Got Your Mojo WORKIN'! group - CLOSED (Page 56)

SARAH -

John gave you a terrific answer, and I'll just add a few thoughts.

Compression gear helps, it seems, but I have only done it with compression calf guards. Some people have enough compression clothing that it's almost like full-body armor for them, but the evidence seems compelling that this stuff works. The trick is getting it tight enough so that it is effective woithout cutting off all circulation to the extemities.

John is a tougher dude than I am to do what sounds like regular ice baths. I have done only a few in my life, plus a stint about seven winters ago where I would kind of lay in a snowbank as a way to treat a strained hamstring. The "kind of" part is in the deatials -- I would lie down on a shovelled patch of my back deck, bundle up except for my left leg which was out not panted. I then placed the hamstring on the snow bank just to my left, and press the leg down into it until I was practically crying. I would then release it it and vigorously massage it for a few minutes, then repeat the snowbank part. That was in late '03, when I was young and impulsive; now that I'm older and wiser, no telling what I might do!

John is correct on taking extra days off, but just between the three of us I find that much easier to preach than to practice. In all seriousness, however, I have gotten better at that over the years, as is the case now with whatever is ailing my ankle. It bugs me to not be running, but I know that missing a week now is better than missing a month later on -- and closer to race season, too!

Added protein, as John states, is helpful. Daniel and I had a converstaion about this maybe a week ago, and I will try to find that page and those posts. Taking in a decent form of protein within an hour of finishing a workout is beneficail, and many people will also have a whey drink before going to bed. That will help speed the overall recovery process, and also assist in repairing damaged tissues. The Hammer Nutrition website, www.hammernutrition.com, has a lot of info about whey vs. soy, and when they should be taken. If you go there, click on "knowledge" and then start just prowling around.

You mention high heart rate, and in a couple of posts to Brenda last week I told her that I take my waking HR every morning. While 99 days out of 100 this is just empty info, a few times a year it will help me identify periods at which I am either getting sick or have overtrained. My waking HR is normally 40-45, so if I go 2 or 3 days with it elevated (48-50 or so) , that tells me something isn't quite right. In those cases there is usually corroborating (is that the word - and spelling - I want?) info, such as I feel crappy or I have zero interest in doing my workouts. So, I recommend that you think about taking your waking HR every morning, or at least most mornings. At the very least, it will help you feel more attuned to your body.

How are you today -- especially the back!

Bike question-when Melinda was talking about a cassette, is that something you add to what you already have on your bike?

The cassette is the part of your rear bike wheel that the chain attaches to.  Every bike comes with it, people change it out depending on their riding style and the terrain the are riding on.  I know people that use "mountain" cassettes on their road bike because they live in hilly areas and I know people who use "road" cassettes on their mountain bike because they can pedal faster that the "mountain" cassettes allow for.  The latter being guys who are serious racers of downhill and cross country. If you have the right tool you can easily remove this and change it out, I recommend taking to a shop as it can be tricky.  From my understanding you can pretty much mix and match the gears, but this something that more advanced people play with.

I hope this helps if no please try to expand where you're confused or lost and I will try to help you out.

Dann-O

As for scheduling the week I have to.  I have always been someone that needs to schedule things out or I will lose my mind.  For the last month I have been cooking on Sunday nights and I will eat that meal for lunch and most of the times for dinner on Mondays and Tuesdays. On Tues night I will cook again and eat that meal for lunch and dinner on Wed - Fri.  One meal I will bake chicken thighs, brown rice and some kind of veggie.  The other meal I make a tuna salad with no mayo and eat it over raw spinach and 4 small squares of sharp cheddar cheese.  Breakfast I eat 1 banana and 2-3 shots of espresso with 1/2 cup milk before training and after training I drink a whey protein shake with 5 strawberries mixed in it and eat 1 boiled egg.  I do this every week.  Friday night and Sat I will eat what the family eats as long as it is healthy, usually some kind of baked or boiled seafood. Then Sunday night I eat at the in-laws which is good tasting country food from their garden, but I have to pass on the gravy I grew to love because it does not help then next morning with training.  I have always lived by a schedule of some sort and with kids I have no choice with all the sports they do.  Well enough of me and my crazy life, I just finished running 2 miles (20:28 min), its getting better each week and now I'm off to the gym for weight training.  This weekend I'm running my first 5K in the last 10+ years..  My goal is to complete it without walking but I can live with one walk stop and try to finish it under 32 minutes..

