TM Debrief #1 - Equipment

We went into this Tough Mudder quite unsure about what we'd need in terms of clothing, equipment, and so on - We'd read other peoples' experiences but it was always a bit of a guess as to how well it would work for us.  

 

So how did it all go? We were 'equipped' properly in terms of 'equipment'? (I'll take about training in the next post)

 

 

Shoes - No complaints at all. The Asics that I'd bought worked just fine - But then again, so did everybody elses in our team. In fact, a lot of our team wore their older, crappier shoes and never had any real problem. You can definitely overthink what you wear on your feet I reckon.  Having said that the Gel Trabucos were a good shoe - They drained well (not that you noticed your wet, muddy feet after a few kms of it), stayed on, and gave as much grip as you could expect (which for much of the course was not much!) The best part was that they cleaned up really well after the race and are now as good as new.

 

• Recommendation: Wear what's comfortable, but most importantly find something strong - I saw too many shoes fall apart or bits of shoes left around the course. If you're going to wear an old pair make sure they're not already knackered.

 

Clothes - My hat goes off to those who did the race in costume - I can't imagine how that full-sized teletubbies costume must have felt by the end! As for our gear, generally it was also fairly ok. Quick-dry gear is essential - Not that it ever 'dries', but it doesn't weigh you down as much. I also wore 'normal' shorts over the top of my compression shorts, mainly for the pockets to carry stuff - If I didn't need to carry stuff (ventolin, gel packs) I'd have gladly gone full compression gear, and the girls/guys in full body compression suits certainly looked the most comfortable. The only thing I'd have changed was wear a slightly tighter shirt next time to avoid it getting tangled or just getting droopy and dangling.  

 

• Recommendation: Compression gear all the way. If you wear other shorts for cargo storage try and get zippered pockets to keep your gear in place (I lost some stuff in the drop from Walk the Plank)

Hydration Pack - We seriously considered this, as it came semi-recommended by TM in their registration stuff, but decided against it in the end. We're so glad we did. There were plenty of water stations (each supplied by mains water so no risk of running out) and there were just too many obstacles where it would be in the way: Devil's Beard, Kiss of Mud, Boa Constrictor, Electric Eel.... Plus I saw too many mud-encrusted mouthpieces to consider that a viable option. 

 

• Recommendation: Forget about it, unless you're in the hottest of conditions or know water is limited.

Gloves - The Mad Grip gloves were perfect. Saw a few other people on the field with them, and with the fingers cut off they worked so well that I soon forgot they were there. The rest of our team wore more conventional gym/weights gloves and didn't complain about them either, one of the guys even knocking off Funky Monkey in his.  

 

• Recommendation: Whatever you like really... It doesn't seem to make a huge amount of difference.

Food - I think we also tweaked this one really well. After carbo-loading the days up to the race we eased back later on Saturday and then the day's nutrition consisted of:

- Breakfast (4 hours before) - 4 Weet-bix and milk
- 1 hour before - Up 'n Go or similar liquid 'breakfast' thing.
- 30 minutes before - One GU gel pack.
- During the race - 2 or 3 GU packs at regular intervals.

To be honest, I was never lacking energy or feeling hungry. Some others in our team had glucose tablets and similar things which helped, but the GU's were pretty perfect (and looking at the course litter, pretty popular). The only catch is they got filthy and you kind of need a bit of water to follow them, so best to consume just before the drink stations.

• Recommendation: Be serious about your nutrition. Carbo-load sensible, eat well (but don't go nuts) on race day, and gel packs work well.