Who fancies 10km of mud and obstacles? Come and join Team Wolef

Zero upper body strength here either and there is a lanky uncoordinated 5'10" to haul up/along as well
However I did spot Wolf onsies in Primark at the w/e :o

I have absolutely no upper body strenght, so i will need to work on this. I wouldnt be able to make strut 3 either Fishandjam.

Well, I had a bash at some pseudo-monkey bars today - the pergola in my garden. I fell off between struts 1 and 2

Of course, all are welcome!

Can I join??

Just marking my place, as this fell off my TIO

Sorry Fishand jam, thought I would report back on my findings as it has made me realsie it is going to need a bit of a lead up to it (for me) training wise!! I'll get some weird looks on the monkey bars in the local park

thenightsky, I can at least swim. I cannot do monkey bars.

The March edition of Runners World (out now) has a good article on Obstacle races. Quite an eye-opener. There is a photo of monkey bars over deep water, so letting go is not an option!

Thanks for the warning!

Hi guys. For those of you, who like me have not done the wolfrun before I did an experimental 5 mile 'mud, sludge and soup' run last weekend through thick mud and up some major inclines, over trees etc.

I was BEYOND tired after 3 miles!!!

I finished it but have definitely noted having had a go in similar conditions that the Wolf run will be tough!! I would estimate it almost felt half to the whole of that distance again compared to usual running tired wise - and I was pretty slow!! :-D

Ive just seen a picture on FB of the lake in the April Wolf Run.

Not sure its a lake ill be swimming full stroke in.

Also keeping options open re swimming though can swim quite well in a warm pool. Would like to do it (said whilst sitting in a warm room 7mths from the event) but on the day...we'll see :)

I don't mind getting wet, but will not be swimming as in lying down in water with both feet off the ground

Would like to have a go at all of it including the swim. I really haven't done much swimming at all in recent years so need to step that up again- think it might help a bit with arm strength too.
Discovered another run in September which I'd love to do its a 16k from Paris to Versailles. Will have to wait until 2015 - I can't believe I'm wishing my life away in races Also kicking myself for not discovering this running malarkey years ago.

if it's not too deep I'd love to be able to swim it, will keep up the swimming once or twice a week anyway but am a bit prone to panic in water so keeping an open mind

Not on your life! I don't mind wading but actually swimming while fully clothed will be beyond me.

Right okay, good advice there. Is anyone going to be doing swimming for the lake thingey? Total excuse here to try all sorts of fun sporty things...

Right, I have asked the lovely chap who does our office bootcamp for some advice on training. He is one of these stupidly fit ex-Army types, who knocks off a quick Iron Man in the same way the rest of us would go for a gentle stroll. He reckons that while upper body work is useful, focusing on core and lower body strength and balance was more important as that's where a lot of the power lies (for things like crawling, running, jumping etc). So squats, squats, more squats, lunges, squats, V-sits, planks, sit-ups, squats, more V-sits, and a few squats. Plus single leg stands, press-ups on an exercise ball, etc. As well as running, obviously! For upper body and arms, as well as planks, tricep dips and press-ups, he told me to get a couple of bags of sugar and just hold them out with the arms alternately to the sides and to the front (elbows not locked but slightly bent) until it hurts too much to continue. Rest for a minute and then repeat, until arms are jelly, and then do it all again the next day. Can be done in front of the TV, apparently. When the sugar starts to feel light, find something heavier

He also (separately and in a different context) advised against negative reps (sorry geek!) because you can end up trying to support more weight than your arms can cope with. His advice was "if you can't pull yourself up, you definitely can't safely lower yourself down."

Thank you for the training plan Emma

I think I will dust off my weights and 30 day shred DVD - I remember it doing wonders with my arms before

What about wolef fleeces to wear after running to warm up?
As for me some advice on chin ups please make sure your bar is secure otherwise it REALLY hurts. Or at least winds you.

Still some advice I have got from my trainer is to start with negative reps. Stand on a chair or step at the chin up position and slow lower down using your strength to check your decent.

Alternatively without a chin up do rows and press-ups with heavy weights and slow low reps. If the weight becomes comfortable it's too light.

Hope everyone else is doing OK.

I'm 5'2" and very very longsighted (had to be a bit different).