Thanks
George

DUNCAN -

I'm finally getting to your question about cut-offs for olys. Usually, cut-offs are based more on a cumulative time, such as "50 minutes after the sttart of the last swim wave", and then for the bike it would be, maybe "two-and-a-half hours after the last swim wave". To state cut-off times based on individual legs would be a scoring nightmare, I would figure. I mean, you could have a person who does the swim in 27 minutes, but then has two flats on the bike and takes longer than 100 minutes, and how do you know that because that person's cumulative time through the bike will still be under the 150 minutes allotted individually for the swim (50) and bike (100).

Be that as it may.......

I checked the results for one of the olys I did last year, Lake George Triathlon in L.G., NY. There were 411 finishers (excluding relays), although at least 419 people made it through the swim. Of those 419, only three did not do the swim in 50 minutes, and thier times were 50:18, 50:35, 51:28. For the bike, 20 people took longer than 100 minutes to do it. On the run, 5 people exceeded the 80 minute limit.

So! At Lake George, with a semi-rough swim, hilly bike, and challenging run, the bulk of the participants would've made it through had that race enforced the same standard as the Taiwan race. Does that help?

I am sorry that the Giant will not be available for.......a while. It sounds like you are okay with Delayed Gratification, and will soldier on with your tried-and-true mountain bike. Are there any other bike shops that might be a bit quicker on the delivery?

Brace yourself, Duncan........



How about "Caesarian Cyclery -- Delivery Guaranteed!"




??





Edited by stevebradley 2011-01-31 7:53 AM

Is this a Macbeth reference or am I just a nerd?


Skipped my run Sunday, my back was stiff and legs sore. I think crawling in and out and under that little camper did it too me. I used to do stuff like that all the time....in my twenties.

As of this past week my upper back has been killing me.  do you guys have any core workouts that you use?  I know this will help but my upper back is what is hurting.

Got it, that makes sense. I'll have to keep that in mind. I have a new bike so I need to master that first.
Thanks,
Johanne 

JEFF -

You know, I originally had "C-section Cyclery -- Timely Delivery Guaranteed!", but opted for something that sounded a bit more dignified.

Duncan's recent addition was a C-section, and when this came up in the posts about 60 pages ago, I said that both Jane and Peter were C-section --- Jane, because after 37 hours of labor it was decided enough was enough, and then a couple of years later it was determined at the outset that Peter would be born at noon on Dec 19, and b'gosh, that's what happened (at Plano General, no less).

ANYHOW, it seems that if Duncan could find a bike shop that could guarantee a fixed time for delivery of his new two-wheeled baby, as opposed to a kind of nebulous "three months from now", he might be on to soemthing satisfying, and then I just (feebly?) connected the dots between baby deliveries and bike deliveries. Oh, never mind!

As for those small spaces that out longer selves could fit into with impunity.................well, I know what you're saying. I consider that sort of thing in the same category as all of the "range-of-motion" things I can no longer do; throwing or kicking a ball are two of them; swimming backstroke is another; vigorously hand-sanding a surface can be included as well. I just find that if I stray too far from swim/bike/run/stand/sit/sleep, I'm liable to have some soreness sooner rather than later. Sigh.

I am glad to help out.  I hope you enjoy the new bike, what kind of bike did you pick up?


Edited by LycraCladChamp 2011-01-31 1:41 PM

Dan,
I got a Specialized Roubaix Comp. It's my first road bike and I love it. I did 3 sprints and an oly on my hybrid last year. Doable but this year will be even more fun! It sounds like you've done a lot of riding?
Johanne 

JOHANNE -

Ack! I missed your post yesterday! I was just strolling back through thta page, and there it was. I don't know how I missed it. As my father might've said, if it was a bear it would bite me. ANYHOW, 24 hours later.....

