Workout and Diet Advice for Women over 45

It is just what it sounds like  –  a grueling run through mud (not by accident) and a variety of obstacles.  The annual Mud Runs take place all over the US in Summer and Fall.  Here is a link to the search I just completed using Bing.  Google brings up a similar result.  Some are 5 miles or 10K (just over 6 miles).

Every year Camp Pendleton (in San Diego)  holds a variety of fitness activities that are open to the general public.  This includes Mud Runs –  more than one each year.  Below are some tips posted  on www.crossfitweekendwarriors.com earlier this year right before a Mud Run (June 10^th ).  The tips are attributed to Ken Davis and give one a flavor of the challenge. Read on:

Tips For Running the Mud Run.

• The Mud Run is 10km. It is mostly running, but the obstacles make it a very slow race. The winning time is usually around 40 minutes. The vast majority of the 3500 participants (3300) will take more than an hour to run it.
• The Temp has been in the low 50s or mid 60s at the start, frequently with an ocean haze overcast. It can be chilly. However, if the haze isn’t burned off by race start time, it will by 0930 and it will very likely be HOT.
• 1st Obstacle: 100 meters after starting you’ll be sprayed by a fire hose.
• 2nd Obstacle. about 100 meters further you’ll run across the first of many streams. Depending on the amount of rain, these could be dry stream beds to knee deep, a few meters across or 20 meters.
• 3rd Obstacle (not always there) crab crawl under a cami net.
• Next Obstacle: At the top of long hill will be either an obstacle of hay bales you’ll need to walk/run/jump over and/or about 50 ft tires you’ll need to get across.
• 1st Mud Pit. You can stand upright for this. It’s about 100ft long and the mud varies from a few .1 to .5 meters. In the middle is a 2m wall you need to go over.
• 100 meters on is a 150meter lake. This was over my head one year, but other years I could walk across with the water at chest height.
• 2nd Mud Pit: like the 1st pit with a 2m wall to climb over.
• 2 Conduits. about 8m long each, you need to crawl through
• Very Steep hill. Guy at the top of the hill has a fire hose trying to wash you back down the hill, and the road up the hill is muddy with flowing water.
• Final Mud Pit: You have to get on your hands and knees in this pit to get under the ropes going across the pit about .5m above the mud. The water/mud is about .5m deep.
• 100 meter sprint to finish
• The mud run is mostly running, up and down hills. You need to be able to run a hard 10k

Turns out San Diego has a Mud Run coming up in November 22^nd.  Since I am traveling Mid-October through November 22^nd the timing is a little unfortunate.   Having read the description above, I would not go to this without pre-training which my travel schedule will preclude.  However if anyone plans to enter this year drop me an emailinfo@sixpackatsixty.com.  I will feature the names on my blog and am also happy to post any results you care to share.  Plus links to pics and videos.

Further I would like to throw out an invitation to any female Boomers interested in training and entering the Mud Run next year.  This would be the Buffed Boomer team locally (San Diego) and it would be awesome to have these Buffed Boomer teams across the country.

So here are the steps to proceed:

• Find an event in your location in 2010
• Get a team of like-minded female Boomers to join you.
• Let me know
• I will research and develop a training program  to share with the teams.  This will include:

o   When to start – how long before the event

o   How to train and how often

o   How to progress

I realize there is much more but we need to start somewhere, and I’ll develop more detailed plans once I gauge the interest.