Concrete Playground Does Tough Mudder

Overview

What do you call a gruelling, 20km obstacle course designed by British Special Forces that involves mud, fire, ice and a little bit of electricity? You might be thinking 'suicide', but people are lining up to give it a shot. They say Tough Mudder is the most rewarding fitness challenge on the planet. We'll see about that.

With our partners The Athlete's Foot, we're putting one of our team to the test, giving him five weeks to get in shape and make it to that starting line (and, hopefully, the finish line) on August 18. Follow his ups, downs and diversions here, in his #ididit diary. And for all of you out there looking for some extra motivation to join in? The Athlete's Foot are giving away a pair of running shoes each week to their favourite #ididit photo during the running season.

The Runner: James Frostick, Arts + Culture Editor Brisbane

At this point in my life, 'exercise' isn't a word that features heavily in my daily vernacular. In fact, it hasn't seen regular use since high school. A depressing fact of the lives of most twenty-somethings: fitness regimes and hot bods usually go out the window once the perks of university life arrive. Drinking, eating, sleeping in — it takes its toll, and boy, did it take its toll on me.

I used to love sport; basketball and rowing were my jams. Not so much these days. The reason I volunteered for this is because I realised I was going to waste my twenties by getting fatter and unhealthier each year. When you see yourself getting stretch marks you know it is time to make a change. Although I only have a short time to prepare myself for the daunting challenge of Tough Mudder, the thing I want the most is to foster healthy habits that I can maintain in the future. Sticking to an exercise regime was never something I was good at (trust me, I’ve tried), hopefully with something to work towards it will make things easier. Time will tell!

I also volunteered to get some advice from the guys at The Athlete's Foot, since I have no idea about feet or what running shoes I should be wearing. And the excuse 'my shoes hurt me' probably won't cut it at Tough Mudder.

Monday, July 22, 3.32pm

Monday, July 22, 3.55pm

Thursday, July 25, 12.10pm

Thursday, July 25, 7.12pm

So I've started. It is slow going, as I knew it would be. The biggest hurdle that I have faced (aside from overcoming laziness) is that I don't know what I am doing! I have never done a Tough Mudder before, I have barely exercised before. Treadmills and machine weights probably won't do anything without some instruction.

I went onto the Tough Mudder website to see if they had any tips. They had more than that — they had a test. I had to be honest with myself and avoid lying about my lifestyle; at the end I received a score of 72 — indicating I was 'maybe Mudder'. Meaning, I might finish the course. Ouch.

Thankfully, they have a page dedicated to getting me fit and ready for the event (It's so close already, oh man). Maybe before August 18, I'll be Mudder Certified. Watch this space.

Tuesday, July 30, 9.11pm

Bad news followers! I have hit a major bump in my regime! Over the weekend I went to Splendour in the Grass, which is pretty much Christmas in July as far as I am concerned. I knew that I wouldn’t be hitting up the gym over the weekend, but let's just say that I didn't exactly maintain my healthy habits over the weekend.

Over the four days I did a food tour of Splendour stalls, had my fair share of liquid cheer and did as little exercise as possible. I didn’t even dance! Now I am paying for it. I'm sick. I've got the post-Splendour flu and it has reduced this week to a write off. I am on the mend, but it'll be a few days yet before I am back in the gym to survey the damage.

My own fault, of course; camping and boozing does not help my cause at all. Hopefully I can get back on track and rebuild what I lost.

Tuesday, July 16, 10.40am

Thursday, 10 August, 10.24pm

Saturday, August 18, 5.28pm

Saturday, August 18, 5.50pm