Re: Down in Jim's Garage
 

[B][U]November 16[/U][/B]
Tapering for Tough Mudder on Saturday.
[U]Warm-Up[/U]
3 circuits: 10 push-ups, 15 sit-ups, 5 DH pull-ups, 15 squats
Dynamic stretching routine
Bench Press: 10x135#, 5x195#, 3x220#, 5x245# (assist on 5th rep)
Dead lift: 10x135#, 5x185#, 5x225#, 5x 250#, 3x285#, 3x320# (I had a few more reps in me at 320# but didn't want to push it so close to tough mudder). Alternated between BP and DL sets to keep the workout flowing.
Ran 1.6 miles on treadmill at 1% grade at 8-9 min mile pace. Nice and easy.
Stretched legs.

Re: Down in Jim's Garage
 

[B][U]November 17[/U][/B]
About 15 minutes of jump roping
5 minutes of dynamic stretching

[B][U]November 18[/U][/B]
No time to work out, so a rest day.

[B][U]November 19[/U][/B]
2.6 mile hill run at very easy pace
Lots of stretching.
Tough Mudder tomorrow!

Re: Down in Jim's Garage
 

Good luck Jim, you're gonna do great!

Re: Down in Jim's Garage
 

[B][U]November 20[/U][/B]
Tri-state Tough Mudder
12 mile mud run with some pretty knarly obstacles
[url]http://toughmudder.com/results-photos/[/url]

I haven't had time to post, since I had a big 50th birthday party afterwards, which continued on Sunday with a house full of relatives, some of whom are still here on Monday. What an awesome weekend and a fantastic event. Check out the photos on the link above. I haven't had time to comb through my photos yet. I felt well prepared and wasnt too tired at the end, but it was very cold and very muddy. More on the obstacles later, but you can get a sense from the website pics. I highly recommend this event.

Re: Down in Jim's Garage
 

[U][B]November 27[/B][/U]
I haven't posted in a while, so this will be a bit longer than usual. I did the tri-state Tough Mudder on Nov. 20th and have been drinking and feasting with friends and family since the event. My parents flew back to Canada yesterday. Started working out again today.

[U]Today's Workout[/U]
10 minutes of jump roping
3 x 15 sit ups, 10 push ups, 5 DH pull ups, 15 squats
10 minutes of dynamic stretching and calf and hip mobility drills
Back squats: 10x45#, 10x135#, 5x185#, 5x215#, 3x240#, 5x270#
Shoulder press: 10x45#, 5x80#, 5x115#, 3x130#, 3x145#
Stretched for 5 minutes

[U]Tough Mudder Review[/U]
12.1 mile mud run with 19 obstacles. Near the start, there was a 15 ft. plunge into 40 degree water, which was so cold I couldn't even do the front crawl at first because I couldn't breathe (and I'm a good swimmer with experience in cold water). Thankfully, I recovered after a few seconds and made the mandatory 50M swim with no issues (no longer in pain because I was numb). I've attached a pic of me jumping off of this obstacle called Walk the Plank. I was going to do a front flip, but changed my mind since it was pretty crowded and the cold was enough of a challenge. A lot of people were pulled from the water on this obstacle and one lifeguard dislocated his shoulder rescuing someone and had to be taken to the hospital. We thought we were through the worst of it once we completed this obstacle, but half a mile later they made us swim 50M back across the lake. That was was funny in a cruel sort of way. Then we had another 11 miles of wet, dirty cold fun ahead of us. Here is a link to my pics for those of you that use Facebook:
[url]http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=163430330360467&set=a.163430313693802.26127.100000805021232#!/album.php?aid=26127&id=100000805021232[/url]

I felt very strong throughout the event, as did 4 of my 6 teammates. As for the other two, one guy strained his calf muscle really bad and another got very cold, hit the wall and then cramped up bad. Both toughed it out with lots of encouragement and we completed the course as a team. That was the real highlight of tough mudder for me. This was untimed and the emphasis was on brotherhood and helping each other out, especially those having trouble. It was fantastic. The obstacle that best captured the spirit of the event was Cliffhanger (see attached pic). Most people couldnt' make it up without help from fellow competitors (although I did thanks to my Inov-8 X-talons).

I felt the keys to doing this successfully and really enjoying the event to the fullest extent were training (lots of running, especially hill running, and a lot of body weight work, especially pull ups) and clothing (long sleeved, all-weather underarmour top, pearl izumi running tights, thin wool socks, hat, and good trail shoes worked perfectly for me). It also helps to work out in difficult conditions (outside or in the garage in very hot and very cold weather) as this helps with the mental part of the event. Those who didn't prepare properly didn't have much fun.

