Tough Mudder

Nikki's Journey to the Tough Mudder. 

The Toronto event is the weekend of August 18th-19th. 

Guess who's doing it? *drum roll please*

This girl, right here. *points to myself*

What is the "Tough Mudder" you ask? Well, on their website it's described as:

"Probably the toughest event on the planet."

 That is a pretty bold statement, so let's take a quick peek at some of the obstacles in this event:

• Arctic Enema (not what you're thinking... Though I'm sure it feels just as uncomfortable!)
• Berlin Walls 
• Boa Constrictor (on your belly, soldier!)
• Cliff Hanger 
• Dirty Ballerina (no, you don't have to wear ballet shoes...)
• Electric Eel (yes. In water.)
• Electroshock Therapy (you read correctly.)
• Everest (climb it.)
• Fire Walker (!!!!!!!!)
• Funky Monkey (this is not as cute as it sounds people!)
• Twinkle Toes (I repeat: NOT as cute as it sounds!)

Hmm... The list not enough? Go take a look at what the Tough Mudder is all about on their website!  There are "25 military style obstacles" in this event, designed by British Special Forces. 10-12 miles. 

Here's a video talking briefly about the Tough Mudder: 

Also, there are a ton of pictures and videos on their website showing past events, and oh my goodness they are insane! 

In fact, here's a video from the Tough Mudder that took place in New England on May 5th-6th: 

All I can say to this is WOWZERS! 

My story: 

Originally, I had wanted to do this. It's been on my Bucket List, along with sky diving and backpacking across Europe... 

My only problem: I didn't have a team. For this type of an event, a team is probably the one thing that will help you finish the event in one piece. Having your team members there for you to help you get up the massively insane walls, and pull you along if you feel like you can't make it... This is important. 

While on Facebook, a friend messaged me and informed me that a group had signed up as a team, and then asked if I had wanted to register and sign up with their team. I didn't even have to think about it for a second before I said "YES!"... I promptly registered on the website, paid the fee, and clicked "register". Then, I received the confirmation email. 

A day later, fear set in. 

I thought to myself: "self, what the heck are you doing?!? You can't do this! You're the awkward clumsy chubby kid that can't even run for 2 minutes without having an Asthma attack!" (Funny, I'm still awkward and clumsy, but I'm not quite chubby anymore, and I haven't needed an inhaler for "Asthma" in about 1 year... Yet my mind still goes there!)

My biggest fear with this is that I won't be physically, or mentally, prepared for this. This is an INTENSE event! I'm not out of shape or anything, but I'm also not perfect - or even at the fitness level that I'd like to be at. So how is someone such as myself going to participate in this?! 

With all of the random changes that have been taking place in my life, and my realization that life really IS short and SHOULDN'T be wasted, I decided that I'm going to live a life of trying new things, and taking chances. I'm doing this event to prove to myself that I can. I need to start checking stuff off of that darn Bucket List, because I'm not getting younger! Sometimes, we need to step back and evaluate our lives, and give ourselves goals to work towards that will truly challenge us. And this, folks, is a hefty challenge! 

How am I training for this? 

After today, I have 78 days to train. That may seem like a lot of time, but it's really not, especially when you consider that there are other things in life aside from training for an event. (Hello there post-graduate job-searching, I haven't forgotten about you...)

I had been doing P90X for almost 9 weeks, but took a break from the structured schedule for a few weeks. Still using weights at the gym, and taking up cycling again, allowed me to keep in shape. In the past couple of weeks, I've been taking the workouts from P90X and bringing them to the gym with me. Since being able to use the heavier weights at the gym, I've noticed a BIG change in my arms in terms of muscle mass and definition. (Yay!) Anyways, here's what my schedule will be like for the next 78 days:

