Jeeves asks.. are ye a pansy or a tough mudder?

[elflaco]

NJ.. late October... putting a team together.

figure should be a fun way to get back in shape over the summer before sloshing through the mud.

anyone? bueller?

[Jerloma]

Pansy. All day.

[Sabo]

NJ.. late October... putting a team together.

figure should be a fun way to get back in shape over the summer before sloshing through the mud.

anyone? bueller?

I'm not nearly in good enough shape to even thing about doing a Tough Mudder. But I'm also put off by that event after a friend of mine severely fractured his ankle and leg while doing that event. He had to have several screws put into this ankle to get it stable, and he was either on crutches or in a cast/brace for many months.

Fuck that. Go lift heavy things instead.

[brian]

NJ.. late October... putting a team together.

figure should be a fun way to get back in shape over the summer before sloshing through the mud.

anyone? bueller?

I'm not nearly in good enough shape to even thing about doing a Tough Mudder. But I'm also put off by that event after a friend of mine severely fractured his ankle and leg while doing that event. He had to have several screws put into this ankle to get it stable, and he was either on crutches or in a cast/brace for many months.

Fuck that. Go lift heavy things instead.

Or, you know, just run on normal ground (pavement, trails...whatever)

[rass]

Have you seen the results of the recent CDC investigation on mud/obstacle runs?

[The Sybian]

I was going to say there is no way I am interested, until I read about the severe diarrhea and blood vomiting due to ingesting bacteria from farm animal feces. Now I'm in.

If you insist on doing something like this, Rugged Maniac sounds like a better option. 2-3 miles instead of 12-15, and a party with beer from local breweries at the finish line.

[wlu_lax6]

F' Tough Mudder

1.) Signed up for one in the mid-atlantic. They oversold the event, had no parking, bad logistics, tried to "let us do it the next day" but had their permit pulled by the county (http://www.wtop.com/70/3029587/Refunds- ... -Frederick" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). They almost did not offer refunds...My buddy took the entry to the VA Beach one...cancelled it after they drove to the event.
2.) Harvard Business School kids started the company....good for them, but the fact they promote Wounded Warrior when it is a big for profit enterprise is a bit fake
3.) http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ss ... ds_wi.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
---2 days ago
4.) http://www.runnersworld.com/general-int ... dder-death" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
--a year ago

Enjoy these types of events but BANNEDDDDD!!!!!!

If you like these...I really liked the event at For Dix that louthegiatnrat and I did a few years ago.
http://www.walkjogrun.net/events/runnin ... d24f580aec" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Johnnie]

Sure. If I was in New Jersey.

I'm doing a Spartan Race in Köln in June. And there's a Tough Mudder sometime afterward too. Just need to sign up for that.

This just in, btw. When you do stuff you have the risk of something bad happening. But also something really good. Shocker, I know.

Outside of the bullshit disorganization which should never be tolerated in any form, rationalizing not doing something because you have an offhand chance of injury seems dumb. These things aren't that 'tough.' And any activity ever can land you in the hospital.

Want to see a big pile of Nope? Check out the Spartan Death Race. A friend was 1 of a couple hundred to finish that. 63 hours to finish. Couldn't rest. Couldn't stop moving. Hell, you can even pay to go through the week long BU/DS course in San Diego if you wanted to. Tought by former Navy Seals. Makes some miles in the mud look like a spa day.

[P.D.X.]

This just in, btw. When you do stuff you have the risk of something bad happening. But also something really good. Shocker, I know.

Fuck dysentery, I want my free race t-shirt!

[Johnnie]

Naturally the guy from Oregon brings up dysentery.

[DSafetyGuy]

This just in, btw. When you do stuff you have the risk of something bad happening. But also something really good. Shocker, I know.

Outside of the bullshit disorganization which should never be tolerated in any form, rationalizing not doing something because you have an offhand chance of injury seems dumb. These things aren't that 'tough.' And any activity ever can land you in the hospital.

Well, hopefully the Germans do a better job of organizing and supervising your race than the group in this story. Too bad the guy who died didn't know ahead of time about the shoddy disorganization.