Yupper, 19 miles is indeed a long way; congrats! What are you figuring on to be the distance of your longest long run leading up to Napa? Just curious!

I apologize for sending you on a wild goose chase to Fleet Feet. I have had two good video assessments at a Fleet Feet, one in Syracuse and one outside Boston, and I just assumed that it was corporate policy for every store to have a treadmill with cameras fore and aft. Rats.

But your persistence paid off with an assessment at RRS, and I will be keenly interested to see how the Nirvana works for you. I guess you know that the category they are in - Stability Plus - is determined by weight and/or miles per week, and you certainly must currently qualify based on the second one. You also lose a bit of weight with the Nirvana, about 0.3 oz; it all adds up, so that's good!

When you say new Superfeet, is that as in "brand new"? If so, then the little niggles and twinges you might've felt are perfectly normal. I don't like the "sharp" reference to your knee, but maybe it was just a passing thing. Hopefully! Which color Superfeet are you in?

As for the walk breaks, do you do them for a set time? Or whenever you feel you might need one? Or religiously at a given distance? Beyond that, do you do them comfortably or a bit more briskly? Finally, at what distance of a run do you start doing them? That is, do you do them in a 3-miler, or not until a 7-miler, or wait until the run's distance is greater than 10 miles?

My quick suggestion for your problem of getting back to run speed after a walk break is to make them as brisk as you can, maybe to the point where if you just increased your cadence a bit more, you'd be actually running. Especially on long runs such as you're doing now, the further you move away from actual running the harder it is to get going again. Part of this is physical, which is bad enough, but when the brain enters into it then the troubles really begin. You migt (but I hope not) find that on a 21-miler, say, or the marathon itself, that your brain is screaming at you to stop. When tat happens, the worst thing you can do is give in entirely ---- which would mean stopping completely and (GASP!) sitting down for a spell. If that comes to pass, you will find it oh-so-tough to get things rolling again. It will happen, but it will just be a miserably defeating experience --- and one that your brain will take to mean "See! I told you so!" Troublemaking brain!

Depending on the half-iron, I may "walk through" some of the aid stations. But I have the q-amrks there because I don't really walk so much as begin to approach a race-walk type of pace. I do this (a) to ensure that I get down as much fluid as I can, and (b) to provide that brief change of stride and pace that seems to help me assume my race pace as soon as I start up again. During my walk breaks, then, I grab the drink and then hit a fast walk with a very short stride length; think fast baby-steps. I will do that until I finsih the drink, and then I will get back in the groove. Like you, I can easily get "mired" in my aid-station-walk if it begins to appraoch a stroll. I liken it to what it's like to push you car when it's out of gas, and a slong as momentum is there, the thing moves well enough. But stop to scratch the bridge of my nose or something, and it's a bugger to get the car moving again. Moving my car when it's stopped, moving my carcass when it's stopped --- it's all about the same degree of difficulty!

I will post this (our computer has been screwy, and i don't want to lose it), and then return. Bye for now!

Hey all,

Pardon the silence. I've been trying to catch up on the previous posts before commenting, but I see that may be impossible, so here it goes.

To my surprise, I've been faithfully going to the 6 am Master's swim workouts twice a week for the past 2 weeks. I'm not a morning person, by the way. I usually go to bed around the time I'm now getting up to go to the pool. I don't get it, but for some reason I'm addicted. I may try to make it to a weekend swim as well since there's too long of a gap between Thursday and Tuesday, but I also like to sleep in, so we shall see.

As for my swimming, it's horrendous. Well, not that bad but rather super slow. I definitely get lapped by the end of my first lap of warm-ups every morning. Ugh. It gives me something to work towards, I guess, but it's so disheartening.

