The Fountain of Youth

[MODU]

Your resident old man is being talked into participating in this years Tough Mudder competition in October.  For those of you unfamiliar with the competition, it's an extreme race that mixes off-road running with obstacle courses.  The one I'm planning to participate in is 10 miles long and has 18 different obstacles to conquer.  There are no guarantees that I'll be able to complete it, but it does sound like fun.  I recommend that you younger folk give it a try while you're still in shape, just for bragging rights. 

[MODU]

It took 6 hours and 8 minutes, but this old man conqured the mountain! 

[MODU]

Carry your wood!

[angus]

Awesome. 

Is that you in the blue shirt and the Curly-from-the-three-stooges hair? 

[phk]

Welcome Back MODU

[MODU]

Awesome. 

Is that you in the blue shirt and the Curly-from-the-three-stooges hair? 

Yep, bald head and all.  Lost almost 10 pounds with all the training for this . . . just to carry it on my shoulders.  HAHAHA

Welcome Back MODU

Hey bud.  Hope all is going well with you.  Still not quite "back" yet.  Work has been hell.  My counterpart has been out for over two months on emergency leave, so I've been covering their work on top of mine.  One of these days (when I get all my irons out of the fire), I'll be back on here like in the old days.  Everything going well on your side of the country?

[Yelnoc]

That is SO MUCH EPIC!.!

One of these days I'll do something like that.   Congratulations on completing it!

[Assistant to the Regional Manager Cathcon]

That is SO MUCH EPIC!.!

One of these days I'll do something like that.   Congratulations on completing it!

[Vasall des Midas]

Your resident old man is being talked into participating in this years Tough Mudder competition in October.  For those of you unfamiliar with the competition, it's an extreme race that mixes off-road running with obstacle courses. 

Oh dear. Poor Torie.

(You, of course, are our former resident old man. But welcome back!)

[Big DaddyTX]

Awesome job!! Glad to see you back around though!

[MODU]

That is SO MUCH EPIC!.!

One of these days I'll do something like that.   Congratulations on completing it!

Thanks!  I say that if you want to do something like this, do it while you're still young, and spend about a good 6 months of moderate training to get in shape.  It's not "strength" that will get you through it, but "endurance." 

Oh dear. Poor Torie.

(You, of course, are our former resident old man. But welcome back!)

HAHAHA . . . yeah, I guess I've fallen to "former" over the past year or two.   

How have you been doing these days?  Hope all is well over there.

Awesome job!! Glad to see you back around though!

Thanks Andrew.  I need to get back into the groove on here.  Been a while since I've annoyed the younger crowd.   

[Yelnoc]

That is SO MUCH EPIC!.!

One of these days I'll do something like that.   Congratulations on completing it!

Thanks!  I say that if you want to do something like this, do it while you're still young, and spend about a good 6 months of moderate training to get in shape.  It's not "strength" that will get you through it, but "endurance."

I'm a Cross Country runner, so I could probably build the endurance fairly quickly.  It's the other events, like the log carrying, that interest me.

[MODU]

That is SO MUCH EPIC!.!

One of these days I'll do something like that.   Congratulations on completing it!

Thanks!  I say that if you want to do something like this, do it while you're still young, and spend about a good 6 months of moderate training to get in shape.  It's not "strength" that will get you through it, but "endurance."

I'm a Cross Country runner, so I could probably build the endurance fairly quickly.  It's the other events, like the log carrying, that interest me.

The Virginia event was on the ski slopes, so there wasn't much running by anyone (especially on the Death March).  However, like the Tampa event in a few weeks, some areas are on relatively flat ground, which might be to your advantage.

The obstacles are "extreme" compared to some things you might come across (like the dunk in the ice and water bath and run through electrical wires), but many are just larger versions of what you might have done as a kid.  We had lots of running and climbing over logs, scaling rocky terrain, and climbing over walls.  We had two sets of walls to tackle, one set being 8-foot and the other 12-foot.  Most people needed help on the latter, which is what the event is all about (which is why they call it an event and not a race).  Check out the site and look at the schedule for 2012 to see what is near you, and look at the obstacles listed.  That will give you an idea of what type of training you need.