Indiana Tough Mudder 2011 Race Report (lots of pictures)

Indiana Tough Mudder 2011 Race Report

I'm in a writey kind of mood this morning so I'm gonna bust out this sidelined runner's race review.  I sadly and with much much much angst did not get to participate. My drop-bag was packed with my race shoes and clothes and I was incredibly tempted to strap up and tough it out.  Pre-race time I had my right shoe (this is my broken air-cast foot) out in my hand ready to lace up. My foot doesn't hurt so long as I don't do any lateral movement I kept thinking to myself. My friends and team mates will help me along when it does and the cold will probably squelch most of the foot pain anyway.  However, the prospect of re-breaking the foot and this time having the bones move out of place, require a surgery I can't afford to fix, and being sidelined even longer helped me put my shoe where it belongs, back in the bag where it stayed for the rest of the day.

Doing some research on the Funky Monkey. The monkey bars are slick from mud and water. The challenger first climbs up at about a 35 degree angle for 25 ft, and then back down at the same angle another 25 ft over a 5 ft trench of icey water. This was one of the most physically demanding obstacles (devilishly placed a mile from the finish) and I would say maybe 30 % of the people made it across. I saw exactly one female make it.  She was smart, tough, and wiley enough to throw her legs up to spider climb across. This was also a tactic some guys used that worked well. I discovered that it is much easier to swing across the wood beams than to use the slick bars. Also, that's me in the walking cast dead center.

So I besieged my sorrows with a drink and the good company of my best friend AJ who was also spectating and cheering the team to finish. Pre-race traffic was well directed and it took us very little time to park. Tough Mudder (henceforth TM) recommended we show up 2 hours before our race start time.  The event was held at the Badlands Offroad Park in Attica, IN. It took me just short of an hour to drive in from the west side of Indianapolis.  TM descended groups of 500 warriors at a time to do battle. First wave left at 9:00 AM and then every 20 minutes thereafter. Team BYOBadass was set to march into battle at 10:00 AM. We arrived at 7:30, parking was easy, they shuttled us to the start area in yellow school busses. Packet pick-up was well orchestrated and a cinch. They had about 10 different lanes that were divided up alphabetically. I had a short adventure in which I thought I left my wallet in my Jeep. Government ID is required to get in as you have to sign a death waiver. Officially I was there as a participant and needed to sign my waiver. So I hopped a school bus back to the parking lot and halfway there realized my wallet was in my sweatshirt pocket the entire time. The super nice bus driver took pity on my broken foot and waived down an approaching bus full of anxious athletes.  I then boarded the inbound bus back to the registration area (which was also the start/finish line and party zone area).

We had almost an hour and a half to kill before team BYOBadass could charge. There was a celebrity keg toss where you can launch empty kegs at the likenesses of Justin Bieber, Harry Potter and the Incredible Hulk. There was plenty of food and swag for sale. There was a ridiculous costume contest. So speaking of the dress for the day, most popular thing to wear was any and all types of compression gear. It won't hold water and will keep in some marginal warmth. Anything cotton is a poor choice as it will weigh you down and provide no real warmth from the cold. The temp wasn't too bad, somewhere in the high 40's for race time, but the wind was fierce and sucked the warmth right out of everyone.  The other most popular choice of clothing, none at all. There were hundreds of people in little more than their underwear, and some literally in only underwear and shoes. Hey, less is more right?

My favorite costume was of course my good friend Brian and his home made daisy dukes, belt buckle, and Uncle Sam tuxedo t-shrt!

So 10 AM finally rolls around and the team has the pre-race butterflies, we trot on over to the start line and watch as the team and the other 494 runners in this wave get pumped up by the TM staff. Hoo-RAH! Take the pre-race pledge:

I understand that Tough Mudder is not a race but a challenge.

I pledge to put team work and camaraderie before my course time.

I do not whine, kids whine.

I help my fellow mudders complete the course.

I overcome all fears.

Que the orange smoke bomb, time to run.

AJ and I managed to hobble around to about half the course. The TM course at Badlands was winding, hilly, rocky, sandy, muddy, and waterlogged.  A good portion of the 12 miles was run through flooded forest swamp. Everything else was a constant up and down with very little flat land. It did serve a benefit of cutting down on the heat sucking wind through the main part of the course (or so I've heard). It was very windy at "Walk the Plank" and all the obstacles in the start/finish area: Funky Monkey, Electroshock Therapy, Mt. Everest, Firewalker, and several mystery surprise obstacles. There were definitely more obstacles on the course than on the official map. I will now show you the course in a series of pictures.

