How to train for the Worlds Toughest Mudder (and throw on a pair of heels after!)

As the Worlds Toughest Mudder competition approaches, my biggest point of preparation has been my mind. There is only a point that you can take your body before your mental mindset needs to become stronger.

Before getting in to a few tips, I want to share a moment from the weekend that was super exciting for me...I got to meet Juliana Sproles, the very first female Worlds Toughest Mudder Champion! The below picture was taken post race. She was kind enough to share some tips with me for what it takes to last through the Toughest Mudder. She is truly amazing :)

When your body will physically want to give up and you have to be your biggest cheerleader each and every step of the way, your mind better be tough. Toughest Mudder has a rule of no music, etc while running in the 24 hour competition (among many other strict rules) So how am I getting my ready to compete there?

1. Any time I am in a car alone, NO music is playing. You have to have the ability to basically entertain yourself during a repetitive action that can be mind numbing if you allow it. This weekend I traveled to a few states and spent several long hours in the car. I played one CD at one point and that was only because it was a gift from Singer Tiffany Johnson who is donating 100% of her CD sales to soles4souls. It was a great CD!!
2. Even though I am fairly used to sleep deprivation (how else can I get so much done :), I have increased it. When traveling I chose to not stay in hotels 2 of the 3 nights to force myself to keep going and be able to perform while physically and mentally exhausted. After landing back in Omaha, I had to go speak right away to a room full of contractors and am pleased to say my mental acuity was in tact (There was lots of good feedback to verify it really was and I am not purely delusional that the presentation was great!)
3. Eat right! For our family, this is a given whether it is the worlds toughest mudder or just living life. With Heart Disease as the number one killer for women and heart disease running in my husbands family, we just focus on a balanced meal plan and stay consistent. 
4. Train with intention. I don't want to wait for race day and the decide to push my hardest, just like when we ran track in college, we laid it on the line daily.  

A sample workout is as follows:

• 4 mile run 8 mile pace in full wet suit
• 800 yards of lake crawls full submerged
• 30 fences hops
• 30 fence ducks
• 10 50 yard hill runs

This either has you excited to run in a obstacle race someday or terrified. I would suggest you try it at least once, it is such a great way to conquer fears and challenge yourself to see what you are really made of!

A few highlights from last weekends spartan race:

Top 3 finishers make and females Spartan Elite Heat

Our son Charlie ran in the Kids Spartan race

They even had a sign that said Never Give Up!

Have a great weekend and thank you for sharing this journey!
Your Mrs. Great Plains International 2014
Maggi