The good thing is that I work on completely different things on the two days I go. Tuesdays, even though they're the "Beginning Clinic" days, I tend to do a lot of distance and/or speed, and Thursdays a different coach picks apart my stroke. I always knew that my stroke was very inefficient but I didn't know how to fix it. Now I have someone telling me exactly what to do. And the varied sets make the hour go by so fast! I would never swim for an hour twice a week if I hadn't signed up for Master's Swim. Most definitely the best decision I've made in a while.

As for the other tri disciplines...I haven't done much. We had such a beautiful day on Friday (high of 68F) and I REALLY wanted to go for a ride, but I was hurrying to catch a flight to Texas, so I didn't make it out. Now it's snowing, was sleeting this morning, and supposed to be well below zero for a couple of days. I kind of want to go back to Texas I never thought I'd say that. Haha!

And about that Texas thing, I have a somewhat lengthy race report/race summary from this weekend's Tough Mudder that I started writing on Saturday but got sidetracked and am just finishing up. I should be posting that later today. Unfortunately I don't have many pictures because my camera died a couple of miles in, right before all the good stuff such as mud, mud, and even more mud.

Hope everyone's staying warm out there!

Kasia

Here's a start:  http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=486

also lycra - are you riding in aero? that can put a strain on your shoulders.

JOHANNE again -

I shoulda come right back on, but I got sidetracked by taking the dog for a 30-minute ski while the light was still good. Now I don't remember what else I had to say!

I would be very surprised if snorkels were allowed by USAT, and were I a race director of any traithlon, USAT or unsanctioned, I would prohibit them. I can just see LIABILITY!!!! screaming out at me, with any number of ugly scenarios. Best bad case would be someone's arm clunking the tube and dislodging goggles; worse bad case would be someone's arm clunking the tube and dislodging teeth; worst bad case would be someone's arm clunking the tube and sending the mouthpiece down the user's throat.

I have to check this out! I seem to remember the rule as how three allowables: goggles and swim caps always, wetsuits if the water temp permits.

Just remembered another, and that's that with moving around post-long run, you're feeling good -- which is good! It is always useful to be able to pretty clearly differentiate between overuse/soreness and an actual injury. I've got a problem now that came on last Tuesday, and I don't know what all to make of it; were it as seemingly clear-cut as yours!

Final (I think) item is to count teeth, as it's always good to know how your front rings and your rear cogs are set up. You probably don't need to count the middle seven or eight cogs in back, but it's really useful to know how many teeth are on the biggest and littlest cog. As for the front, chances are you have a 53-39, but count 'em anyhow. An dknowing the back is especially useful if you are anticiptaing lots of hilly rides, or a hilly race or two. If the answer to either of those is yes, and if you don't feel you are a really sstrong climber, then you will want to look into having 25 or 27 or even 28 teeth on the largest cog.

So, there's your assignment! After you finish mucking the stables, go count some teeth!

KASIA -

Thanks for the warm thoughts, but --- nope, I'm not keeping especially warm up here. This is such a dopey climate we have here!

So you were a Tough Mudder this weekend!!! If I knew that a month or so ago, I had forgotten it, and if that's the case then I apologize. I can hardly wait to hear your report -- especially as your post does nothing to suggets how it went for you. (You must be a very good card-player ---- or just naturally coy! )

Huge congrats on doing the 6 a.m. Masters swim regiulary, and even looking forward to it (well, at least enough to get there for it). Of course, try not to get disheartened. You are really just an experiment of one, and you're in this just to make yourself a more competent swimmer. And that WILL happen, especially if the drills are being changed every time. Yes, there are people there who are lapping you, but think of all the thousands of wannabe swimmers who would be lapped by you. And that's right now; imagine what it will be like after you've done Masters for a while. Please, please, please -- have faith in the process, and also your own inherent athleticism and desire and determination. The swimmer you ar today is not the one you're going to be in a couple of months. Trust me!

I had forgotten your reluctance to wake up early, but now that you mention it I remember offering you wake-up calls last year -- just one of those services I provide as a Full Service Mentor!

Did you see the three posts I wrote you about a week ago. One was on fins, one was on strength training, one was on.....something else. Hmmmm.