 Course Shots

Berlin Walls and Dolan's Balls (my daisy duke wearing buddy is spread eagle on the back wall here)

 Bekkah was fierce!

Funky Monkey (Some people climbed on top and walked over)

 Barbwires and mud.

 Claustrophobic much? Nice VFFs

 Just brutal! That neon green stuff is ice!

 Chernobyl Jacuzzi. There is a semi trailer full of ice parked next to these all day to make sure it stays nice and cold for everyone.

 Live wires above!

 Props to this dude and group, they carried that kettlebell the whole way, and those backpacks are just 60 lb. weights!

 Still happy and smiling 1/3 of the way through. This is immediately before the jacuzzi =)

This dude is dedicated. That is the TM pledge inked on his back, yes it is real, and he is a TM legend.

Walk the Plank

Swim it out Dolan! Challengers had the option to get out right after walking the plank, or to swim 50 yds. Most people got out. 

And of course, THE MUD!

There were many more obstacles undocumented here. Everyone who completed this has had nothing but great things to say about it. TM people are great people. Everyone extended a helping hand to others. It was very much about team work and camaraderie. Even people who came and ran without a team, felt like they were on a team because of the outreach of everyone else. I would highly recommend it and officially throwing down the gauntlet for anyone to come out and run with me in March. My foot will be stronger than ever and ready to deliver a swift kick to this TM course's ass! 

The Result of a Bad Accident (broken bone pictures included)

The news is in. I resigned myself to going to see an Orthopedic Foot Doctor. In bizzarro world I was hoping he would say "you're fine, just a little sprain", pump my foot full of cortizone and send me on my way to Toughmudder. In the real world I was pretty sure it's a broken bone and praying that I don't hear "we need to operate tomorrow." In a similar incident 7 years ago, only with my wrist, I was told by the first doctor I saw that it was fine. I went and saw a second doctor three weeks later and he said "we need to operate tomorrow." I thought he was kidding until he told me without surgically repairing the bones the fragmented pieces would die and they would have to fuse the joints together later.

Yesterday I made the appointment in desperation from my foot hurting terribly and being swollen up like a red foot shaped balloon.  So of course this morning it was back to normal size and mostly stopped hurting. I was actually mortified that the doc might think I'm crazy.  I nervously showed up to the appointment using my crutches, even though I could have limped without them.  The friendly nurse took my vitals and asked me to describe the incident leading to the injury (you can read the backstory about the stumble that broke my foot here).  I got three x-rays taken and chatted with the x-ray technician about my mustache and Movember. She said her husband is doing it and she hates it. Is that every female's response?

Back to the room, she pops the x-rays up on the computer monitor and tells me the doc will be in shortly. I of course immediately go to the computer to examine all three of the x-rays. Well, nothing is smashed to bits and I can't discern any obvious breaks. Dang, looks like I came in here and spent all this money for nothing. I'm gonna be told to take some ibuprofen and take it easy.

Short while later Dr. Smarnek comes in to see what's up. He does not make a bee line to the x-rays for answers like most docs. Instead, he does a thorough examine of my foot and ankle and has me tell him everything leading up to the injury.  I was concerned it might have been from a stress caused by my new running form and he would tell me not to do it anymore. He had me walk to and from, stand on my tip toes, splay my toes, and stand on one foot; all of which I could do with very little pain!  Funny, because yesterday my knee was buckling from the agony of each step.  How in the world can I stand on my tip toes today? Damn I feel foolish being here.

Then came the bending and pressing on all the bones. I knew the 3rd metatarsal was where it hurt. He jammed his thumb down into the middle of the long bone running down the middle of my forefoot and I was seeing stars! It's like the lights came on. Nothing else on my foot hurt. He had me bend and twist and push and pull in every direction imaginable. Now he decides to take a look at the x-rays. Pulls up the view looking directly down on the top of my foot, zooms in (why didn't I think to zoom in?), and clear as day is this:

So yep, that bone is broken. And he knew it before even looking at the x-ray. No other breaks. Here is the prognosis. Injury should take about 6 weeks to heal. I'm two weeks in already (the bone is showing signs of healing too) so he wants me in a walking boot for the next four. He says it has no signs of looking like a stress injury and is not concerned with my forefoot strike when running. He believes it happened when I tripped and twisted my foot; the result of a bad accident.

