My Muddy Life: Gearing Up For Tough Mudder Chicago

Tough Mudder Chicago

Tough Mudder Colorado Prepped Us for Tough Mudder Chicago

Tough Mudder Chicago goal: 45km

Our goal was 20 miles in the Tough Mudder Infinity Race in Byers, CO. We knocked down 35km which comes out to just under 22 miles. Mission accomplished.

We hadn’t done a Tough Mudder Infinity race before, so we weren’t sure what to expect. Up until the Colorado race, the longest Mudder we had done was between 10-12 miles, with 20-25 obstacles. We essentially doubled that in Colorado.

Right up until the start of the race Dalton wasn’t sure about his knee being able to hold up for 20 miles. Spoiler alert, his knee held up. Less than 5 months removed from ACL surgery, and his knee not only made it, but held strong and was not a factor in the race.

Overcoming Adversity and Embracing Setbacks

Almost every race will present adversity that you didn’t expect. Weather is always a factor. Accidents, trips, falls, and small injuries are always possible factors. In Colorado the biggest problem we ran into were hand blisters from the hanging obstacles.

Dalton wrecked his hands on one obstacle and I did a good number on my hand shortly after. If you’ve ever lifted heavy weights or done a lot of pullups, you probably have ripped the palms of your hands up. It’s an intense pain until it dries out a little bit, so we had to endure that in the second half of our race.

The weather wasn’t much of a factor in the Tough Mudder Colorado race. It was a pleasant mid-80s and sunny. Yes, the higher elevation made the sun feel a little hotter than mid-80s but compared to the triple digits in Texas, it was pretty nice.

Onto Tough Mudder Chicago

We are less than two weeks out from the next Tough Mudder Infinity race in Rockford, IL (outside of Chicago). Come say hi if you see us out there!

Our goal is bigger for this race. Aiming for 45km, about 28 miles. If we can hit this distance in 8 hours, we will qualify ourselves for contender status at the World’s Toughest Mudder in November.

Why is that important?

The biggest benefit is getting to start ahead of the main groups running the event.

Death, Taxes, and Texas Heat

Most of our training has been pushed into the dark hours, as the heat in Texas has not given us a break in over a month. It’s been 30+ straight days of triple digits and no rain. So most training has been done around midnight, with some shorter hot afternoon runs sprinkled in.

It can certainly get hot in the Chicago area in the summer, but we don’t expect conditions to compete with how hot things have been in Texas for the past couple months. Fingers crossed for some pleasant overcast, cool weather for this race. Anything will be better than the triple-digit heat we’ve been stuck with.

Training Progress

Distance since training began: 304 miles

Best 1-mile time: 7:02

Best 10k time: 50:35

Elevation gained: 8,025 ft

Side Mission Update

We’ve nailed down some fundamental movements, and we’re starting to work on more reps and more intensity. There were a few days in there where I was not able to train with my brother-in-law, but he has continued to lift on his own when I can’t join him.

His weight is up to 155! We’ve still got 15 pounds to go by the end of September to hit 170. It may sound like we’re not on pace for that, but the path to gains isn’t always perfectly linear. Not promising he will hit 170 by the end of September, but the goal is still within reach.

Train Hard, Recover Hard

I cannot stress enough, how important natural remedies have been to this journey. I’ve focused on 4 primary areas for recovery work between training: hydrating, stretching, immune support, and sleep.

Life Leaf is able to help me with 3 of these focuses, while we’re working on a solution for the 4th.

That leaves hydration. That’s right, Life Leaf is working on a solution for hydration. Not sure when we will be able to deliver that to you all, but I promise I am the most eager to have that solution.

It’s easy to overlook recovery as a part of training, but if you expect your body to hold up to the rigorous demands of training you should put some emphasis on these areas.

Shoot, even if you aren’t training for anything, focusing on these areas of self-care will dramatically improve your day-today life.

Natural remedies for the win!

Feel better today, yall!

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