“You are 40 and you will never be less than that again. Thanks to your thyroid, you are overweight - and may never be thin again. 1 year ago you were sleeping in a recliner with a broken shoulder and didn’t think you’d ever lift a kettle bell again..but you can. 4 months ago you tore a muscle in the Gladiator and didn’t think you’d be running by now…but you are. 2 mos ago you broke your finger and didn’t think you would be able to grasp a rope by now…but you can. Any one of these things might stop a person from doing the Tough Mudder. But none of these things have stopped you from training. None of these things will stop you tomorrow. Tomorrow you will prove that you can do it. You will do it for the love of feeling alive. You will have a team that will be with you the whole way. It is not a race, it is a challenge and you are ready for the challenge.”
My Training
- Weight/Circuit training 2 – 3 times a week. I’ve been doing this for 4+ years, but was definitely not at a peak between my shoulder and my leg injuries. I just kept it consistent and tried to build without adding injury.
- Long Haul Hikes/Walks Once a Week. I had planned to do 10 miles before the Mudder, but had a calf cramping issue the day of and only made it 3 miles. The farthest distance I did was 7 miles…but it was a climb of over 1000 feet.
- Run/Walk Intervals – 2 x a week. This was the hardest part. My legs are so torn up, from years of street running that flat land running is nothing but painful….plus I was recovering from a pretty nasty ankle/shin/calf tear thing. I worked up to a slow but steady 2 miles…not exactly what I hoped for.
- I also did yoga once a week and have a weekly tennis date. When my legs flared, I ran in a swimming pool, swam or rode a bike. I stretch twice a day, every day, always.
My Diet
My diet consists of organic produce, pastured meats, raw dairy, fermented foods, lots of water. I shoot for 20% fat, 50% carbs, 30% protein. Most of my carbs are in the form of vegetables and fruits. If not, then whole grains. I eat very little gluten. No sodas, very little sugar. I am not perfect. I will have too much booze every once in a while and I have a weakness for tortilla chips, fresh bread and pasta.
Due to my inflammatory issues – I eat of lot of foods / supplements to offset this. Cod Liver Oil, Chia, Flax, Green Tea, Turmeric, Ginger, Garlic, Vitamin C, Boswelia, Magnesium, Calcium etc. I had a lot of success with this. By race day, my shins were doing great.
I balance my calories with my activity. (You can see why it’s frustrating to not lose weight, right?)
I am 5.7 and my body fat was 24% (about 6% higher than I prefer.) My weight when I started training was 172, my weight on race day was 165. I am comfortable at 145 – 150. Carrying an extra 15 – 20 lbs around the course weighed heavily on my mind. Yes, I know. A pun.
I am 5.7 and my body fat was 24% (about 6% higher than I prefer.) My weight when I started training was 172, my weight on race day was 165. I am comfortable at 145 – 150. Carrying an extra 15 – 20 lbs around the course weighed heavily on my mind. Yes, I know. A pun.
My Clothing
My teammate bought us Mudder Orange Nike short sleeve compression shirts. I wore Nike compression knee length pants and then for vanity and fat camouflage purposes I wore a runners skirt on top as well as a running pack over my belly. These things only got in the way and I don’t think I was fooling anyone, so I won’t bother with those in the future. I wore Thorlo running socks with a thin cushion. I wanted something that wouldn’t slip, but wouldn’t get too soggy with all the mud I’d be slopping through. Because I am a pronator, I couldn’t do the Trex shoes like a lot of mudders wear, so I stuck to my Asics and hoped for the best. They were fine. Alot of people wear weight lifter's gloves, I went for the very tacky carpenter's gloves with the rubber blue grips. Ugly, but I really liked having something cover my whole hand.
My Getting Ready Routine
I always allow at least an 1 ½ before I leave. So I can relax, be in the right frame of mind, and not to be gross – but you want to make sure your toilet duties are taken care of. I drank a Synergy Cherry Kombucha with Chia , ate a banana and drank two cups of coffee. I took a 30 minute Epsom salt soak while I visualized myself being successful that day. I reminded myself that the first 3 miles would suck as I tried to acclimate. The middle part would be fun and the end part would be tiring and I would often feel defeated. If I expected it, then I could overcome it.
I dressed carefully, made sure everything fit right – nothing rubbing or irritating. I covered my skin with coconut oil (my sunscreen of choice). I put a banana, an acai energy shot, some coconut butter in my back pack and filled my water bottle with water and added potassium drops. I also brought a towel and flip flops.
