MUD & GUTS TRAINING April 22, 2013

April 13th, 2013 Workout Update

The weather had us at a handicap this weekend.  The rain made Sunset a rather swampy place.  But I still had some fellow runners show up in the blowing snow.

• 3/4 mile warm-up run/jog
• rest 1 minute
• 200 yd sprint
• 1 minute jumping jacks
• 1 minute rest
• 50 yd lunges + 150 yd sprint
• 1 minute Air Squats (as many and as fast as you can go)
• rest 1 minute
• 200 yd sprint
• 1 minute burpees (as many and as fast as you can go)
• Rest 1 minute
• 200 yd sprint
• Rest 1 minute
• 1/2 mile run with hills (try to keep an even steady pace up and down the hills)
• Weighted Sprints (Grab a sandbag or weighted pack for the last bit)
• 100 meter run
• 20-30 air squats under weight 
• 100 meter run
• rest 1 minute
• 100 meter run
• 20-30 lunges under weight 
• 100 meter run
• rest 1 minute
• 100 meter run
• 20-30 air squats w/ push press (push the weight above your head after each sqat)
• 100 meter run
• rest 1 minute
• Stretch and cool-down

Total Mileage: 2.25 miles

April 20th, 2013 Workout Update

Decided to cancel the training session.  Sunset was too waterlogged.

April 27th, 2013 Workout CHALLENGE

Here's a really good challenge for you.  Try and do 100 burpees as fast as you can!

If you need to kick it up a notch, then add a jumping pull-up after each burpee.

My time for 100 Burpee Pull-ups: 10 minutes 53 seconds


Give it a shot!

Running the Extra Mile

     Training can start to seem more like a chore than fun when the mileage keeps building.  I've had to gradually devote more and more time to training and it does get frustrating.  Primarily, trying to keep motivated during the long runs.  Keeping the motivation up from week to week has been stressful.  Especially when there is no clear results from the training.  I've had nothing to compare myself too for over 3 months now.  I have only done the single 5k race at the beginning of the year and my next race is still a week away.  The time in between has moved far too slow.  But there is a good lesson I learned from this.

I will definitely plan to run at least 1 race per month for the remainder of the year.  Even if I'm not going all out, it will still keep me focused on a temporary short-term goal.  Plus, I will have a race event to gauge my performance against other individuals in my age range.  This was an issue for me when I first started running. I had no concept of how well I was doing until I ran my first road race.  After I ran a few, I was able to setup some goals for the next race.  I may not be a speed demon anymore, but I want to feel comfortable running at a good pace for extended periods.  I designed my training around this and set the goal of completing 70 miles at the World's toughest Mudder.  Assuming I have been training correctly, the next few weeks should be a breeze.

Overall, I feel strong going into the beginning of the race season.  I have the 10 mile trail run at County Line Orchard in a week, then two half-marathons in the following two weeks.  It's an abrupt start, but I feel that I have prepared well for it.  I'm doing a 19 mile training run this weekend.  It will be the farthest I have gone in a single run.  I've been keeping at an 8 minute per mile pace so far with little difficulty.  The experimentation with Gu packets and the like has been fruitful.  I don't bonk anymore during a long or hard run.  It's been a lot of work trying to get ready for the World's Toughest Mudder.  I'll know in a little over a month whether or not my training has paid off when I try to qualify at the Chicago Tough Mudder.  I know that 3 years ago, I would have thought I could never have even tried to do something like this.  But that is why I live by my old Blacksmith Master's words:

Nothing is impossible.  It just takes longer.

MUD & GUTS TRAINING April 8th, 2013

April 6th, 2013 Workout of the DAY (WOD)

It was a pleasant morning for the first Mud & Guts Training run.  A bit on the windy side but that just adds to the excitement.  For those of you who missed out, below is the WOD for the last weekend.

• 3/4 mile warm-up run/jog
• rest 1 minute
• 200 yd sprint
• 1 minute rest
• 50 yd lunges + 150 yd sprint
• 1 minute push-ups (as many and as fast as you can go)
• rest 1 minute
• 200 yd sprint
• 1 minute burpees (as many and as fast as you can go)
• Rest 1 minute
• 200 yd sprint
• 1 minute Sit-ups (as many and as fast as you can go)
• 1 mile run with hills (try to keep an even steady pace up and down the hills)
• Stretch and cool-down

If you feel you need an extra challenge, try running the whole workout with a 10 to 30 lb sandbag or weights.