I see your comment about the camera, and I remember fondly your photos from Warrrior dash last year. Did Tough Mudder leave you more besmirched than W.D.? And which do you prefer -- T.M. or W.D.?

Hurry with that report!!!!!



(Please?)



(Pretty please? With mud on it?)

Steve and John: (seems odd to write both of those names together -- one was a college sweetheart, the other one I married)-- anyhow..on to business:

Thanks regarding the info on protein - actually lately I've just started to take in more in the form of Luna bars or Atkins (yeah, low in carbs but I'm also forever watching my weight and sort of 'stole' some of the Atkins bars from my husband because he's really trying to drop about 20 lbs). I used to think all the nutritional stuff - gels, blocks, bars etc...were sort of rediculous for a mere mortal like me vs those really long endurance people...but they do have their place in nutritional needs and I can see that now. 

Ice baths...now that is hard to swallow. If anything, I can see doing something like Steve -- living in WI, it's not too hard to find snow to ice bath in But, typically what I want to ice bath would not be legal to expose! haaa!

The back is doing better though and I went to the chiro today and he cracked it up in some tender spots and then did one of those electric stimulation machines along my spine. He showed me on his spine 'dummy' how easy it is to get injured when you're warmed up after a workout and twist just so that your spinal column can pinch a ligament which is what he figured I did based on my symptoms. I ran today and although icy, did ok.
I do know that a bug is going around so I feel better knowing that my high heart rate is due to that and as far as early am hr taking...what if I wake to an alarm?!?!? That in and of itself gets my heart jumping before I Even get up! I know...maybe I'll wear a hrm to bed. Actually my hr at the docs was 60 while doing the EKG so I figure a real resting hr must be a little lower (while sleeping).  

The Roubaix is a very good bike and also very popular out here in So Cal.  it is pretty sold andvery responsive when needed.You are going to feel like you are flying in your races compared to last year.

Yes I have done a lot of cycling.  5 of the 6 years of college I was on a cycling team, 2 years for the school cycling team and 2 years for a shop in the area, the final year I went back to the school team to be the first tri person but there was really no coaching available so it was a half assed season.  after graduation I hung my bike up for 2 years and rode for the first time 1/2/11.  oh man have i missed it.





I am not riding areo.  I only have the standard drop road bars.  But the ones I have suck and are uncomfy so I will switching back to my old bars this week.  Also, thanks for the link to the core site.



I joined a local tri club this week.  I am excited now I can train with others and make myself more accountable.

Steve,
My longest run will be 20 miles in 2 weeks then it's taper time! My next long runs will be 12, 20, 12 and 8 then it's race week. Weekly totals will be 27, 38, 28, 21 and 9 plus the marathon. I ran 5 miles this morning with my new shoes and they felt pretty good. I had some custom inserts made so I used those today. I was using the green Superfeet with my old shoes. Those were recommended by my podiatrist (who was quoted in the March issue of Runner's World!) last year when I was having some toe issues. I have 30 days to see if I like the custom inserts and if not, back they go and I'll use the Superfeet.

Walk breaks have usually been my mental excuse to stop running and I'm working hard at not using them as a crutch. Today's 5 miler was without a walk break which took some concentration on my part but I was very happy I did it I've been known to walk during a 3 mile run. When I really feel like walking I just try to slow my run down and get a little fsurther and hope I can talk myself out of it. Getting tough mentally is as hard as some of this exercise stuff Saturday I started with a plan to walk every 4 miles for 1/4 of a mile. I try to walk briskly but I'm sure I could of walked faster.  Later in the run I switched to running to certain places on the route or another mile etc. Anything to keep going and get the darn thing over with!

Check it out,  snorkels are not disallowed in sanctioned races. I know there has been talk about changing the rule but as far as I can tell, it hasn't been changed yet. Interesting isn't it?

