The Tough Mudder: Mesa Proving Grounds, Phoenix Arizona. 12.5 miles of running and 29 army training type obstacles to struggle through. Sound like fun? Sound hard? It was, and it was!
Our team: Me, Katie, Christine, Nate, Brad, and Tandi. A few I know from the gym, one has been a family friend since she was born (and has a little crazy in her like me), and one I didn't even know until the day before. They were all fantastic- great athletic ability, great attitudes.
Game time was a little crazy- due to a ton of traffic and full bladders, we barely made it to the starting line on time (thank goodness for large car doors, well parked cars, and kleenex). And once we got there, they made us climb over a wall to get to the starting line:
Aw... look how pretty and clean we were!
Of course, the first obstacle threw us into a pit of mud. We had to climb underneath barbed wire in a mud pit. One thing was for sure- they kept us wet and dirty pretty much the whole time. If we went into the drink and felt like we were clean, the next obstacle was surely going to be full of mud or hay, or both. Obstacle three, Arctic Enema, was my least fav. They dumped a tractor load of ice into the boxed water every 15 minutes or so. Our mission was to jump in, walk across, swim under, walk some more, then get out without freezing to death. When I hit the water, I couldn't breathe, and literally thought I might die. (It wasn't the only time during the race I thought I might die!) Once I was out, my muscles were not happy with me, and it took me a good 5 minutes of running to warm them back up. In this next pic, Brad is in back of me. Doesn't he look like he's in pain?
They had signs along the way to keep us motivated:
Then, of course, there was the typical climbing and jumping over crashed cars through smoke with some tires inbetween. You know, everyday stuff:
The terrain was perfect for this kind of a race. There were plenty of broken up roads we had to climb over and plenty of sticker bushes to keep us on our toes:
Twinkle Toes was fun. I avoided the water, thanks probably to many a day this past summer spent slacklining, but it was sure fun to watch people make their way across. There's video of more of this obstacle later in this superlong post!
My long legs came in handy at this point: They had us jump over a whole bunch of ravines- probably 50 or so in a row:
Crawing through Boa Constrictor wasn't as scary as I thought it wouid be. I was kind of hoping there would be more water, but we could keep our faces out of the muddy water the whole time through:
Such a good team shot!
We were told beforehand we'd have to carry a heavy log up a hill and back down again. The proving grounds were pretty flat, so instead, they had us carry a block of wood for about a mile. Not very exciting, and not very difficult.
Then it was over and under logs and around barbed wire.
And then there was the Berlin Walls. There were three sets of walls in the race, and they progressively got taller as we went. Brad was amazing- he ran right up the wall and helped everyone else over! By the time the third set came up, I was pretty tired which made it harder to get over. Don't miss Nate's face in this next pic:
This great wall of mud was so slippery and tall that I had to use my fingers to anchor myself so I wouldn't fall back down! It was a really fun obstacle!
Jumping off the 15 foot platform wasn't the hard part. Swimming through the freezing cold 12 feet deep water was! We decided to plug our noses to avoid muddy boogers, which made for a pretty good pic!
Here's the opposite angle! We had awesome supporters taking photo and video throughout the race! And for the record- this is the other obstacle I thought I might die on. Once again- lack of oxygen to the lungs due to freezing cold water while trying to exert energy to swim and trying not to panic- it was scary!
I loved the placement of this sign... we'd gone about 12 miles at this point!
Everest was the obstacle I was most afraid of going into the race. A muddy quarter pipe. Ugh. I really thought I wasn't going to make it! Here's Katie giving it a go:
Yes, I conquered Everest... and on my first try! There is video of it later...The Funky Monkey was disappointing. I really think I could have made it across, but by the time we got there my fingers were completely frozen- I had no grip! I basically jumped and reached for the farthest rung possible, missed, and then fell. I wish they would have put this one closer to the starting line.
And the final obstacle... Electroshock Therapy, was a bit disappointing as well. They did it through a watery mud pit, whereas in previous races it was done running through thick mud or hay. We had an easy way out- get into the water and crawl under the 10,000 volts of electricity. It was crazy- we could hear it snapping through the wires and I could feel my hair stand. Watch the video at the end for some good wipeouts.
Scott, one of our hosts, ran with some family and friends. Their team name was "Bruised Cattle" and we stayed together for about half of the race. They helped us quite a bit throughout the race. A good bunch of guys for sure:
I couldn't resist posting this picture of Scott! This is after he fell face first in the watery mud pit at the last obstacle! He looks like Jabba the Hut! Don't hate me, Scott :)
And here I am- Tough Mudder champion! At least it felt that way :)
Suzanne, our other gracious host, made these awesome Tough Mudder cookies! She's such a pro!
And for your enjoyment... here I am during Everest. You can tell how nervous I am while I wait there. Finally, a guy up top pointed to me and told me to go for it. I pointed at myself and asked, "Me??" (Really, in my head, I was thinking, "NOOOOO!")
And the final obstacle... Electroshock Therapy, was a bit disappointing as well. They did it through a watery mud pit, whereas in previous races it was done running through thick mud or hay. We had an easy way out- get into the water and crawl under the 10,000 volts of electricity. It was crazy- we could hear it snapping through the wires and I could feel my hair stand. Watch the video at the end for some good wipeouts.
Scott, one of our hosts, ran with some family and friends. Their team name was "Bruised Cattle" and we stayed together for about half of the race. They helped us quite a bit throughout the race. A good bunch of guys for sure:
I couldn't resist posting this picture of Scott! This is after he fell face first in the watery mud pit at the last obstacle! He looks like Jabba the Hut! Don't hate me, Scott :)
And here I am- Tough Mudder champion! At least it felt that way :)
Suzanne, our other gracious host, made these awesome Tough Mudder cookies! She's such a pro!
And for your enjoyment... here I am during Everest. You can tell how nervous I am while I wait there. Finally, a guy up top pointed to me and told me to go for it. I pointed at myself and asked, "Me??" (Really, in my head, I was thinking, "NOOOOO!")
And here's a group of videos- they start with our team on Twinkle Toes, then some random footage of Everest (so you can get a feel of how scary it was), and end with some great wipeouts from people (including Scott) getting shocked on Electroshock Therapy. Enjoy!
The cat ears, by the way, were a hit. I got so many comments on them! And by some miracle, they made it through the entire race!