[wlu_lax6]

This is the problem. It is not the risk or injury of death, it just seems like the folks running this particular event have done a poor job over and over again in safety, communications, and general logistics. Just like if I got bad service at a store or bar or such, I would just not choose to support that business. There are lots of competitors for this type of event now (I am thinking about doing Battle Frog), so I would look for a different company.

[Brontoburglar]

This is the problem. It is not the risk or injury of death, it just seems like the folks running this particular event have done a poor job over and over again in safety, communications, and general logistics. Just like if I got bad service at a store or bar or such, I would just not choose to support that business. There are lots of competitors for this type of event now (I am thinking about doing Battle Frog), so I would look for a different company.

Yup. When you're running an obstacle race that has "danger," the most dangerous thing is not having your shit together. And disorganization shouldn't be a danger you have to think about. But it's a big factor.

[elflaco]

Signed up.

Team is shaping up. Oct 11.

Training has started... so far so good... the 'diet' is the worse.. no issues w the excercise... but the food?
cutting back on the alcohol intake as well.

Will try and remember not to swallow.

[Giff]

Will try and remember not to swallow.

There will be some disappointed mudders.

[Denis]

There is a Warrior Dash in Montclair, New Jersey on August 21st that I am hoping to get to. If'n any of you less fit crackers is interested.https://www.warriordash.com/location/20 ... ew-jersey/. Three miles, twelve obstacles, a piece of cake compared to Tough Mudder. A good stepping stone anyway. I hope to do Tough Mudder in October but I don't think I can commit just yet. Good luck you guys.

[Johnnie]

Just signed up for that Tough Mudder in Mainz the 2nd weekend in August.

So, yea. I can only hope to be as bad ass as this dude:

[elflaco]

two weeks of running.. now interrupted by futbol injuries suffered in defeat last sunday. got back to the gym this morning (avg age at 530am, 50) but don't see me doing running or biking for another week or so.
diet beginning to shape up.. then again, there is that bottle of McCallan that showed up on Father's day... i've reasonable expectations i'll be more than ready come the day to eat mud.

[elflaco]

18 days to go.
These last four weeks have not been any fun. Because of work, family and futbol commitments the only time i'm guaranteed to be able to hit the gym, track or streets is before i go to work in the morning. but i'm not a morning person, so getting up at 5am is absolutely brutal for me, especially as i can't seem to be out sleep before 1130 or later each night.
the workouts are fine once i get started, but the runs... easily the first ten minutes i'm looking for any reason, any muscle twinge to stop. once i get past that, i'm kind of disappointed once i'm finishing up the run.

haven't stepped on a scale or nothing.. i know i gained weight thanks to the lifting (which i'm slowly changing thanks to bronto) but overall lost that dreaded fat - a bit of a gut remains but the love handles are gone. i plan on keep going but will need a tangible goal (helps to do this race with a group of old friends)otherwise will find it hard yet again to keep going after a bit.

the obstacles for the race are posted -- no surprises. mud. ice. electric shocks.
at least we made cool shirts
https://www.dropbox.com/s/rz9llmmt6776z ... t.jpg?dl=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Johnnie]

I ended up being forced to skip the Tough Mudder in August because I had to go to Grafenwoehr for work. At first I was pissed, but then when over $2,000 hit my bank account for per diem, I got over it.

Not sure when another one will happen that I will go to.

[elflaco]

11 miles, lost track of obstacles. Didn't skip anything.

did get jolted about four times at the end with 10,000 volts.. didn't hurt but each time i face planed in the mud as a result..

glad i did it. will continue to get in shape but not sure at this point i'll do something like it again.

the team matters a lot. i'm sure if had joined another team it would've been quite different.

[Johnnie]

This thread kind of turned into an all things obstacle/mental toughness challenge thread for me, so here's something for ya.

Ever hear of GORUCK? http://www.goruck.com/en/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The subculture behind this is rabid. Load up a backpack full of weight and take a hike for miles and miles amongst other things. It was founded by special forces guys, so there's a real military feel entwined into it.

