Races with obstacle courses, mud, crawling, climbing, even zombies chasing you are all the rage these days.  The latest in this 5km to 10 mile running range made tougher with an obstacle at every mile is the Civilian Military Combine.  See link to their site and non-profit involvement.

This September 10, 2011 at Camelback Mountain, a 7.5 mile race complete with obstacles every mile and a six minute burnout PT in the Pit for a pre-race warm-up.  The Pit is simple 4 exercises and you have a 1:30 seconds to do as many reps as you can at each station with a 30 second rest and rotate between each station.

The weight is not super heavy but it will allow for most levels of fitness to complete the 90 second set:

These exercises are full body and highly anaerobic events.  Train each exercise for 90-120 seconds to get used to the exercise for that time, BUT also adapt to the 30 second recovery period.  Make sure in your workouts that you practice the 30 second rest period for optimal performance gains in the PIT.

To train for the entire event, I highly recommend getting familiar with these four exercises in sequence and following this quick workout with a longer run of 6-7 miles to get a solid foundation of the distance required for this race.  Yes - this race is on a ski slope so prepare by running hills.  Mix these PIT workouts 2-3 times into your weekly workout with 3-4 runs per week totaling the 6-7 mile distances (LSD run and interval speed work).  If you do not currently run that distance, build up to 5-7 miles of running over the next several weeks.  Perhaps by adding a mile per week to your runs for 5-6 weeks will help you depending on your current mileage per week.  Here is a sample running plan.  Arrange to fit your personal schedule and fitness level as needed:

 *note – the above distances assumes you already jog regularly in your workouts – If you are a beginner or currently do no running, the progression curve will be much steeper for you to prepare by September 10,2011.

You then have 1 minute to the start line where you funnel off into a 7 and a half mile steep mountain race.

Here is a sample week of workouts to fit preparing for these events into your schedule.  You will have to get creative with simulating these obstacles, but it can be done with relative effort.

The week of training above is just one of many ways to pre-train for this event.   Creating a strategy for success in the CMC race requires you to practice the events, adapt to the recovery and exertion levels, pace your miles to your level of fitness and abilities, but most importantly –have fun doing it.

Enjoy the workouts and preparation and good luck with the race!