Arriving
On the prep grounds, I sipped water , an FRS drink and took 3 advil (the only time I ever take NSAIDs). I forgot my Acai energy shot in the car, so I took a pak of GU 20 minutes before race time. This may have been the worst mistake I made. The first hour of the race, my heart was beating crazy fast and I was super nauseous.
Beginning
To get into the starting pen we had to climb a little 8 foot wall with a toe hold. A year ago, I would have crawled over without thinking about it, but man…butt cramped, my ham string…. “Oh shit!” I thought. Then we were asked to take a knee for our pep talk. My friend and I looked at each other a little cross-eyed and I was relieved to know that I was not the only one in discomfort over this small task. During our pep talk, the MC said “The kind of people who do Tough Mudders are people that when they are told they can’t do something say, ‘Bull Shit’.” So true. I hate being told I can’t do something. I tried not to groan when I stood up.
National Anthem, Tough Mudder Pledge and we were off. I reminded myself of the last part of the pledge…I will not whine. THIS is a reason to do the Tough Mudder. We all can use a good test and not allow ourselves to whine. We live in such a “whoa is me” society. It is really freeing to remove yourself from that sort of environment.
The Course
About 50 yards in we started the Death March(#1). The super athletes run the hill, but the normal folk walk it. We made it up…first obstacle down.
My team mates hurled me over the two 12 foot Berlin Walls (#2 ) and I dropped unceremoniously on the other side…a little surprised that the landing didn’t hurt more and glad that I took the advil.
Onward – more hills – up and down, sucking in dust as we went, crazy beating heart..damn GU.
We Kissed The Mud (#3) by crawling under barbed wire for about 15 feet. I emerged, thoroughly muddy with my number ripped partially off. I looked at my team mates, they weren’t even dirty. I was exhausted – sucking wind. The Gladiator had a similar obstacle, but not after climbing a ½ mile hill. I was beginning to understand the devil of the Tough Mudder. As we climbed the next hill I thought to myself, “WHAT IN FUCK WAS I THINKING?!” (Sorry, there are no sensors in my brain.)
Then I reminded myself that I knew the first 3 miles would be the worst. “I can do it.” I said to myself. “You can do it.” My team mates called to me. They were reading my mind. “Hoo Rah” I returned hoarsely fighting the urge to vomit. But I forced myself to notice that the brisk 36 degrees had given way to a sunny mid 60’s. It really was a beautiful day. High above the hills we could see the lake sparkling below. Lovely.
The next obstacle we came upon was another low belly crawl – this time with live wires dangling underneath. (#6) My team mates went first – cursing and convulsing their way through. I preferred to stay behind and observe, as became habit for all of the race. As I lay down, I saw that if I was very careful I could navigate between the wires. And I did.
Mile 3 –“This is where the Warrior Dash ends” read the sign “You’ve only just begun.” It was like receiving permission to begin having fun.
The 1st rest stop consisted of water and the most terrible energy giving gummy bears I’ve ever eaten. We agreed these bears were a challenge in and of themselves. Our mantra became –“Bring on the bananas.”
At the bottom of the hill we came upon the Funky Monkey (#7) . I made one half-hearted attempt to use the bars, knew it wasn’t going to happen, and jumped in the water. I forgot to expect it to be cold and came up making that fish face everyone loves to laugh at. Next time I’ll conquer that beast.
#10 was a series of 6 or 8 ditches about 3-4 feet wide that were meant to be jumped over in quick leaping succession. Like many other girls, I ran up and lost my nerve. Big mistake. I should have just gone for it. I had no idea if I could jump that far, but I could. Next time, I won’t hesitate.
More run/walking – another gummy bear aid station. Just say NO to gummy bears. Then we crawled through the Boa Constrictor ( #11) which are sewer pipes filled with muck and water. Onward to the other side of the lake…we climbed #12 – Cliff Hanger, which really wasn’t. I think perhaps earlier in the day it was a muddy slippery mess, but by the time we reached it …it was just a bit of fun climbing up a mud hill and then having a rope web to aid the remaining climb.
Twinkle Toes (#13) presented a new challenge to me. It is a balance beam across water, also electrified, if one grabs the beams, you will be shocked, so just don’t grab the beams. Apparently a lot of people were hurt on this one b/c they expected deep water. My legs were so wobbly at this point that I fell in after a few steps and trudged my way out. One of our teammates made it, the other was nearly there and then down he went, much to his disgust.