I'll count teeth on my bike before posting again

Thanks for the response!
Johanne

Dan,
I'm looking forward to getting more miles on the bike. I can already tell how different the handling is. That's great that you're back on the bike. Didn't you have a wreck that kept you off for a while? Was that you? It's nice to get that passion back. You'll be a good go to guy for our groups bike stuff

You'll have to keep us posted on your tri club experience. I've looked into a couple around here but haven't taken the plunge yet. It'll be great to train with people and get feedback and a good way to push yourself. 
Johanne 

Ok, this is super long, as all my race reports tend to be, but I think I outdid myself this time. This one is more of a summary and also a lot of it is for me as well, so pardon the length. I'm also not in Austin anymore. I fell asleep to a cloudless and starry Texas sky (wish I could say sunny, but we left at 4 am) and woke up to sleety dreary Colorado. It was weird to see that out the airplane window this morning. Anywhos, now it's pretty and snowing, which makes it even weirder to be writing about my sunny weekend. Trippy. I'll stop babbling. Here's the report/summary:


Greetings from Austin, Mojoers! I just finished "running" the Texas Tough Mudder course yesterday and have the black and blue legs to show for it. I don't really have a race report (or any pictures this time around, bummer!) but here's a summary of the event and a lot of reasons why you should do it.

The theme of the day was, "Hey, Army guy" because, 1) there were a lot of muscular military men around so why not try to get their attention, and 2) I needed a lot of help because I have no upper body strength.

The event began with the national anthem prior to the start of each wave, during which many people stood at attention, pretty neat to see. Then a quick summary of the spirit of Tough Mudder and lastly, a recitation of the Tough Mudder code, which is essentially, this isn't a race but a team thing, help each other out, don't complain, and some other things like that.

The course was on a motocross track so the first few miles and the last few miles wound around, going up and down what used to be jumps and the spectators were able to wander between the different obstacles and take pictures of their people participating. It's pretty cool that they did that, and also explains why there's a $15 spectator fee.

The first three or four obstacles (here's a link to the race course) were all mud ones (including a muddy ice bath) and variations of the "Kiss of Mud", which we had to do two loops of. Not hard in and of themselves, but going up and down those motocross jumps was really annoying and tiring. And it didn't feel like we were making any distance but rather running around in circles for a few miles.

Then came a water crossing which was COLD and through an uneven and muddy lake floor, so we kept tripping and falling into that frigid water, which prepared us for the event I was most looking forward to: Walk the Plank, where you jump off a 15 foot platform into freezing cold water. But first you have to get onto said platform, which was one of the hardest things I had to do all day, and where "Hey, Army guy" came in quite handy. I was then literally forced to jump by the guy at the top (you want me to jump where?) and almost had a panic attack when I hit the water.

O.M.G. That water took my breath away. I was underwater for what felt like forever and seriously thought I would pass out before I got to the surface (seemed to be a theme for all the Mudders I talked to afterwards). Once I did get some air, I briefly thought about asking for help getting me to solid land because I was so frozen and freaked out, but didn't want to be "that girl". Instead, I just kept repeating "Oh my God, oh my God" and slowly waded to the bank. The guy who we'd been running alongside for the first 2-3 miles had jumped right after me and needed a very long breather to calm himself down, so it was nice to see I wasn't the only one having an issue with this obstacle, especially since I jump off things into water all the time and never have a problem with it.

Next was a long swim through freezing water (about 50 m), which wasn't too bad because I was already numb from the long swim to get to Walk the Plank, and then more going up and down motocross jumps and running forever but seemingly getting nowhere. Those mile markers couldn't come fast enough!

Eventually we headed out for the long run out into the cow pastures, during which I was somewhat grateful the sky was overcast because it was getting a bit warm, and the mud was starting to harden on my face, hands, legs, and pretty much everything. It was getting annoying. As soon as we'd all started to warm up, we came across another freezing pond we had to swim cross (the designers of this course are EVIL) and more mud and tunnels to crawl through. All that was followed by even more running through cow fields and Texas hunting grounds. Eventually we headed back towards the motocross track (or at least it seemed like it) but in fact we criss-crossed through the forest/shrubbery and across more creeks and ponds for a couple more miles. That water was so freaking cold and the miles seemed to drag on forever. Maybe it's because I'm slow runner or something, I don't know. But 10 miles is far.