Anyhoo, it appears the biggest, baddest, most ridiculous challenge they have is a 48 hour "selection." From the description:

48+ Hours, 80+ Miles
Average Pass Rate: < 10%

Patterned directly after Special Forces Selection, this event is a different beast altogether. The Cadre are actively trying to make you quit. This is our only event where we may performance drop you if you fail to meet the standard.

In other words, pretty fucking crazy, right?

Well, a buddy of mine decided he was pretty fucking crazy and did it. He was one of 278. He made it pretty far and was part of the final two.

Here's a collage from his Facebook. This is just a small snapshot of what he was dealing with:



Furthermore, here is the blog entry for "Selection 015": http://news.goruck.com/events/selection015/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Lots of great things in there if you scroll around.

So I tell you all of that to tell you this. My buddy would have went until he died, but the cadre knocked it off and MEDEVAC'd him out of there at 36 hours. Dude had rhabdo (OMG CrossFit!) and his kidneys failed. That's how hard he was pushed. This is what his wife posted on his page afterward:

Update on AJ... he had a central line put in and is on serious fluids! They just did an ultrasound in his kidneys as well so we are waiting on the results of that from the Drs. His father and sister are here and he was up, having a conversation with all 3 of us! We watched the 037 med drop video from Cadre Tyler because once he was up and coherent, he said, "did I finish?" I told him that he completely crushed it but he did get med dropped at hour 36! I also explained the patch system that they had because he didn't remember and told him that he still had a tan patch! He may not have finished Selection but he killed it the whole time and I didn't expect any different! When he arrived at the hospital his kidneys we at 10% but they seem to be doing better now! He has rhabdo and acute kidney failure.... but with proper fluids and rest, he should be feeling much better soon. I'm so thankful for all the friends and family that have reached out to show their love and support! I also wanted to thank all the Cadres, Selection finishers and GRTs that were by his side and mine for hours! I thought I would lighten the mood and share these pictures.... Cadre Bert is the man...here he is basically attempting to give him a sponge bath! Lol! Jason McCarthy and Bert untied his boots and got him comfortable (no blisters or issues...fyi...he can have that boot discussion later...lol) and Jason, Cadre Bert and Cadre Tyler helped to get the rest of his gear off! GORUCK family is for life.... Thank you!

This is what he looked like the day after:



His Facebook is littered with positive thoughts and prayers going out to him and even a link to donate to help him out with bills and such.

I hate to be that guy, but I just cannot understand what you get out of this. Pride, sure. Bragging rights, ok. A sweet, sexy patch that WILL NEVER BE SOLD, whatever. Going outside of your comfort zone is one thing. Training to be special forces is another. But this seems like an absolutely, epically ridiculous thing to do. I understand different strokes, different folks, but there's a limit. If I'm going to be part of something that can cause a painful death, this isn't it. And there's something just weird to me that you set up a donation page because someone did something like that to himself. It's all a confusing bunch of stuff simultaneously, but none of this even seems remotely worth it. It was to him, and that's cool, but putting yourself in the hospital in that manner? Yeesh. No thanks. I'm sure I'm an asshole and completely wrong here, but still. Nope. No way. Thoughts?

[The Sybian]

So I tell you all of that to tell you this. My buddy would have went until he died, but the cadre knocked it off and MEDEVAC'd him out of there at 36 hours. Dude had rhabdo (OMG CrossFit!) and his kidneys failed. That's how hard he was pushed.

Thoughts?

Pussy.

[Johnnie]

Did a Spartan Race yesterday outside of Köln. Same track as last year with a few different obstacles.

Man, I'm getting too old for this shit. Either that or my body isn't as strong as I thought it was.

My hips and lower back are feeling it this morning. I just cannot keep up with cardio either. I just weigh too much, I think.

And if you're wondering, the view was nice. Many girls that looked like this:

[degenerasian]

Pansy. Most adventurous i would do is Color Run

[Johnnie]

Did a Tough Mudder today. It was about a 3 hour drive from where I live. I wasn't going to do it, but the ticket was free and I was invited.

And what's sweet about Germany is the semi-festival atmosphere for every event here. Delicious food and beer is available and plentiful.

