One Tough Mudder, by Doug Grady

One Tough Mudder, by Doug Grady

On Saturday, March 12th I completed my first Tough Mudder in Cedartown, GA. Modeled after British Special Forces training, it was a grueling course with 18 obstacles in the North Georgia mountains. When I first wrote about Tough Mudder I was convinced that the hardest part about completing this run would be the training (read Tough Mudder Goal Setting). I was wrong. My first marathon was tough (small "t"). This run was TOUGH- way tougher than my training. I guess there's a reason they don't call it the somewhat difficult mudder. I can only imagine how tough it would have been if I did not train.

My 18 week regimen prior to Mudder included strength, core, speed, endurance and flexibility training. It did not include mudpits, ice cold lakes, rocks in my shoes, crawling under barbed wire or electroshock therapy (not kidding- that was one of the obstacles). The 14+ mile obstacle course with the crawling, slipping, falling, climbing and swimming took me three and a half hours to complete. It wasn't pretty, it wasn't pleasant, and I am thrilled I did it.

Several people, particularly those who saw me limping on Sunday asked me why I did it. Here's why- when I am at my best as a man I am consistently challenging myself with intense physical exercise. Training for and completing the Tough Mudder has created breakthroughs in my life mentally, physically, emotionally, professionally and spiritually. This is the essence of The Ripple Effect, the title of my forthcoming book.

No matter where you are there is always another level. Training gets you there. Training for something tough and completing it gets you there quicker. I am currently in the process of choosing my next physical challenge, considering training adjustments and anticipating the ripples that will follow.

Life can be tough. Train tough. Get tough. Complete tough. Repeat.

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