Oh, and during that run, I think they wanted to keep us on course, so they set up signs that said "Beware of velociraptor! Stay on trail." And then a minute or so later you'd stumble upon a large metal cage with a kid-sized stuffed dinosaur inside. These people are creative!

We hit civilization (that is, the spectators/the motocross track) around mile 7 and were greeted with a substitute for the fire obstacle, which got canceled because there was a no burn order in place. I'm kind of glad because this new one rocked. It was a smokehouse with a deep mud pit inside, but you couldn't see anything and just slid into it without realizing what was happening. All you could see was outstretched arms reaching over the edge on the other side helping people up the slippery and muddy slope. And then we emerged to be photographed by spectators. It was kind of nice to do something they didn't see. Like it was our own little thing, and it turned out to be one of the favorites of a lot of people I talked to later.

More running ensued, including the most frustrating part of the course: the Mud Mile (The Trenches on the map). I have no idea where they found so many types of mud, or consistencies for that matter, but I was impressed. This thing was so frustrating because all you did was go into a super thick mud pit, stumble out sliding all over the place, only to go into another mud pit not even two feet away. If this thing had indeed lasted a whole mile, it would've really sucked. But I think we only did 10 of these or so...enough to be coated in about an inch of mud head to toe. And this is the time I was most bummed that my camera had crapped out. There are no words to describe the amount of mud covering us. It was like we’d taken a bath in chocolate, it was so thick.

One of the funnier aspects of the race was the Hold your Wood obstacle where you carried logs a quarter mile or so. The macho military guys of course grabbed the largest trunks they thought they could carry, while the smarter groups of us took the dainty logs more suitable for a medium-sized fireplace. Not even halfway around the loop, the macho dudes had dropped the logs and were rolling them up and over the motocross jumps. Suckers!

What I like to call The Cramp Mile came next where most people started developing calf cramps. It was like a minefield with people stretching on both sides of the trail, which led us to The Underwater Tunnels (in zig-zags, of course, because Mudders don’t take the direct route…that would be stupid). The barrels holding the whole structure afloat had started to blow away so they closed it right before we "got" to do it, but the swim across that frigid lake was hard enough for me, especially since next came The Ball Shrinker that drained any sort of upper body energy I had left.

And the sign in front of this obstacle? "We could've made the obstacles wider but getting you wet and cold is just another way we break you." It worked. By that point everyone was so exhausted and tired and wet and cramping that the last thing we wanted to do was go back in the water. But the next three obstacles were water-based, and by that point the spectators had gathered around them and were taking pictures and oohing and aahing whenever someone wiped out. I was super jealous of their warm and dry clothes, as was everyone else, I assume. I remember someone pulling out an orange and I kinda wanted to grab it from them. But that wouldn't have been very nice of me.

The monkey bars were impossible for all but a few super buff guys (they were sloped UP! Who does that?!) and Twinkle Toes (balance beam in the water) wasn't my thing, so I spent a lot of time in the water during those last couple of miles. Last was about a half-mile run (seemingly the longest part of the day) and more water in the form of a spider net, where we got passed by a couple of dudes in thongs. And I'm not talking about their shoes. My friend was preparing to head up the spider net, until they cut in front of her and she decided to wait a bit for them to get over. Interesting people do these kinds of races...

The organizers saved the best for last. 200 feet from the finish line was the Electroshock Therapy, which consists of an evil contraption of live hanging wires, some of which carried a sizeable shock. All this was over a mud pit so you were bound to get shocked, lose a shoe, and fall on your face...in front of a large crowd of spectators. Yup, they were standing there three-deep in some places heckling us to run through. Like, we'd stop in front of it to catch a breather and the crowd would heckle for someone to run through. And if you got shocked, you could hear the crowd cheer/laugh/enjoy themselves. It was weird.

The ungraceful person that I am, I totally got shocked, then wiped out, then some dude ran into me, and I got shocked again. Ouch! And then I ran across the finish line, got handed a bright orange headband, a heat blanket, a beer, and a whole bunch of nutrition products. Not a bad end to the race.

