Training to be a Tough Mudder

We got back from LA on the 6th April 2012. During our holiday we walked every day and sometimes for hours at a time. It was fantastic. Now back in the office, it is obvious to me, I need to move every day to maintain my size and shape. Sitting down all day is not conducive to losing weight / size.

A week or so after I got back I signed up for some extra personal training sessions. 2 a week for 10 weeks with my gym. I trained with a P/t who also plays Rugby - and I told him to push me.

The first weekend after starting the extra P/t sessions I was asked by a girlfriend if I wanted to join their team for the tough mudder challenge which is coming to Perth in October 2013. 20 kilometres of some of the toughest obstacles as designed by the British SAS. Of course I said YES. I will go through 2 birthdays before the event, making me 49 and probably the oldest on the team. I knew then that I needed to step up the training - a LOT.

I told David my trainer and he worked with me to improve my upper body strength and in particular my arms as there will be walls to climb and ropes to scale, not to mention monkey bars. All of which I have not trained on for years. In the case of monkey bars, it's about 35 years.

I had to use the P/T sessions within 5 weeks - so that is now the process. 5 weeks of intense weights. I am now going to go back to group training sessions 3 x per week, 1 personal training session per week and add running into the mix twice a week for the next 5 weeks.

Today was the first run. It was pathetic I have to say.

We have a football oval (AFL) about 500 metres from home. The plan was to run 1 circuit without stopping. I don't know whether it was the humidity or my general lack of cardio fitness, but gosh it was hard going. I stopped and walked about half way round the first circuit. At the 50 metre line I started jogging again, and finally made the complete circuit. Trouble is I have no idea of the distance. I checked online and there are no set sizes for an oval (how very australian), but average around 460m. Believe me it seemed a lot longer. So at some point I will have to get on a treadmill and check distances. But for today, I made my first complete circuit - as mental toughness is one of the first requirements for a tough mudder, this is a big breakthrough for me.

Now all I need to do is find my charger for my walkman and I can at least listen to something other than my heavy breathing on the next training session, which will be Wednesday evening after work.

Training schedule:

Completed in 5 week blocks

1st block:

personal training: Monday, Wednesday, Saturday.

Walk every lunch time - including hills if possible

Saturday morning after training (2 weekends) 4 circuits of Hyde Park - fast walk pace

2nd block

personal training: monday

group circuit training: wednesday, Friday, Saturday

run: Wednesday evening, Sunday afternoon

3rd block

exchange the running for swimming, keep the P/T and group training

4th block

exchange the swimming for cycling - note to self - get the road bike fixed

5th block

back to running

Milestones:

I have always wanted to run the City to Surf which is a 12km road race between perth city and the coast at City Beach. This happens every august - and this year and most likely next I will be running the event. I walked it a couple of years ago, now I want to get it off the bucket list and finally complete it...