Though what's about Germany (and maybe Europe in general) is the shower area at the events here are basically coed with little privacy. And people are just all naked without a care in the world. The scene here would be decried as Sodom and Gomorrah in the States.

[The Sybian]

Though what's about Germany (and maybe Europe in general) is the shower area at the events here are basically coed with little privacy. And people are just all naked without a care in the world. The scene here would be decried as Sodom and Gomorrah in the States.

That's because of the difference in appearance of the average German and average American. Maybe Hitler was onto something there...

[P.D.X.]

That's because of the difference in appearance of the average German and average American. Maybe Hitler was onto something there...

Low-sugar diets and sensible portions?

[howard]

High fructose is a jewish conspiracy to destroy the aryan races?

[elflaco]

2nd (and last) tough mudder tomorrow -- 9a start.
lost a few team members, added another. different chemistry, but all good -- we've all known each other more than half of our lives (getting old)

sort of wary of this one. weather is due to be nice, even though we'll be by the water (liberty state park, nj) and the views promise to be spectacular.. less mileage than last year (10 miles, including the legionnaire loop).. less obstacles (21 vs 24)... but i've been hampered by plantar fascia since july.. even wore a boot a few weeks.. most i've managed in go in the last month is 7 miles..

didn't take it as seriously this year.. went through various lifting programs finally settled on one i really liked.. will continue on that..
the group decided no more mud races.. next year we are running the army ten miler in dc.. one of our buddies(who ran last year) has ballooned to an unhealthy 300lb+ last year he did the reace and lost the weight, but soon gained it back.. refused to do it this year.. agreed he would train to make the army race next year... so for a good cause after all.

Scotch and steaks after the race at my house.
and no 9am soccer game on sunday this time!

[wlu_lax6]

2nd (and last) tough mudder tomorrow -- 9a start.
lost a few team members, added another. different chemistry, but all good -- we've all known each other more than half of our lives (getting old)

sort of wary of this one. weather is due to be nice, even though we'll be by the water (liberty state park, nj) and the views promise to be spectacular.. less mileage than last year (10 miles, including the legionnaire loop).. less obstacles (21 vs 24)... but i've been hampered by plantar fascia since july.. even wore a boot a few weeks.. most i've managed in go in the last month is 7 miles..

didn't take it as seriously this year.. went through various lifting programs finally settled on one i really liked.. will continue on that..
the group decided no more mud races.. next year we are running the army ten miler in dc.. one of our buddies(who ran last year) has ballooned to an unhealthy 300lb+ last year he did the reace and lost the weight, but soon gained it back.. refused to do it this year.. agreed he would train to make the army race next year... so for a good cause after all.

Scotch and steaks after the race at my house.
and no 9am soccer game on sunday this time!

Okay so I pretty cursed when it comes to running races, so take this for what it is worth...but
Army 10 miler is a ZOO. I have run it twice. First time they changed the course in the middle of the race (bridge shutdown due to suspecious package). Army 10 miles became half marathon with no water station from mile 6 to the end. Add that to being in the race and not knowing what was going on as you see a convertible with a giant Geico lizard driving straight at you (leaders just rerouted the course on their own which include looping back on the course). Second time I crossed the finish line and then they herded us for a mile or 2 around the pentagon parking lot past vendor booths.

Biggest problem is just he number of runners. Which is also part of what makes it cool. Seeeing that many heads bobbing downs independence and constitution is neat.


I have bad experiences with Tough Mudder and the Hot Chocolate 15K

Tough Mudder Fiasco
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/fr ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/locati ... 8b521.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Nice recap of the this 15K fiasco
http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2011/12/dc-h ... eport.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;).

[rass]

Good luck Juan.

[elflaco]

thanks!

finished it. although it was an easier course than last year, and not as muddy.. way harder as i've not really run in the last five months due to injury.. had to go slow. But we finished. Great celebration dinner afterward. took half of sunday to clean up.

i think that's it for me.

[wlu_lax6]

How about the Darth Valley Challenge?

[elflaco]

so just got asked to help put a team together...
Ragnar Trail.. in NJ.. Oct 13th..

any of the NJ contingent interested?