Introduction to Tough Mudder

While I was Facebooking one day, I noticed the Y posted a video about Tough Mudder, saying they were forming a team to tackle the Tough Mudder in the Poconos at the end of April. I watched this video and was intrigued. This looked tough! I couldn't possibly ever do something like this...or could I?

Maybe this was just the thing I needed to step up my game. I've always been known to give 150% to something I really want to do, and this was extreme. Aside from running and crawling through mud, I'd have to cross monkey bars, run through fire, carry heavy logs up a hill, and potentially even electrocute myself. What's not to love about this?

Two things appealed to me the most about Tough Mudder: it was a team effort, and it seemed really exciting and different. I'd never run in any races, marathons, 5Ks or obstacle courses before. I hadn't even considered it, but I liked the idea of working with a team to make it through the obstacles, and the training program for Tough Mudder at the Y said I'd get into the best shape of my life. I needed to do some more investigating!

Getting "Fit"

I joined the YMCA in my area in the summer of 2011, but didn't have the courage to start working out until September, when school started and our family established a sort of routine. I started out on the treadmill, which was the only piece of equipment in the gym that I knew how to use. I was using the treadmill 1-2 days a week.

Then, the Y held a Frosty Fitness Challenge for the month of December. You had to exercise 12 times during the month of December. Every 3 times you checked in, you got a new piece to add to your snowman, which hung on the wall in the hallway for everyone to see. After you completed your 12th workout, your name was entered into a drawing for a $250 Visa gift card. This was just the thing I needed to motivate me to step up my exercise schedule and make sure I exercised 3 times a week. During a month when I usually gain weight from the holidays, I lost 2 pounds!

Towards the end of December, I knew I wanted to step up my game, but I wasn't sure how. I asked my husband for some personal training sessions as a Christmas present, and he delivered. I thought the personal trainer might help me learn how to use some other pieces of equipment in the gym and then I'd be more in shape and could move on to taking some group classes without embarrassing myself!

Mudder what?

The first time I ever heard of a "mudder" was in September 2011 at a gala benefit for hurricaine victims in Monroe Township. I was fortunate enough to sit at a table with some awesome people who were talking about mud runs. Here's a picture of me and Lynn taken that night. She told me about a mud run she did with her husband, and it sounded like so much fun!