- Major props to my teammate Matt. He kept me going when my legs were ready to quit and made sure I made it over all the walls. He was a total rockstar and the best teammate a friend could ask for.
- HUGE thank you to my parents and Josh for coming out to support me. I can't tell you how much it means knowing that you have people there to cheer you on and waiting for you throughout the course. It makes such a difference.
- And of course, thank you to everyone that has read my journey and sent me messages. This was the most insane thing I've ever done and I was thrilled to share it with all of you.
So, without further ado, here's a photo heavy recap of my Tough Mudder race (in case, you know, you get the urge to do one of these in the future). All the photos were taken by Josh, Amy or are from Tough Mudder's official Facebook page that posted pics of the Twin Cities event:
Starting Line
Matt and ventured down to the starting line, ready to rock and roll. You have to climb over an eight foot wall just to get to the starting line; lovingly called the "point of no return." They give you a pep talk, sing the national anthem and you're off on a half mile run to the first obstacle.
Obstacle: Arctic Enema
Lucky for us, they filled a fresh pool with ice just we got to the front of the line. Even though the temperature outside was close to 90 degrees, they keep these containers at a balmy 40 degrees. Matt and I jumped in rather than sliding in (a definite MUST) and holy hell, it was like my body went into shock. You surface to gasp for air and then go back under the wall to get to the other side. Then we used all our strength to haul ourselves out and start running to the next obstacle.
Obstacle: Underground Tunnels
After running for another half a mile or so we get to the underground tunnels. Dark, full of drops and weird terrain, it was a slog through tons and tons of mud. Luckily for me, I'm really small so I could crawl easily to the other side.
Obstacle: Mud (in general)
Nearly lost my shoes in the mud rivers. They were so sticky and literally sucked the shoes off people. It was so slippery and just trying to keep your footing without twisting an ankle was challenging enough. Loved that here, my mom was shouting "Go to the left!" When I replied "thanks Mom" everyone around me starting laughing and saying "my mom would be telling me the same thing.
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| Matt and me going through all the mud! |
Obstacle: Running
Note to veteran marathoners, this is NOT a running course. This is sheer evil in the form of hills and uneven terrain. The course itself was 11.7 miles; just shy of a half marathon. But he amount of non-stop hills on this course was brutal. Weaving in and out of trees and never equal footing, my hip flexors were on fire by mile 7. Today, that's what hurts the most.
Obstacle: Mud Mile
A course of minor mud hills and pits of water. Sounds easy, but after a few hours of people climbing their way up and down, those things are completely flattened with no footholds or grooves to grip. Granted, it was fun sitting on your ass and sliding down into the pool of muddy water, but then hoisting yourself up another embankment was exhausting.
Obstacle: The Rings/Monkey Bars
Easily my WORST two events. Not like I had massive amounts of upper body strength to begin with, but after being tired, it just wasn't happening. I was awesome and fell into the water on both almost immediately. Better luck next time.
Obstacle: Cargo Net
Not your fifth grade gym class cargo net. No cushy blue mats below and this one is covered in so much mud, it makes it slippery.
Obstacle. More running, more hills
I seriously cannot stress how many freakin' hills were on this course. Each time you'd get to the top of one, another one would be staring you in the face.
Obstacle: Berlin Walls
There were two sets of Berlin Walls. Both between 8 and ten feet tall. The great thing about this event is the amount of teamwork you see. Perfect strangers risking life and limb to help fellow mudders up and over the walls. Stepping on people's thighs, hands and shoulders to get to the other side. I was really nervous since I'm slightly afraid of heights. Both sets of walls, I got lots of help from Matt and other competitors. We arrived a few minutes after some poor guy fell and broke his leg on this obstacle. You sign a waiver that you risk serious injury, even death, on this course.
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| Matt helping me up the Berlin Wall! |
Obstacle: Electric Eel
Call my crazy, but this was one of the most fun obstacles. Face deep in muddy water and crawling like your life depends on it trying to dodge barbed wire and live electrical wires less than four inches above your head. About halfway through, the guy in charge of the electrical voltage said he would turn it off for ten seconds. Trust me, I've never moved faster in my life than those ten seconds.
Obstacle: The Log Run
I know you're all curious to know how my training helped me for this. Well, at least I knew how to position the log on my shoulders. After every other thing I had been through that day, carrying a 25 pound stump a mile up and down hill seemed like a piece of cake.
Obstacle: Everest
Matt and I are on the home stretch, with less than three miles left. We're tired and my legs are shaking. Matt goes up the hill first, missing on his first attempt after hearing his name called out (it was his adorable girlfriend, Amy). But he did it the second time with ease. Me on the other hand, had troubles. My legs could move fast enough up that incline and I fell twice (or maybe three times, I don't even remember) before finally being pulled over the top. It's probably the reason I've got bruises, cuts and gashes all over my legs today.
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| Making my way up Everest |
Obstacle: Twinkle Toes
Worst part of the course and not because of the obstacle. The bottleneck here was ridiculous. We waited close to 25 minutes in line just to climb the ladder and get up there. You're fine for about three minutes and then the adrenaline wears off and you start cramping up. Bad. People are trying to stretch, jump, anything just to stay loose. Oh, and those planks across the pool? They're 2x4's and the skinny side is up, wobbly and full of water and mud. Matt and I both made it across with our superb balancing skills.
Obstacle: Walk The Plank
Overall, to me, this was the worst one. We climbed onto the platform and then you realize that this 20 foot jump into murky water is a LOT farther up than it looked on the ground. You have maybe three seconds before the guy tells you to jump and where. I will never, ever forget my feet leaving the platform and thinking, "Holy shit, when am I going to actually HIT the water?" I remember plunging into complete darkness, and scrambling to get myself to the surface. I have never been so thankful to be gulping and choking for air than when I was swimming to the shore. Only later would I learn that several people got to the top of the platform and climb back down.
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| Jumping off the platform! |
Last Obstacle: Shocker
Of course, being Tough Mudder, the last obstacle before the finish line is the Shocker. 20 yards of live wires and hay bales just to make it harder to run through, trying to dodge 1,000 volt shocks that knock your ass to the ground. Again, I managed to miss every single wire which was probably a good thing because I don't know if I could have gotten back up at that point.
FINISHED!!!
Matt and I ran through the finish line, hand in hand. Final time: roughly three and a half hours to complete the nearly 12 mile course. Not too shabby for our first time. I can honestly say, I've never been so thankful to be done with anything in my life. And I've also never been prouder of myself. I set out to do something crazy before turning 30 and I did it!
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| Tough Mudder 2012 |