The second set of Berlin Walls (#14) were shorter – maybe 10 feet tall…thus no one remains behind to help the weaklings get over. I stepped on Mark’s hands and he shoved me over best he could. I made it. But what I found most ironic about this was on the other side, even though I was closer to the ground, I fell flat on my butt. As I attempted the second wall, I said, “I’m just going to go around.” “No you aren’t.” my friend said. And that was that. Over I went, again I fell on my butt. And on we went.
More hills – up and down, up and down. I had met one of my team mates, only that morning, so it was nice to pass the time getting to know each other a little better. Both of these men were very accommodating, not pushing me, only encouraging. Shouting our team name “Dufresne” from the hill tops to help me along. (Dufresne refers to the main character of Shawshenk Redemption who crawled through 500 yards of shit for freedom. I love it.)
Around mile 7, finally an AID station with Bananas – how we LOVE bananas more than energy bears.
Devil’s Beard (#15) – walking under a net….only served as a reminder that any type of extra activity just made me breathe harder. Spider Web (#16) consisted of those rope webs they love so much, hanging vertically in the air. Strong people sit below and stretch them taunt to make them easier to crawl over, and they were. The only tricky part is getting over the top, b/c it tends to lean at the top and you have to shift your body weight if you aren’t able to just swing yourself over. Hold Your Wood (#17) meant picking up a log of varying sizes and carrying it about a quarter mile up a hill and back down again. I admit, I wimped out and felt no need to carry big wood. Of course, all the guys choose to over compensate. ;)
Round about mile 9 we came upon one of the last big hills. I had to stop and rest several times and even became a bit discouraged. Then I remembered what I was doing this for…not just for me, but also raising money for the Wounded Warrior fund. “Many a man and woman has done harder things than this for me.” I thought “I can do this.” So I did. At the top we let out a Primal Scream. (Actually, that Primal Scream might have been at the top of the hill around mile 7, but there were SO many I just can’t really recall.)
It was also around this time that my clothes dried and realized I had a lot of sand in my pants…which prompted some singing in our group. There were also big strong men, dropping like flies with leg cramps. Men that I am sure had helped me along the way. We passed out gu and coconut butter to those in need and helped in any way we could, if only an encouraging word. I received so much encouragement along the way – not only from my teammates, but from fellow mudders as well. This is the spirit of the Tough Mudder and what sets it apart from all other events.
We stomped through the marsh awhile, reminding me of summers at friend’s farms in upstate New York. Then we crossed a finger of the lake using ropes which apparently was not counted as an obstacle, but seemed to be the undoing of a few. One marine and his wife were with me for a good portion of the trip. He went in first and she followed. About 4 feet in, the bottom dropped and we swam. She suddenly turned around with eyes as big as saucers and went back to shore. “You lost your lady!” I shouted. The thing about the Mudder, is everyone has different fears. What is easy for one person, is hard for another. Her husband didn’t berate her…he simply turned and joined her back on shore….encouraging her and showing her how she could hold the rope to get safely across.
The marines ran by me with their pitifully flat dinosaur in a stretcher…leave no man behind, after all.
The last traditional obstacle is Shock Therapy (#22). There is much hype around this and many people will tell you it is unsafe. Some people really get rocked by it. In the days leading up to the Mudder, I was most afraid of this moment. We had agreed to run through with locked arms. But again – I needed a moment to survey and chickened out. They went ahead of me – running and convulsing…but through. So I went…zapped yes, but I did not fall. I made it through. Team Dufresne linked arms and crossed the finish line. 4 hours. 11 (or was it 12? No one was sure) miles. 21 official Obstacles….many more unofficial ones.
The Aftermath
The morning after the Mudder I could not move without really severe pain. This from the girl who knows ALL about pain. “I’m glad I did it, but I don’t know if I want to do it again.” I told my husband. The following day, I started thinking about how I would revamp my training plan so that I can be a Tougher Mudder in July.
Every part of my body (except my shins – ironically) was sore. I was covered in bruises – particularly nasty ones on my inner thighs and arms. My ribs were bruised, dislocated and the attached muscles torn and swollen . My left arm was a little out of place. It took a visit to a chiro, a lot of anti-inflammatories and about 4 weeks to get back to normal.
I started my thyroid therapy in hopes of being 20 lbs thinner in July, but it I’m not…I’m not. I’ll still be a Tough Mudder.