Weekly Round-Up 11/11/11

ONE WEEK UNTIL TOUGH MUDDER INDIANA!

So let's begin this round-up with the question I know you all are dying to know the answer to and the main thing on my mind, "How is the foot?"

Well, the foot is not good. As of the last round-up it was doing better and I had some confidence I would be able to muster through 12 miles of mud.  Over the weekend I was even able to do some light running and playing at the park. Had a super fun time playing tag with my kids and a date I brought with us. Foot was a little sore, but held up. And now here it comes, the turn in the story.  Three days later while taking the last step to my desk on my way into work, POP. Hmmm, that didn't feel right. It didn't immediately hurt, but it's was an uncomfortable pop in a place that isn't supposed to pop. So I immediately removed my shoe, sock, and the compression wrap from my forefoot. No signs of swelling, but within minutes the pain was back. Couldn't bear weight on it again. So here I am two days later still limping around and using crutches when I can. The pain has lessened each day, but it's there. It is very centralized around the middle area of my third metatarsal. It scares the heck out of me that it might be a stress fracture.

This is a pretty cool video highlighting most of a Tough Mudder run and all the obstacles.  It's about 35 degrees outside when this one was ran in VA. I expect it to be in that range next Saturday. Note how soaking wet they are the entire time! I particularly love how the Tough Mudder people are nice enough blast everyone in the face with a fire hose right before they get electrically shocked in the last obstacle...BRING IT ON!

What scares me even more and is causing an insane amount anxiety for me, will I be able to do the even I have been training for?  Pretty sure my friends would rather me lean on them for 12 miles than to back out, that's the type they are.  But I will be beyond disappointed if I'm physically unable to do this. The thought of 12 miles doesn't phase me one bit, I know I have prepared myself for that.  But if my foot won't do it, what am I to do? My plan is to keep staying off of it. Hopefully like during the first progression it will take a major turn any day now and the pain will stop. I plan to ride the stationary and hopefully build a little strength in it. Race day I am going to wrap it up and head on out. Hopefully the adrenaline, the cold, and the camaraderie will be enough to help me make it through.

I know I've promised to be a Josh of All on this blog and so far my singular focus has been Tough Mudder and running, but that's the current adventure. There are some other things in the works, some beers to be brewed and brewing, some walls to be climbed and always some kind of drama in the LBC. So for this week I leave you with this:

 The Head and the Heart "Lost in My Mind"

I've been obsessed with this song of late and my new friend (and only blog member here) posted the video the other day on dailymile. 

Vibram Five Finger Komodosport LS (Those Crazy Monkey Shoes)

If you're new to running, and especially minimalist and barefoot running, well you're in for a treat. If you are an avid blog reader like myself, then you have read 100 of these posts. I'm not necessarily aiming to be like every other running blog and review shoes, but I'm passionate about and have spent a crazy amount of time thinking and reading about what goes or doesn't go on my feet. Besides, every well established running blog has some sort of VFF review.

So after some serious blog hopping, google searching, and in store viewing I made my first minimalist shoe purchase a few months ago. It was a close tie between a pair of Merrell Trail Gloves and The Komodosport from Vibram.  And then I discovered there was an LS version (lacing system) of the Vibram shoe I was sold, boooyah! I wanted to purchase locally from my running store, but they aren't conveniently located to me and they don't carry the LS model. I felt bad because I went in and tried on the regular velcro model and then didn't buy them, but whatever, I'm a consumer. If they read this then now they know, shoulda stocked the LS version.  I purchased mine online from REI.  At first I tried to purchase from a smaller company recommended by another blogger. This other unamed company had terrible customer service!  I wanted to purchase the shoes with two different gift cards to cover the total cost. Of course you can't do this over the internet, which I expected from the beginning. No big deal. So I call in, get an incredibly unprofessional greeting along the lines of "Hello, what do you want?" and was told I would have to call back another day to make it happen because the manager wasn't in. Wow, how dumb can a company be? I called in begging to give them money and they said no.  REI on the other hand apparently understands basic business principals. Someone comes to you with money, you do what they ask, they give you money. REI was accomodating and did it with a smile, which is why I highly recommend them now.

