Training for mud?

[Raenstoirm]

Did my first run today. It was a zombie obstacle 5k. We finished in a little over 44 minutes. I am a road runner, but I knew this was a trail run, so I did a little "off-roading" on some of my runs the last two weeks. What I did not account for was the fact that the race was 1/3 mud. It really kicked my butt. I walked quite a bit more than I wanted to. How do you train for mud?

 

[Princess on the Run]

I'm glad you had fun!! Mud is one of those things you train for by doing. It's slick and sloshy and sometimes hard to run in so you just move as fast as you can (especially up and down hills). Trail running (especially in the rain) is probably the best practice you'll get other than just doing more mud runs (which is what I recommend ).

 

[FFigawi]

How do you train for mud?

You go hashing! We run in mud at least 2-3 times a month during our weekly runs.

 

[Raenstoirm]

Where do you find the mud? In my community there is a sports field that I was using to get the feel for running on natural surfaces. It holds a baseball diamond, playground and a few soccer/football areas the kids play on. It is a half mile, maybe 3/4 of a mile to due one lap around. I havent checked, but I dont think it gets that muddy. The mud yesterday was at least 6 inches deep a couple times it was nearly up to my knees. I was hoping there was some sort of exercise that I could do to strengthen something to make it easier!

 

[jimandami]

Where do you find the mud? In my community there is a sports field that I was using to get the feel for running on natural surfaces. It holds a baseball diamond, playground and a few soccer/football areas the kids play on. It is a half mile, maybe 3/4 of a mile to due one lap around. I havent checked, but I dont think it gets that muddy. The mud yesterday was at least 6 inches deep a couple times it was nearly up to my knees. I was hoping there was some sort of exercise that I could do to strengthen something to make it easier!

Besides just overall strength training, especially your legs and core, there isn't much you can do to train for deep mud....except to do more mud runs!! One thing that does help if you do a lot of these races is to use really good trail shoes such as Inov-8 so you aren't slipping and sliding all over the place!

 

[Raenstoirm]

Besides just overall strength training, especially your legs and core, there isn't much you can do to train for deep mud....except to do more mud runs!! One thing that does help if you do a lot of these races is to use really good trail shoes such as Inov-8 so you aren't slipping and sliding all over the place!

I am a barefoot runner so all I had on was my 5-fingers. I felt like I was running on ice during the mud parts of the course! But there was a point where we were running in a small river/creek and the fact that I could grip the rocks with my toes made me feel more secure then some of the other runners who I noticed slipping and sliding. Vibram does make a trail shoe, so I may have to invest in a pair if I decide to do more of these. I am sore today (my left quad, right ankle and both of my hips, plus my mid back). I am not sure if I am cut out for the off road obstacle courses!!!

 

[Princess on the Run]

I am a barefoot runner so all I had on was my 5-fingers. I felt like I was running on ice during the mud parts of the course! But there was a point where we were running in a small river/creek and the fact that I could grip the rocks with my toes made me feel more secure then some of the other runners who I noticed slipping and sliding. Vibram does make a trail shoe, so I may have to invest in a pair if I decide to do more of these. I am sore today (my left quad, right ankle and both of my hips, plus my mid back). I am not sure if I am cut out for the off road obstacle courses!!!

I'm a 5Finger girl too. I just did Tough Mudder in my Bikilas and there were definite pros and cons to them. On the up side, I was able to pull them in and out of the quick sand-like mud (picture knee to waste deep thick mud that will suck you down if you don't keep moving) by simply pointing my toes whereas people in standard running shoes were dealing with suction issues and getting stuck. I also had an easier time climbing the hills because my toes would dig right in. Water is easy because you swim barefoot basically and obstacles are great too because you have the dexterty of gorilla feet. On the down side, they have a lot less traction on the slippery flat runs or downhill parts. In prior mud runs with fewer hills, I didn't have a real problem with the slipping but TM had elevations of up to 2K feet so it became pretty slick getting back down from those. I did several of them riding a shoe with the other lg out in front for balance!!

I recently transitioned to Asics gel culumus for street running and I keep my 5Fingers for trail running and shorter runs. I still prefer barefoot running (especially for mud runs) but my IT band is paying for it on the longer street runs.