• P90X - About 1 week ago, I introduced the full videos back into my workout routine. Legs & Back - DAMN it's a good workout. Ab Ripper X - I didn't miss it, I hate it, but it's the best I've ever had. I will be using P90X back on the standard schedule again as a main part of my routine; however, I will be taking a majority of the workout lists (such as the Shoulder-bi-tri workout) to the gym with me instead of doing it at home. Nothing has ever worked my body like P90X, and there's a good chance that these workouts will stay with me for a long, long time. 
• The Gym - In addition to P90X, I have my specific rotation of equipment/exercises that I use at the gym: rowing, back extensions, hip abductor/adductor, triceps, lat pull downs, hitting the punching bag for 45 minutes, etc.
• Yoga - I've had an on again/off again relationship with yoga for many years... In the past, I've gotten to the point of flexibility where I can place my ankles behind my head and resemble something that's similar to a pretzel. I've also been at the point where no matter how hard I try, I just can't touch my toes if my legs are straight. Since re-introducing yoga into my routine on a more regular basis (I try to do yoga at least 4 times per week), I have seen a major increase in my flexibility. Also, doing yoga at the end of my workout has given me this amazing calming feeling to accompany that endorphin-high. I've also found that yoga helps with muscle pain, which is something that really hinders my motivation to keep workout out. "Oh, my achy muscles... I'll just take an extra rest day..." Finally, the best part of adding yoga into my routine - it teaches you how to breathe through anything! You really put your mind in a different place when you focus during yoga, and that's something that will help anyone doing this event, or anything else for that matter...
• Cycling - I've found that cycling is addictive. There's this wonderful rush that I get when I go on a ride. My longest ride so far was from my home in Toronto to Oakville, and then back home. The total ride was 50 km. I was sunburned like you wouldn't believe (I'm fine now), and I was exhausted because I've never gone that far before, but it was amazing! I was on cloud 9 for a few days afterwards. A few days ago, I did another 40 km ride across Toronto, which also gave me that same happy feeling. I try to get in between 60 km - 100 km per week now that the weather is better. The best part about it is that it teaches endurance, in my opinion. 
• Training Circuits - On the Tough Mudder website, they actually provide 3 different levels of training circuits. Starting this week, I will be adding these into my workouts. The three types are: Mudderling Bootcamp, Maybe Mudder Bootcamp, and the Tough Mudder Bootcamp. I plan on starting with the "Mudderling Bootcamp" for at least 2 weeks just to get the hang of it. If I find it to easy (haha), I will shorten it to 1 week. The "Maybe Mudder Boodcamp" I will do for a few weeks, and then move on to the "Tough Mudder Bootcamp". These are all functional workouts, and apparently prepare you really well for the obstacles in the event. 
• Diet - I've had a pretty healthy diet for about 6 months now. Prior to that, I've always tried to adopt the "clean eating" principle (thank you Tosca Reno). Being vegan, oddly enough, I've had MORE energy and stamina in my workouts than I've ever had in my life as an omnivore. The only issue I've faced is that I've never been a person who eats large quantities, so increasing calories is a big deal for me. I have no problem doing it, because I do enjoy eating, but it's the mental aspect for me. (Long story: Having dealt with eating disorders in my past, it's a lot to overcome when you acknowledge that you're eating way more calories than you have in the past. Also, a big thing is that when you're training and building muscle (and losing fat), you don't necessarily lose weight. In most cases, you even gain weight. (To put this in perspective, I'm 5'8" and have maintained a body weight of about 125 lbs - 130 lbs for a year or so...) As I've been training, even in the past 2 weeks, seeing my weight go from 125 lbs up to 128 lbs, I catch myself getting scared that I will go over my desired maximum weight of 130 lbs. Even though I know I'm not overweight (not even close to being overweight actually - and that it's muscle gain, not fat), acceptance of any gains is still an obstacle to overcome. Luckily, I've found so many strong and healthy women to look up to and be inspired by. A lot has changed in the past few years, and I've learnt that it's better to be "healthy & fit" than it is to be "stick thin".)

With all of this said, it's going to be an interesting couple of months! Giving myself this goal to work towards is pretty liberating. I'm excited, scared, nervous, excited... Did I mention I'm excited?! I've never, and I mean NEVER, done anything like this in my life. Even if I can't finish the event, I'll be proud of myself for trying. (Though let's be honest here, I'm going to finish that event!)

For a sense of accountability, and just because I want to look back on this 3 months from now and remember how I felt along this journey, I'm going to document my next couple months of training with schedules and updates of what I've done to prepare myself! So stay tuned for updates of my journey to the Tough Mudder! 

That's all for now, have a lovely day! :) 

-Nikki