The Filthy 15 Miles
/"Demand more from yourself than anyone else could ever possibly expect"
-Tony Robbins
There is an internet unicorn with the initials SS that I have been following for quite some time. This guy has created and completed some absolutely crazy workouts. He did them in preparation for BUDs training. He has also completed some of the most intense, endurance challenges that I have ever heard of or seen.
I have chipped away at many of the challenges that he put on the internet, but there have been a few that loom large on the horizon that I was unsure that I could complete. After doing Marathons, Tough Mudders, SealFit Kokoro, Goruck Selection and many others, I am now finding great fun in simply finding a challenge and doing it right here in my driveway with my friends.
Yesterday we tackled one that I have been considering for a long time but refrained for any number of reasons that keep all of us from doing difficult things. Finally, the challenge was accepted and completed.
This one was
The Filthy 15 Miles
Run 400 m
10 burpees
1 Muscle Up
x 60 Rounds
This equates to running 15 miles, doing 600 Burpees and doing 60 Muscle Ups.
Mike, PSC, Rusty and Jody showed up and took on this challenge with me. Mike mentioned that he was more nervous than when he was at the starting line of a Marathon, PSC remained confident and I know that I felt like not doing it....about 50 times.
At 7:30 am, we started the clock for 99 minutes (the longest the clock allows) and started a slow pace, hoping that we could keep it through the workout.
We made it through the first 10 rounds in 30 minutes and started losing a few minutes each 10 rounds, but continued to chip away for 3 hours 30 minutes and 12 seconds for me. PSC finished in 3:19:00 and Mike was in at 3:34:15.
The first 30 rounds was a great workout and would fit into a Challenge Saturday perfectly. Getting to 40 was mentally tough, but around round 46, I started to have some demons creep in. Thoughts of not finishing were clearly present but this workout is so beautiful because 1 round is not really difficult so when things got tough...which they did, it was really easy to say, "well, Ill do one more round and see how i feel. The next thing you know, you mark down 50 rounds and start feeling better. After pushing through some very dark places, a second wind is found and I was looking at 5 more rounds. While the muscle ups were getting extremely challenging, I was able to hit every one without failing on the rings.
I have never done 60 muscle ups in any workout or even in a day. This is another great thing about this workout. The way it is laid out makes this amount of work possible. To just try to do this work load straight through would be much more difficult for me.
Many people ask me why we do things like this. I learned at SealFit the importance of always having goals out there that kind of scare you. Always having something to train for. This keeps us sharp, focused and continually putting ourselves in situations that create discomfort. Pushing through creates confidence, mental toughness and durability.
We will continue to set the bar high and challenge ourselves physically, spiritually, and emotionally. I encourage you to do the same, whatever that means to you. Try the Filthy 15 or try a 5 k for the first time. Challenge yourself
