Interesting test this weekend

[Melas Zomos]

With just 5 days to prepare I got egged into joining a team for a local mud run (5k with obstacles and of course mud)
Normally I would not sweat it, but I have not run more than a 50yd sprint since tearing some ligaments in my ankle a year ago and I lack proper footwear. On top of that it is very early in the morning, and of course I have a match the night before that should be pretty brutal as its with a hardcore legend, and is booked towards the end of the show which means a late night
....and I HAVE to go to the pub the night before the wrestling match to party with a buddies band reunion

Should be an interesting weekend
I need to learn how to say no, but then again it is better to burn out then fade away.........

[Cookie]

Good luck with that. Confident you'll do well & have a blast.

I would have suggested the serrapeptase to aid healing but not sure if so close to race day it'll have enough time to do any good.

The obstacle race I'm running they just suggest turning up in any old footwear because afterwards they'll just be trashed & ready for the bin.

Lots of caffeine before hand & let adrenaline do the rest

[samurai69]

all good fun days............i would prefer 1 each weekend for a month with time to recover between them

[Melas Zomos]

all good fun days............i would prefer 1 each weekend for a month with time to recover between them

For real bro.

It keeps getting better, I was hoping my match the night before would be early and I could chill and get to bed at a decent hour, but I am on match 7 out of 9 so it looks like a 2am kind of night. Supposed to be at the race by 7am but I will show up fashionably late at 8

I was also told that they put me in as running/maintaining a 6 min mile pace so that we are in the competitive heat

Even better I was also informed that our group is wrestling themed and we would be dressing up as wrestlers, they told me just wear my wrestling gear....my response was I wrestle in leather pants and biker boots dumbass. Looks like I will have to break out the "Barlow" with a few modifications. No chance of a 6 min or even 12 min mile with leather pants in mud

This keeps getting better and better. Can't wait to see what they drop on me next, and no previews of the course or explanation of obstacles.

[Melas Zomos]

Good luck with that. Confident you'll do well & have a blast.

I would have suggested the serrapeptase to aid healing but not sure if so close to race day it'll have enough time to do any good.

I have been taking a GH booster and SuperCissus and it seems to help.

Lots of caffeine before hand & let adrenaline do the rest

Yeah I just picked up a fresh tub of your favorite Jack3d, wtf I am not going to the Olympics no worries about that.
Oh my poor adrenaline glands are already crying.

[Cookie]

Looks like I will have to break out the "Barlow" with a few modifications.

I shudder to think what the "Barlow" is

and no previews of the course or explanation of obstacles.

I made inquires about my race & was told that they are all different so no details this end either.

Yeah I just picked up a fresh tub of your favorite Jack3d, wtf I am not going to the Olympics no worries about that.
Oh my poor adrenaline glands are already crying.

Watch your ticker on that stuff. I used in on a 10k run which was very close to race speed & it left me feeling quite ill at the end. Chest felt funny & not all together as it should.

You've had a long time off it so a tiny amount will go a long way, which can only be a good thing.

[Melas Zomos]

Looks like I will have to break out the "Barlow" with a few modifications.

I shudder to think what the "Barlow" is

If someone brings a camera, I will of course share.

and no previews of the course or explanation of obstacles.

I made inquires about my race & was told that they are all different so no details this end either.

Probably better that way

Watch your ticker on that stuff. I used in on a 10k run which was very close to race speed & it left me feeling quite ill at the end. Chest felt funny & not all together as it should.
You've had a long time off it so a tiny amount will go a long way, which can only be a good thing.

Will do....If I have have not posted by Tuesday night you will know I did not heed your advice. All I have to do is survive the first 1/2 mile I am thinking, dilute the adrenaline and then I will be fine. What does me in, in all sports, is the initial surge after that I seem to level out and my motor patterns fall into place and all is well.

[Cookie]

Will do....If I have have not posted by Tuesday night you will know I did not heed your advice. All I have to do is survive the first 1/2 mile I am thinking, dilute the adrenaline and then I will be fine. What does me in, in all sports, is the initial surge after that I seem to level out and my motor patterns fall into place and all is well.

I don't think courses like these are designed to allow our motor patterns to fall into any sort of place

[Melas Zomos]

The "Barlow" is.....well I think you guys can figure it out

So I spend the night icing down from my match, foot absolutely killing me. Get 3 1/2hrs sleep, foot feels human and head off to the race. Greeted at 7:30 in the am with a beer
Evidently it is a giant social gathering and we signed in the "in it to win it " category because the obsticles tend to get backed up later in the race as more people and heats are set. Being in this category allows us to finish faster and get to the beer and grill earlier.
Had about 700 teams of 4 and about 3000 people total racing. Got passed earlier by a bunch of dudes, but many of them gassed out right after the obstacles and we gained time. None of our team failed any of the challenges, which were not overly hard imo. The worst one was charging down a mudslide full steam into a pit of mud that really was filled with ice cubes. Holy smokes that one took me by surprise. All I could think was... Jack3d+Beer+subzero temp=heart attack.

Don't have the official results, but I am pretty sure we finished in the top 20. And the only reason that happened was out of 3000 people and 6 heats the only 2 British Girls in the entire race were running right with our group giving me some good ole ribbing once they found out I had a perfect American accent and was not British. They were smoking hot too and their was no FN way I was letting them beat me. To be honest staring at their derriers half the race really took my mind off of being winded.Otherwise we would have probably fell into top 40

[Cookie]

A beer before hand I'll pass that one up

You've hit the nail on the head with the obstacles getting backed up with those struggling. Spoke to race buddy only last week about the very same thing & have been contemplating starting the race as close to the front as possible to avoid some of the congestion. Still in the dark as to what happens at our race here in the UK. The US ones look like they make a whole day of it so we are hoping the same happens over here. Had considered getting some Jack3d but very unsure on how it'll make me feel under such conditions I'm thinking it might be like.

Looked like you had a real blast.

Well done mate

[Melas Zomos]

This is right up your alley Cookie. I think you will absolutely have a blast. I would recommend starting in the first heat and as close to the front as possible. We were in the team category and our team, despite pre-match carb up, finished really well because we were consistant and started near the beginning. Our running was nothing special and in a straight 5k would have been down right pathetic but we were consistant on all fronts and when it came to the obstacles we were alot stronger than the others. Indo board baby! Most teams had 3 strong runners or coarse people to them, but nearly all had 1 weak link that would have to walk for a duration and you were required to finish as a team.

Talked to a few of the really serious single competitors that were wearing the vibram 5-fingers and they loved them for this type of event. None of them liked them for on the street or pavement races, but for mudders and mountain races really loved them. One team wore cleats (metal) and I thought that was real smart. Did not get to talk to them afterwards to see how they liked them but they did finish ahead of us, because I followed cleat marks till the end. I would recommend against Chuck Taylors, they worked fine for everything, especially the obstacles, but on the muddy hills were a real hindrance.

All and all a fantastic time, tailgated before and after. Great vibe. I think you will be really stoked at the end of it and given your athletic background I expect you to do really well.

[Melas Zomos]

A beer before hand I'll pass that one up

It was an American "light beer" so it was essentiall0y water.
The good stuff was saved for after wards.