Thats right ladies and gents, I finished the tough mudder - Completely unplanned on 1(ONE) day's notice!
okay - okay... I did skip a lot of the obstacles - no jumping off of platforms into muddy water, no ice tub swimming (I couldn't risk getting
injured/sick before my 1/2 marathon) but any of you that have been on the
course know there are some things that are just unavoidable; the cliff
hanger, climbing in and out of muddy trenches, sliding down, climbing
over and crawling under various hills, branches and objects. All in all it was crazy fun and one of the best experiences I've had. Just being in an environment where everyone struggling to some extent, tired, or in need of a helping hand and actually having all of the support you need is a wonderful feeling.
I was a little nervous going into this - not about the obstacles but
rather the mileage... October 5th was supposed to be a nice 7 mile run
for me that day... how I found myself trucking 11+ was a little beyond
me... I wasnt sure how I'd do, if my legs would just give out or how
much I'd run... I kept thinking back to the 9 mile hike I went on back
in september and how incredibly sore my hips and knees were after
that... I was really expecting a bit of a struggle...and I found it
around mile 7... We had just entered the portion of the course where
there was maybe 3 miles without obstacles... it wrapped around a little
pond through the woods and was really a decent view (there were so many
great views of Mt. Rainier that day!!!) but the ground was at a slant
and it really started to take a toll on my right ankle. I could feel my
legs getting tired and I realized I was still only a little past the
half way point... Sam tried to give me a little encouragement (after all
he was the only reason I ended up here) and I just wasnt having it. We
hammered out the next mile and it gave me time to regroup and focus on
finishing. I cant tell you how excited I was to get to that mile 8 sign.
it was also around that point that i ran into a friend from my freshman
year of high school - who'da thought?! it was a great push to have an
old friend running with me. We split up a little closer to the end after
I stopped to ditch my socks which had given me a nasty blister on the
arch of my foot. That blister made the last mile and a half a painful
walk/jog but when I rounded the last corner to the final obstacle -
ELECTROSHOCK therapy- I couldnt help but run. I'll be honest... I spent
the entire 4 hours debating whether or not I'd actually run through the
live wires at the end but coming around that corner, high-fiving the
line of kids scattered down the finish line, all the cheering and the
finisher headband just beyond the hanging wires, there was no doubt... I
was going for it. I made it maybe 10 feet in before the wires dropped
me... and I mean HARD. I didn't know what had hit me really... well I
did - but it definitely wasnt what I was expecting. I laid there stunned
momentarily thinking "crap- now i have to get back up and do this
again" but almost parallel with that thought I was up and going and
before I knew it I was through - and SO disoriented... There was
probably a full 5 seconds where I just stood on the other side of the
obstacle and looked at the finish line- the volunteers were like "come
on! you did it!" and i just looked around like "wait this is the end!?
I'm done?!" I could have cried... 6 months ago this would have seemed
impossible to me.... 6 months ago I'd have told you "no way, I cant"...
but I guess I don't live with that mentality anymore... "Lets do it!"
