I am not the first person you would ever expect to do a Tough Mudder. If you know me or have seen any of my recent blog posts you will know that I am the biggest girly girl and would never be caught dead camping, let alone running around in the mud! Frankly, I am not the biggest fan of dirt or mud or running for that matter. But when the organization approached me to become an ambassador that take on the challenge I thought to myself, why not check it out and see if I can do this.
In 2017, I challenged myself by putting my health first and losing 10 kilos. It was really tough to do and more of a mental challenge than physical. I did do it and I was so proud of myself for pushing past all my limiting beliefs and seeing the change in my body. This year my challenge is to complete a full Mudder before the end of the year. I like to say I am a pretty active person as I try to walk 10,000 steps a day as well as workout 2-3 times a week. But I knew taking on the Tough Mudder challenge and becoming a Mudder woman would not be an easy one. Tough Mudder is about getting out of your comfort zone and this is one of the main reasons I wanted to take on this challenge. To complete a Tough Mudder you have to get out of your comfort zone, live life to the fullest and connect with others that share the same passion. For me, I really liked their motto of teamwork. You cannot complete a Mudder alone, you have to have the support of your teammates and others running the race to help you through.
This weekend I will be attempting my first Tough Mudder. I will only be doing the half Mudder but it will be 5miles of running as well as 13 obstacles. I am hoping that by the end of the year I complete the full Mudder which would be 10 miles and over 20 obstacles. I am not a fan of running nor do I have any upper body strength so this should be fun. But regardless of physical strength, I have been told my other Mudder Women that have completed the race that the different challenges on the race would test everything from my arm strength to my mental strength. Also, you have to be ready to offer and ask for assistance from others around you. This will be interesting to experience and I will report back after my race on how it all goes.
The main way I prepped for this challenge was to just move every day. I think that taking baby steps is really the best way to get into physical shape. I also started to work more on my upper body at the gym. As a female weightlifter I naturally focus on my legs are they are the strongest part of my body and I will no doubt have to use that strength in the race, but I have a very weak upper body and I started to do more pull ups and push ups at the gym to help get me ready for all the hurdles coming my way. I was also lucky enough to be invited to the Tough Mudder HQ in London to do a HIIT yoga class. I had never tried HIIT Yoga before but boy did it burn! I also tried to incorporate more HIIT training into my prep so that I can get my stamina up for all the obstacles that will be coming my way.
These are the things that I have packed in my bag for the event and I think everyone should have when running their first Tough Mudder:
- Change of clothes (including clean underwear and socks)
- Plastic bag for your muddy clothes afterward
- Extra hair ties to get your hair out of your face
- Clean shoes to wear after the race
- Deodorant
- Water
- Face wipes to get all the mud off your face after
Aside from the above, I am going to bring my team spirit and willingness to complete what I started to make it through this race. Make sure you check back in with my journey in a week when I post about how my first race went. If you would like to try out a Tough Mudder you can use my discount code Anika25 to get 25% off of your Tough Mudder Full or Tough Mudder Half.
*This post is in collaboration with Tough Mudder, as one of their Mudder Woman Ambassadors I agreed to share my experience of Tough Mudder with my followers in order to participate in the event.