Mudathlon Race Re-cap

Today is Tuesday. When I cleaned my ears out with Q-tips this morning, my left ear still had mud in it. The race was Saturday. Needless to say Team Brucky's Mudders got down and dirty!

Did I make my sub 40 time goal? No. Did I leave it all at Neidermann farms? Yes. I feel amazing about my race on Saturday. I was the first female finisher of our heat, and did some serious 'Chicking' along the way.

Our team consisted of 10 people, 5 of them first timers. Once we all managed to find one another, we gathered for a 'before' picture. One normal and of course one with our flexed, mean faces.

We all gathered at the starting line, nice and early so we could get near the front. At five minutes before 10am we were "called to post" as they played derby music over the speakers. The MC was donned in super sexy and super short cut off jean shorts. Oh, did I mention he was a man. He pulled out 3 of the goofiest looking racers from our line to lead us in a stretch. They had us do some jumping jacks and some squats. Then the final guy suggested we do hand stands. That got laugh. We were all wedged in the gate like sardines. Afterwards, the MC led us in a chant. "Mud, Obstacles, Beer" "Mud, Obstacles, Beer" Then, we were off!

I was making great pace and passing people. I heard people complaining about the unevenness of the course and grass. Trailing running and my shoes were paying off. My feet and ankles are conditioned for this. I will try to name the obstacles, but I make no guarantees on the the accuracy of the order. We had to jump over giant bales of hay. Climb up and over a mound of dirt into a giant puddle. There was a camera man at the bottom encouraging us to sprint into it, but my knees prefer walking down giant, steep hills. Then there were some wood steeple chases, and giant cable spindles. There was a smaller spindle you could step on to help get over the big spindles. Well, my foot and brain had a miscommunication and I slammed my shin into it.

Then there were some Monkey bars, a cargo net to go up and over. I find actually "going over" the cargo net is the hardest. Worries of my foot slipping and falling 20 feet always get me. This is where I have to sequester some courage. I can't let fear slow me down. Then there was a second set of hay bales. I missed on my first 2 tries. The male volunteer cradled his hands as an offering to assist me up and over. I shook my head "no" and told him, "I got this," while thinking, "Don't you know who I am? Can you read my shirt? I'm a freakin' Spartan Chick! Aroo!" Third time was a charm. From the starting line, you could see a big white barn that racers were going through. We had no idea what was in store for us there. Speculation included cow hurdles. Unfortunately, it was just a giant hay pyramid we had to climb up and down. Although, the sheep were there to cheer us on! Before finally hitting the woods we had to go about 50 yards through mid-calf water. The bottom was uneven mud. Lots of sprained ankles on this obstacle. In the pictures you'll notice the runners on the right are pretty clean. The racers on the left who are finishing, not so much.

Once in the woods, I was in my element. I hit a line at a ravine descent. Luckily, Jake saw me, and I cut in line. From this point, me, Jake, and Tyler all stuck together. This ravine is also were Liz ripped her pants. In the woods, we went through cold creeks (which felt great on the muscles), climbed many more ravines, tight roped, climbed through tires, high stepped through a web of ropes, and some other stuff I can't remember. Oh, at one point we came out of the woods for a bit, and hopped in potato sacks for about 10 feet. Really random, but kind of fun. The other two major lines were at another steep ravine and the water slide. The water slide was really fun and really fast. Although not as smooth as the ones at water parks. I have some scratches and bruises on my back from it. After some time, we finally emerged from the woods with a gigantic 3 mile marker letting us know we were near the end. All that was left was one final dredge through the 50 yards of muck. The second time you have to do it with more tired legs. I definitely fell a few times. I'm guessing this is where I got all the mud in my ear. The finish line was the most dangerous obstacle. Between the slickness and the excitement of finishing, people were falling left and right, including Gina. The volunteers handed us a a damp paper towel (what were we going to do with that) and a water. We rinsed off in a pond, which required us to walk through muck to get in and out of, then cheered for our teammates crossing the finish line. We also got a good laugh watching the people enter the mud bog with trepidation. It always seemed the careful racers were the first to fall.

Jake, my cousin Tyler, and me

Joe and my cousin Emily aka Mud Mouth

My cousin Karen

Gina falling with a smile

Gina and James

Liz with her ripped pants

My dad rocking his well earned medal

Post Race Pain relievers!

My final time was 58:02. I am very happy with my time. Other notes: My shoes were awesome!!! I love them so much. They were light so running was a breeze. I only had to use the rope once for assistance when climbing up the ravines. They drained well, and mud didn't get stuck in the traction. I cannot recommend enough Brooks Pure Grits. Plus, no pain on the top of my right foot. It was bothering me Friday morning, but felt great throughout the race and afterwards. I finally figured out me pre-race breakfast. I had a sweet potato nuked in the microwave with a little butter and cinnamon. I also had a smoothie with strawberries, kale, flax seed, protein powder, Greek yogurt, wheat germ, and a little water. My tummy felt fine aside from the pre-race jitters and I had energy through out the entire race.

I think the best part was afterwards during the story telling. I had thought of myself as a cheerleader when we were running through the woods telling the boys to "Come on", but Jake said I was like drill sergeant. I'll take that.