of steady rain, Dallas Georgia was a
soaked playground. The mud was consistently thick and most of us ended up dirty
before getting to the entry gate; slippery was the word of the day.
Prior to
the entry each racer and spectator had to complete a waiver and present it at
the entry point with a photo ID. Once checked, the staff provided the race
packet and information about where to go next. I got there a little early and
spend some time warming up before my heat was called.
Savage Race started the party early. My heat started at 9 am
and by 8 am the DJ was cranking the music. What fun.
Finally, the pro heat was called and I headed toward the
corral.
The starting gate
The thing to understand about the pro heat is that everyone
gets a blue wrist band. Each competitor in the pro heat is required to
accomplish all obstacles and without help. The competitor can
reattempt any obstacle as many times as it takes, but if they fail to complete
an obstacle, they must turn in the blue wrist band.
I was kind of nervous about being in the pro section as I
didn’t want to hinder the faster runners. I am 50 years old and knew I would be
slower than the champs. I settled into the pack somewhere in the middle and
waited for the start. The energy was more intense for competition and less on
the fun side... and I liked it. I could stay in the zone without going through the
hype that I knew the other heats would go through. The MC tried to get us
excited with a pep talk and some activities, but we weren’t as willing to participate
as the regular heats. We were there to race.
The race
Finally, the start and I immediately regretted my decision to start in the
middle of the pack. I should have started in the front to prevent being behind some very intense, but slower runners who began
to walk less than a mile into the event, even before the first obstacle. Granted,
the course was tough and the hills and mud were an obstacle in itself.
The obstacles
The first obstacle was a bottle neck. It was a smaller obstacle that
would not allow more than three at a time to pass. By the time I got
there, a short line had formed, but it moved along quickly. The lesson
here is to sprint to the first obstacle and then taper off speed once
through. At that point, you’ll race unimpeded.
The rain, my gosh the rain. The trail was all uphill it
seemed and about .6 miles of the entire course was grassy sure footing. Most of
the race was muddy forest path. I had no such experience on slick mud and slipped and slid
helplessly and in the wrong direction.
I remember commenting out loud, “I really thought I had
trained for this.” After all, I run a lot of hills. Someone overheard me and
replied, “how could you train for this?”
I’m adding trail running to my training. When possible, I’m
adding monsoon trail running.
The obstacles were very challenging, well built, and worth
the visit. The ice water obstacle or Shriveled Richard was well timed. I was hot and needed to cool
down anyway. I felt refreshed, but at the same time helpless as my body would
not obey my commands. I climbed into the ice water and had to swim under a wall
and climb out on the other side. It was really hard to do.
Ok, Savage Race is evil. They put all the fun low wall
climbing, barbed wire crawling, and other easier obstacles that slowly wear you
out up front. Man, my abs were screaming from rolling over wall after wall. I
also carried logs as I ran part of the course. But the second half was just wrong. There was a really long
monkey bar challenge called Saw Tooth. This thing went up, then down, then up
and down again over a pool of deep water. In fact, it came with its own
lifeguard complete with a floatation device; seriously. I do a lot of pull ups
and monkey bars in my daily training. But after running 3 and a half miles of
other obstacles, I was exhausted. There’s even this other event where we did
the monkey bars hanging from a single horizontal bar. Tough baby!
If not exhausted enough, I climbed tall obstacles
with ropes. This included two humongous towers or walls. I climb a lot of ropes in training so I
did well. But again, I was running out of steam. Savage Race strategically placed these really tough, tall, strength sapping obstacles at the end. Did I mention
how evil they were?
Some runners were not able to complete Colossus,
one of the last obstacles. It is a giant warped wall with a rope dangling from
the top. Again, I climb a lot of ropes, so I was prepared for it. The problem
is once you make it to the top of the rope, you still have to climb unassisted
over or roll your body over ledge and go to the waterslide on the other side.
And then there’s the pull the weighted cinder block uphill
with a rope event. Did I mention exhausted? That was a real challenge, but
pretty much the end of the race and a fine way to end it; with a burst of
strength.
The DJ, MC, enthusiastic race started, staff and volunteers made this Savage Race a completely enjoyable event. I raced in honor of veterans with my Team Red White and Blue shirt and was happy that the kind folks recognized the group.
I was pleased to have won in my age group and qualified for the OCR World Championship. I've trained hard for it and documented the training in my blog. Thanks to Savage Race, Spartan Race, Warrior Dash, Moonshine Mud Run, St. Claire Scramble and all other events that prepared me for this accomplishment.
Here are the pros and cons of running the Pro heat: Pros:
Eligible for trophies in your age group
The obstacles are fresh
The water in the obstacles is still clean. I swam through,
slid into, ran through clean water. Later heats had dirty water.
There are no long lines
You get done faster
You’re virtually alone in all the photos; no crowds
Cons:
Less of a fun camaraderie atmosphere.
Fewer publicity photos are of the pro heat. The pro heat did
not make the event video either. The camera loves the teamwork type of photos.
No team work; must negotiate all obstacles with no help.
You run early and there are fewer spectators. Most of these events are sponsored by the military. Here's how the Army works out. Great obstacle race training exercises are inside:
My goal is to run 20 miles this week. So far I have 16 miles in and should be done tomorrow. This is in addition to rope climbs and other obstacle training. I also do pull ups and monkey bars as I am still hopeful for the American Ninja Warrior casting call. Spend some extra time stretching. Often overlooked but definitely worth the time. Stretch Run 4 miles at a moderate pace. Stretch
This is a special workout as I prepare for the Savage
Race. Not sure what to expect and I don't have real obstacles available. So,
here's what I am doing to get ready for the April 18 event.
The goal is to perform 50 pull ups, 100 push ups, and 150
air squats. The burpees count as push ups and air squats. Here's how I did it:
Warm up:
Stretch Rotate
Main set:
15 pull ups 10 alternate grip pull ups
Run 1 mile
10 burpees 24 push ups 40 air squats
Run 1 mile
10 burpees 23 push ups 40 air squats
Run 1 mile
10 burpees 23 push ups 40 air squats
Run .1 miles
5 pull ups, switch grip to face left along bar 5 pull ups, switch grip to face right along bar 5 pull ups 5 chin ups Switch grip 5 pull ups
Go to a quarter mile track
that has obstacles. Or find a way to work similar obstacles into the work out.
These are fun and will warm you up as well as provide a little diversity to
your endurance improvement.
Begin with four warm up
laps ON THE OUTSIDE LANE (Obstacle runners don’t take the easy route). If
possible, run in grass outside of the track.
Then work in four
obstacles per lap as follows sprinting on the straight ways and jogging on the
curves:
·Eight foot tall
ladder obstacle to climb over
·Chin up bars
(5 pull ups with leg lifts)
·Tire trot
·Rings (monkey
bars)
·Run a lap
·Five foot wall
·Rings
·Chin up bars
(5 pull ups with leg lifts)
·20 Incline sit
ups
·Run a lap
·Incline rings
·Parallel bars
·Rope climb
·Balance obstacle
·Run a lap
·Monkey bars
·Chin up bars
(5 pull ups with leg lifts)
·Run a lap
·Run four laps
with sprints
·Rest
·100 jumping jacks
·50 crunches
·20 leg lifts
·15 close hand
push ups
·15 shoulder with
push ups
·20 wide arm push
ups
·Stretch
Sure it’s cold outside,
but it’s already January. Before you know it you will be competing in the Spartan
Race, Warrior Dash, Moonshine Mud Run, Foam Run, and other events as early as
March. That’s just a few months away. So, let’s go…Huah!
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