Something that has long been on my fitness bucket list is to do some sort of mud/endurance/obstacle race. There are a bunch of options yet I still haven’t done one! In fact, this is on my 30 things to do before 30 list and I turn 30 tomorrow so yea, doesn’t look like it’s going to happen in time. One of the reasons I haven’t signed up for these races is I’ve been nervous that I’d get injured. Throughout each year I’ve been signed up for other big races like triathlons, marathons and this year an Ironman 70.3, so when an obstacle race entered my radar, it quickly fell off because I was scared I would do something stupid and not be able to participate in my other races.
I’ve learned that this isn’t necessarily the case! If you are properly trained and prepared for an obstacle race, you don’t need to be so concerned with random injuries. That begs the question, how does one prepare for an obstacle race? Enter Uplift! The women-only NYC fitness studio is partnering with Mudderella (the first mud run for women, by women) on a 6-week training course to get you ready for Mudderella, a 5-7 mile course with 12-15 obstacles. This season kicks off on May 9th with a race right outside of NYC and goes through November in a variety of locations (like one in Melbourne, sign me up…and fly me there!).
Mudderella and Uplift invited a bunch of fitness bloggers to an AM workout at Athleta to give us a taste of the training. We did an interval workout that took us through a variety of body weight movements in rounds of 60 seconds / 45 seconds / 30 seconds. Moves included squats, lunges, mountain climbers (the WORST) and so on. I felt challenged but not like I was going to die but the next day I was really sore! That’s how I know I had a solid workout. Our instructor, Liz Barnett mentioned how some of the moves would help during an obstacle course, which makes the workout very relevant to the end goal.
After our workout we were treated to Liquiteria juices, delicious baked goods (I’ll pretend these were healthy) and an awesome gift bag with Athleta gear, Mudderella swag and more.
To check out Uplift’s training plan, visit the Mudderella blog or schedule a visit to the Chelsea studio (on my to-do list!).
I can’t make it to the May 9th Mudderella race but I hope to eventually cross obstacle race off my bucket list!
Have you done an obstacle race? Would you do it again?
