Tough Mudder Auckland is only 4 and a half days away, and I am really getting excited now! The only downside to this weekend is that it clashes with my first round Hockey match. But I'm sure the Met 1 boys can handle it without me. I'm not even sure if I would be playing on account of my shoulder anyways as I haven't had many Hockey trainings under my belt since doing it back in February. I've been saying to people that I'm looking at a round 2 return, but I am not 100% sure on that yet either. I would love to get back into it soon as possible, but I am still unable to belt the ball the way I used to without some shoulder pain. It's probably best that I heal my shoulder completely before I make my triumphant return to the field...
Onto Mudder related news. It's probably good that I am heading to New Zealand on Friday with my mate, as I am the most unorganised person ever, as she is the polar opposite. Tickets were booked months ago, accommodation was organised by her (we are staying with a mutual friend of ours) and car hire has been fixed up by her. All I've done is agree with her. Easiest job in the world!
Our flight Across the Ditch is on Friday morning, at the early time of around 7am. Not too happy about having to get to the airport at like 5am, but there is every chance I will sleep through the entire flight, which I suppose makes up for the early wake up call.
Onto Mudder related news. It's probably good that I am heading to New Zealand on Friday with my mate, as I am the most unorganised person ever, as she is the polar opposite. Tickets were booked months ago, accommodation was organised by her (we are staying with a mutual friend of ours) and car hire has been fixed up by her. All I've done is agree with her. Easiest job in the world!
Our flight Across the Ditch is on Friday morning, at the early time of around 7am. Not too happy about having to get to the airport at like 5am, but there is every chance I will sleep through the entire flight, which I suppose makes up for the early wake up call.
The first of the two Mudders this weekend is on Saturday, and we have a start time of 8am, the first wave to leave. I am hoping to finish the course before 11:30, to beat my time of 3 and a half hours at Melbourne Mudder a month ago. Our second run, on Sunday, we are scheduled for the first wave of the day again, an hour later than Saturday, at 9am. I'm looking at finishing at around the 3 and half hour mark again. This would be a good effort on our behalf.
There doesn't seem to be as many people attending Auckland Mudder compared to other Mudders I have attended. There are only 4 waves scheduled for Sunday, every 20 minutes between 9 and 10am. This may be because of New Zealand having less of a population than Australia, but I thought that this being the Kiwi debut that there would be lots of people attempting the Muddiest of all obstacle courses. Time will tell how The City of Sails accepts Tough Mudder into its life.
There doesn't seem to be as many people attending Auckland Mudder compared to other Mudders I have attended. There are only 4 waves scheduled for Sunday, every 20 minutes between 9 and 10am. This may be because of New Zealand having less of a population than Australia, but I thought that this being the Kiwi debut that there would be lots of people attempting the Muddiest of all obstacle courses. Time will tell how The City of Sails accepts Tough Mudder into its life.
I have shaken up my training schedule recently. I have started weight training again for the first time post shoulder injury, and it is good to get back into it! Pull-ups and push-ups are nowhere near as strong as they used to be, but give it time, and I'll be pumping out huge sets again soon. I've added regular 6km runs every second night to my repertoire. Around the block, my driveway to driveway is a touch under 2 km, so I am running 3 laps with my Training Mask (I'll write up a review explaining my training mask after Auckland Mudder, stay tuned). I have been bettering my PB almost every time I go out for the run, which is great! Nothing feels better than smashing your personal best!
I've also come across a few logs in the neighbourhood, which I've claimed as my own. I am looking at incorporating these into my 6km runs after this weekend post Auckland Mudder, to mimic the Hold Your Wood obstacle.
I've also come across a few logs in the neighbourhood, which I've claimed as my own. I am looking at incorporating these into my 6km runs after this weekend post Auckland Mudder, to mimic the Hold Your Wood obstacle.
This photo doesn't give them justice, but are actually 11kg, 21kg and 22kg from left to right. On the Tough Mudder page for the obstacle, it says the logs are around 25lbs, or a tad over 11kg for us Aussies, so these logs will be perfect to train with.
I think I will start with walking the 3 laps around the block (might even have to work up to this) with the 11kg log and Training Mask, and eventually work up to jogging, and then finally work up to the heavier logs. Hold Your Wood isn't the toughest obstacle on course, but I've not been able to run with the logs at any of the 4 Mudders I've done previously, and would love to get to that stage by the next Mudder on the Sunshine Coast mid-August.
I think I will start with walking the 3 laps around the block (might even have to work up to this) with the 11kg log and Training Mask, and eventually work up to jogging, and then finally work up to the heavier logs. Hold Your Wood isn't the toughest obstacle on course, but I've not been able to run with the logs at any of the 4 Mudders I've done previously, and would love to get to that stage by the next Mudder on the Sunshine Coast mid-August.
I'm looking forward to Auckland in 4 days. I will be updating constantly from Friday all through mid next week, so keep your dial locked on the Tough Mudder Tour 2014 blog. Make sure to check out the TMTour2014 Facebook Page and the Official Twitter Account for photos and snippets of the event while on course! No other blog posts while on course! And finally, remember to subscribe to the RSS feed to never miss a blog post.
Tough Mudder Auckland, look out, we're coming!
#TMTour2014
Tough Mudder Auckland, look out, we're coming!
#TMTour2014