Gratuitous Link to REI website and shoes I bought

Hey REI, how about sponsoring my next race? I promise to deck out in REI gear =)

Now on to the shoe! The Komodosport is arguably the beefiest of the VFF product line and there still ain't much there between you and the terrain. It boasts a 4mm thick sole and a 2mm thick removable insole with a zero heel to toe drop. That's right folks, 6mm between your foot and the ground and not an ounce of padding to be found. Yet, I would brag they are the most comfortable shoes I own. Everyone ALWAYS asks, "Doesn't it get annoying to have material between your toes?" No. I was concerned with this before purchasing, but they are so well designed with a seamless interior, that I wear them without socks and forget their is anything on my feet at times. I certainly never even think about the material between my toes; it's a non-thought. I've never had a blister or hot spot on or around any of my toes.

Now the sole of this shoe was designed with the off-roader in mind as well as the cross training crossfit type. So it suites me perfectly. You can see they gave thought to the lateral movements of many cross training activities and designed the grip to support it, unlike previous VFF models. The toes are well protected with the sole extending over the front so that when you inevitable kick a tree root, rock, stump on the trail you might not rip your toe nail off or worse yet break a toe! However, this shouldn't be a concern if you pick your feet up.  I fall from not picking my feet up just about every other time I hit the trails. It gets hard to remember after a grueling hill climb or you're distracted by the gorgeous scenery.

This picture was taken on the highest point of my favorite trail run at Eagle Creek.

The shoes are designed to be worn sockless (or with toe socks if you must). I love wearing them sockless. I much prefer to run without socks on. Probably because I can never find the socks I want, or worse just one of them. The entire hassle is eliminated with a good sockless design. There is one slight drawback, these shoes have some serious stank!  I don't mind it, but EVERY one else does. So long as they stay on my feet, the smell stays locked up.  Thankfully, the dang things are machine washable. I threw them in after putting about 40 sweaty sockless miles in and they held up great.  The stench is mostly gone.  I don't think that kind of piercing foot stank smell can every be entirely eliminated and I make no apologies for it. I'm proud of my own brand of stenches in every variety.

The groundfeel is awesome with these shoes. Go outside right now. Take off your shoes. Run down the driveway and then maybe 50 feet down the street and back. Pay close attention to how the ground feels beneath your feet. Now do the same thing in the grass.  Be mindful of each step as you take it. You probably stepped on a pebble or two, it probably hurt, but all those other steps on the asphalt felt surprisingly pretty good and well, different that what you are used too. Now the grass and the soft damp earth, that just feels awesome. VFF shoes give you as much of that feeling as possible, and surprisingly a lot, but none of the pain when you hit a pebble. You feel the pebble underfoot; you know the pebble is there, but it doesn't hurt. This is gonna sound uber hippy, but it brings running to a whole new level when you feel a connection to the ground you stand on. When on the trails, I feel like an ancient Aztec zipping silently through the forest, stalking my prey. Running has never been so much fun as it is in the babies. They are stealth shoes, if it wasn't for all the fallen leaves right now, no one would ever hear me coming.

Weekly Round-Up 11/04/11

15 DAYS TO TOUGHMUDDER!

So as usual, I may have expected the worst prematurely. The foot is functional! I'm walking on it without a limp today, but still pretty ginger with it. Not ready to run or put any real strain on it just yet. I tend to always expect things to be more difficult than they are. But the perspective at times pays off. If you prepare for the worst case scenario, you can rise to the challenge if it comes to be. Nine out of ten times though, you kick butt because it was no where near as hard as you thought it would be!

I think by late next week I will do a few light runs and some serious crossfit workouts. The week after, which is Toughmudder week, I hope to get in a few running interval workouts take it easy on strength and crossfit and go all out on Saturday!

This will be the final obstacle at Toughmudder Electroshock Therapy!

Be careful, this song is catchy and you won't want to stop listening to it! They are a Scottish quartet of acoustic guitar and singing.

Foray into Barefoot Running (Born to Run)

So you may have picked up on this already, but I've adventured into the world of barefoot running. Well let me be more explicit now and then clarify later in the post, I've become a minimalist runner, which in this community is an important distinction, but for the majority of shod runners we're all considered the same.  In actuality I would say that mostly we are all in the same brother/sister hood community of running; the minimalists and barefooters that is.  Most barefooters utilize some minimalist shoes, and many minimalists enjoy barefoot running and certainly the philosophy and style of the purist barefooters.