[U]New Training Goals[/U]
Now that that's behind me, here are my training goals for the next year.
1. Compete in triathlons again. My aim is first a sprint, then an olympic distance and finish it off with a half Iron Man distance. I can now run long distances comfortably again and the biking and swimming will not be a problem. Training for this will entail swimming, biking and running 2-3x per week. I will continue with 5/3/1 strength training and mix in some crossfit workouts as appropriate. I want to lean out a bit and get back down to my competition weight of 170-175#. That will help my crossfit stats in a big way too.
2. Get in shape for my ski trips this winter. To do that I will substitute two plyometric workouts each week for the swimming, biking, running until April. Those workouts are 3-5 sets of 5 minutes each with 3 minutes rest between them (kind of like a Barbara workout, but more painful - at least to me - because you are not switching muscle groups as much).
3. Run a marathon in the fall. One of my friends wants me to do this with him. Maybe try the half Iron Man in July and the marathon a couple of months later.
4. Dead lift 400#, bench press 300#, 20 consecutive DUs, 1 muscle up, 15 x 95# OHS (flexibility issues for me), 45 min 10K run and 20 min 5K run, 25 minute 1.5k open water swim, sub 70-minute 40k bike.

Sorry for the long post, but this is the start of a new season for me and I need some motivation. I set some very aggressive goals for next year, but thanks to this forum I believe that I am ready to hit some of those goals.

Re: Down in Jim's Garage
 

[B][U]November 27[/U][/B]
(posted the wrong date yesterday)
[U]Warm-Up[/U]
10 minutes of jump roping
10 minutes of calisthenics (3 x 10 push-ups, 5 DH pull-ups, 12 v-Ups, 15 squats, 10 55# kettle bell swings)
10 minutes of dynamic stretching and calf/hip mobility work

[U]WOD[/U]
[B]Helen[/B]
Three rounds for time:
Run 400 meters (up and down a hill in the dark in front of my house)
1 1/2 pood Kettlebell X 21 swings (or 55 pound dumbbell swing)
12 Pull-ups
[B]9:28 (PR by 24 secs.)[/B]

[U]Warm-Down[/U]
10 minutes of stretching

Re: Down in Jim's Garage
 

Well done Jim, been waiting for your report for a while now, it sounds like you prepared physically and mentally enough to get yourself and your team around the course, its amazing in these events how much everybody helps everyone else. Those muddy slopes can be more of a problem than first thought, remember really struggling up something similar, the talons must of really paid for themselves on that obstacle.

Re: Down in Jim's Garage
 

[QUOTE=Scott Jenkins;872645]Well done Jim, been waiting for your report for a while now, it sounds like you prepared physically and mentally enough to get yourself and your team around the course, its amazing in these events how much everybody helps everyone else. Those muddy slopes can be more of a problem than first thought, remember really struggling up something similar, the talons must of really paid for themselves on that obstacle.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, everything worked out perfectly. The comaraderie was definitely the best part of the event. Its quite uplifting to see how much support there is in our community. Yes, the shoes were amazing, truly a great buy.

[B][U]November 28[/U][/B]
[U]Warm-Up[/U]
30 minutes: jump roping, calisthenics (push ups, planks, pull ups, squats), dynamic stretching and hip/calf mobility work, dead lift warm-up
[U]WOD[/U]
[B]"Diane"[/B]
21-15-9 reps of:
225 pound Deadlift
Handstand push-ups (facing wall - easier - touched front of head to ground)
[B]7:17[/B]
Ran 6 miles at medium pace (need to fix my watch and time the runs)
[U]Warm-Down[/U]
5 minutes of calf, hip and hamstring stretching

Re: Down in Jim's Garage
 

Congrats on the finish, Jim. Cold water immersion can be a real deal breaker for a lot of people. Way to push through it. Will be looking at your progressions throughout the year.

Re: Down in Jim's Garage
 

Thanks Dave. Yeah, the cold made it pretty interesting, but it was what I liked the best about it.

Then there was this little Mystery Obstacle that had to be cleared about a quarter mile before this finish. It was brilliant! What a devious sense of humor.

[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoETo0rUslA[/url]

You don't want to dilly dally through this obstacle. Just sprint as hard as you can with your arms and elbows in front of your face and hope for the best. It worked for us.