Warrior Dash – Training Progress
Helmets and Beer for all. Credit: Red Frog Events/Warrior Dash
Well, after signing up for the Michigan Warrior Dash about 6 weeks ago, I thought I’d give an update on my progress toward my goal of even being able to finish “3.3 hellish miles.” Most of my work has been with our new treadmill, a Gold’s Gym 480 Trainer from Walmart (click the link to see my review of this treadmill).
The treadmill has 8 pre-set workouts. 1-4 are “weight loss” workouts, 5-8 are “performance” workouts, designed to improve cardio-vascular fitness. Since I was less concerned about weight-loss, I decided to start with #5, the easiest of the performance workouts. ”Easiest” is a relative term, as I could not even complete this one. After 14 minutes (all the workouts are 30 minutes in length) I had to cancel the workout and drop to manual mode, where I finished at a relatively easy pace of 3.4 miles per hour with no incline.
After that, I started working through the weight loss workouts, starting at number 1, which was easy. The weight-loss workouts implement a pair of 1 lb dumbbells, and the treadmill signals you when to pick them up and when to put them down. A few days later I completed #2, also fairly easy. After a few more days (my schedule is to train 3 days per week) I completed workout #3, which was a little challenging but presented no trouble. Finally, I got to #4, which completely kicked my butt, but I was able to finish it. I decided to stick with this one for a while.
After about a month on number 4, I’ve noticed definite improvements. I can finish the workout now without being completely wiped out. The top speed on this workout is 4 mph, so I’ve started adding a few minutes at a medium jog (for me) of 7 mph, and can get through about 1/3 mile at this pace. I’ve also lost nearly 5 lbs, going from 114 to 109 with no other conscientious changes in diet or lifestyle. I’m almost ready to try to tackle workout #5 again, although I’m almost dreading that.
I still can’t climb the rope in the barn straight up, but I can use it to climb into the hay loft “batman” style, by walking up the stall wall. I haven’t been able to climb a rope free-style since high school, but hope to achieve this goal by July. We’ll see.
Why am I doing this? For the beer. And the viking helmet. And the glory. But mostly for the beer.