Now wait a minute, you're throwing all kinds of terms out there you say. Well let me define a few basics, after all I did promise some clarification later =)

Barefoot Runner or Barefooter - person who runs barefoot / sans shoes / no zapatos / soles of feet touch the Earth

Minimalist Runner - person who runs with a barefoot style but chooses to wear a typically non padded shoe offering "minimal" protection to the foot. Most minimal shoes maintain a zero heel drop, meaning there is not a raised heel on the shoe. Traditional running shoes have an 18 mm difference between the heel and the forefoot padding with the heal being raised. What actually qualifies as a minimilist shoe is also a hotly debated topic among the community which is a lengthy post all of it's own.

Barefoot Running Style - a form of running characterized by a forefoot or midfoot strike (in opposition to the traditional heel strike running style), a quick and light running cadence (foot strikes per minute typically 180 for barefooter and closer to 140 for a traditional heel strike runner), a shortened stride such that the runner's foot lands beneath the body and not ahead, and finally a slight forward lean while running (think of falling forward and your next step keeps you from faceplanting and momentum going straight ahead). Now I don't expect anyone to read this brief description and then be able to go out and do it.  Just basic knowledge today my friends.

Thanks be to The Running Nut for this image =)

Shod Runner - Person who runs in normal running shoes

Vibram Five Fingers (VFF) - A brand of minimilist style running shoes that look like crazy monkey shoes because of the individualized toe pockets. The shoes fit like a glove for the feet, come in different styles for a variety of terrain and purposes, but all are intended to provide the user with a better "ground feel" or an as close to possible barefoot experience while still offering the individual protection from anything that might fall beneath the foot. These shoes were made highly popular by the National Bestseller book Born to Run by the legendary Christopher McDougall.

Born to Run - Yep, just read it and enjoy. Even if you have no desire to run; it's an adventure biography of sorts and a light fun read that just might change the way you think about running. It did for me.

So there is your intro. You will find some barefoot purists who will run in shoes under no circumstance and look down on us minimilist runners who do. You will find some minimilist runners that will never go barefoot. But what you will find is that the vast majority of the community, whom is super friendly and excited to share, does some form of both. It's simply practical to have some sort of foot protection when urban running around broken glass, pebbles and the like.  But if you honestly look where you're going, and you better, it isn't nearly so bad as one might think and lots of people successfully do it barefoot. Running rough trails and limestone paths is another tricky barefoot feat, and again there are people who do it and do it well. Me, I prefer some limited protection to my feet but have aspirations to be able to run some shorter races completely barefoot. So for now, I'm a minimilist shoe runner that embraces the barefoot philisophy. I don't think I will ever make the transition to being a purist barefoot runner (though if I did I would never look down on the minimilist), because it's not practical for me. It takes an incredible amount of time, patience, and dedication to run long distances barefoot.

I in no way look down on shod runners and am/will be feet down outrun, outrained, less injured than loads of traditional heel striking shoe wearers. There are similar running styles to barefoot that I consider to be pretty much the same. The main one I have run into, and took a great class on, is called Good Form Running. I essentially see it being the same as barefoot running style while wearing traditional padded running trainers. It promotes the same midfoot strike and cadence running as barefooting.  I in fact made the transition to barefoot style by first embracing Good Running Form.  From time to time I lace up my old Asics when I feel my weary feet may need a break. It can take a while to build up all those muscles in your feet that traditional shoes keep us from using and strengthening. Be sure to check the link to my friend Adam's Good Form Running Class at the end of this post,  it's FREE to take!!!!

It is widely thought that barefoot running (and similar styles) greatly reduce the injury rate for runners. My personal experience is that I have completely eliminated chronic shin splints that have plagued me as a runner. There is a lack of empirical study and time to support this, but opposingly, there is zero evidence that running shoes cut down on injury rates. Shoe companies have been challenged and cannot produce the results. If running shoes are so high tech, why do so many people both professional and a mature get so many injuries? Shouldn't we have cut that down to nearly zero? The fact remains that runners get running injuries no matter how they run. Think about how long man has been running and when Nike produced the first running shoe. Yeah, so sometime from the beggining of mankind until 1968 when Nike founder Phillip Knight first began selling shoes out of the back of his car.

I own two pairs of minimilist shoes as can be seen below. Look for reviews of each soon. I love them both, but they are very different shoes.

Vibram Five Fingers Komodsport LS

Merrell Trail Glove

Good Running Form Website:

You can sign up for the Runner's Forum class here through their homepage.  I believe the class is offered most Tuesday nights. It's a short information session followed by Adam filming each of the attendees running and then playing it back in super slow mo, one shod and once barefoot =) I plan on going back for another class just so I can see my progression. There is no more informative feedback than seeing your form in slow motion! It's enlightening and productive.