We didn't hang out much at the after-party because we just wanted to get clean and warm. I had on sweats, a fleece, a jacket, a heat blanket, and a beanie and I just couldn't warm up in the 70-degree weather. I think I was just super tired and hungry and needed a nap. So we headed back to the hotel to get clean and try to wash some of the mud out. Then we headed out to downtown Austin to hit up the bar scene (that's a story for another day…that town is very interesting).

Being from Boulder, a town where everyone and their mother does extreme sporting events on a weekly basis, having completed something like a triathlon or Warrior Dash (Tough Mudder's little brother) isn't exactly unique. When you tell someone about it, they just shrug their shoulders as if it's something they planned for their afternoon workout. Austin, on the other hand, is much different. Or maybe it's a Tough Mudder brotherhood kind of thing. I'm not sure. Regardless, it caught me off guard.

At the bars Saturday night, whenever we ran into a Tough Mudder, we became instant friends, going back and forth talking about this obstacle or that obstacle, and how hard this part was or the unpleasantness of that. It never got old. All their other friends (and especially girlfriends) would get annoyed and try to get their attention again but no luck. It was really fun to hear from a whole bunch of different people who did the race and commiserate about our collective tiredness, bruisedness, and cuttedness.

I'm hoping the Colorado Tough Mudder will have the same kind of camaraderie, but I think its location deep in the mountains and lack of a central bar scene near the event will probably cut down on chance meetings in the bars afterward. Also, I imagine the kind of people running the CO race will be of a different kind than the military men that dominated this Texas race. We have a lot of individual athletes in Colorado (making it hard to recruit rugby players, among other things) so I don't know how the group mentality thing will go. But I'm hopeful that we'll at least get some Air Force men and/or other fellow rugby players out there. And about that bar scene issue, I'm doing the Sunday run so it'll be a bit different since I'm sure not a lot of people will go out that night.

As for the strange state of Texas, I'm seriously considering going down there again to do this thing because I had such a blast (and I think my friends are in as well!) and they have a good number of non-elevation related and just plain fun obstacles, so we'll see. It's also nice to have a "race" in the middle of winter to look forward to instead of training for months on end without anything to test yourself with.

As a parting thought, here's a little story about people not understanding us Tough Mudders:
I was taking a cab downtown last night to go out to the bars and got to talking to the driver about having just finished Tough Mudder. He hadn't heard of it, so it was kind of hard to describe. Then he asked a question I honestly didn't know how to answer: "What's the motivation behind doing this race?" Uh...I don't know. I kind of blubbered through an answer involving road races are boring and he seemed to get it, but not entirely. So yes, I don't know what the motivation is, besides the fact that it's pretty awesome and something that will test you in ways you didn't think you would be tested.

In short, DO IT!!!

And here's a link to their events, which are all over the country, and even across both ponds, up north, and Down Under. Now you have no excuse.

Kasia

Kasia! You are one Tough Mudder! That thing looks like a hoot! I wanna do one...motivated by sheer insanity! LOL

Great job! 

Kasia....Great race report on the MUDDER!! That looks like an absolute blast! I'm doing a Warrior Dash or as you call it "Tough Mudder Little Brother" and I am pretty excited. I can't wait to share the stories as well. Congratulations on toughing out the race...you are a true Mudder!

Hey all...just catching up on the forum and checking in. Everything is well here in Charlotte. This weekend we ran into the low 70's and I got to get out on the golf course Saturday! Of course Mother Nature just gave us a little tease as we are back in the 40's today (I know Spring-like weather for our Northern friends)!

Have a great week of training everyone!

BTW....starting to look at clipless pedals and I know we have had some breif discussions, but any recommendations as to a good starter set (pedals and shoes)? I'm looking at the Shimano R540 SPD-SL pedals and still a little clueless on the shoes.

David

Wow Kasia! That sounds like a blast!

I did a Muddy Buddy with a friend of mine last year and it sounds totally tame compared to your gig. I love that you had the total experience too. That's why I like destination races so much. You might as well make it all fun!
Johanne