Initial Baseline

So here's where I'm at today.

• I weigh 175 lbs (probably pretty close to right for my height and frame)
• I can do all of ten pushups, but I have been working out with a trainer for quite a few months now and am finally starting to build upper body strength
• I managed to run 2 miles in 25 minutes on a 1.5% incline. I did this by alternating 1 minute at 3.5 mph and then 1 minute at 6.0 mph.

Since I'm a nerd through and through, I figure I'll repeat that last step each time I work out, eventually adding distance. Ideally I'd like to get down to an 11 or 12 minute mile, but with 90 days to train that seems unlikely. Working on getting up to 8 miles seems smarter.

Here's my heart rate chart from that run. You can see each of the minute intervals quite clearly.

I hope to get to the point where I can do that run and stay entirely in zone 3, that way I'd at least be getting some of my energy from fat and should be able to sustain more of an endurance event. The fact that i'm even getting into Zone 5 is troubling - for a 1 minute interval that's just fine but it's certainly not something I can sustain for 3 hours.

Hi!

What's this all about then?

Well in a moment of drunken stupidity, I was persuaded to sign up for the Colorado Tough Mudder event with a few friends. It's roughly an 8 mile race, at 10,000ft elevation with something of a military assault course thrown in for fun. Each of those three parts is pretty manageable, but together it's a daunting combination.

Anyway I figured I'd blog my progress and see how I get better over time.