Last Friday I jumped on a west bound plane to Denver, Colorado for the adventure of a lifetime! This past Christmas my brother-in-law talked me into running a race called the "Tough Mudder." (www.toughmudder.com) In the months between December and June I ran, lifted weights, slacked off, tried running again, attempted to lift some more weights, slacked off again, and finally decided I better kick it into gear and get back to running.
The Tough Mudder organization donates all of their proceeds to the Wounded Warrior Project which was another awesome reason to sign up for the race. My brother-in-law, Matt, is a Sergeant First Class in the US Army who runs full and half marathons, is training for an ironman, and basically kicks butt at all things athletic. To him, the Tough Mudder was just another "fun race." To me, it was a complete challenge of mental and physical toughness. It was something athletic that required the utmost amounts of dedication, determination, strength, and perseverance.
The race was held at the Beaver Creek Ski Resort in Beaver Creek, Colorado. The Tough Mudder consisted of 12 mountainous miles of trail with 26 military style obstacles. While I was slightly anxious about running a straight 12 miles, I was more nervous about the elevation and how it would affect my asthma and my ability to complete the course. Nerves and anxiety aside, I was thrilled and excited to put my mind and body through such a unique challenge!
The Tough Mudder organization donates all of their proceeds to the Wounded Warrior Project which was another awesome reason to sign up for the race. My brother-in-law, Matt, is a Sergeant First Class in the US Army who runs full and half marathons, is training for an ironman, and basically kicks butt at all things athletic. To him, the Tough Mudder was just another "fun race." To me, it was a complete challenge of mental and physical toughness. It was something athletic that required the utmost amounts of dedication, determination, strength, and perseverance.
The race was held at the Beaver Creek Ski Resort in Beaver Creek, Colorado. The Tough Mudder consisted of 12 mountainous miles of trail with 26 military style obstacles. While I was slightly anxious about running a straight 12 miles, I was more nervous about the elevation and how it would affect my asthma and my ability to complete the course. Nerves and anxiety aside, I was thrilled and excited to put my mind and body through such a unique challenge!
7:00 AM: Race registration consisted of a sharpie marker with your race # printed on your forehead. Good thing, because when the race was over you could no longer read the # on my arm or my leg and I also lost my paper bib while army crawling through an obstacle of mud.
I was the ONLY girl on my team of 4. The other three guys on my team are active military men and huge Greatful Dead fans. We received tons of compliments on our team name, "Dead Ahead." I smiled and said "thanks" to all of the compliments...even though I can't name a single Grateful Dead song!
I was the ONLY girl on my team of 4. The other three guys on my team are active military men and huge Greatful Dead fans. We received tons of compliments on our team name, "Dead Ahead." I smiled and said "thanks" to all of the compliments...even though I can't name a single Grateful Dead song!
8:00 AM: Race Start time. "NO QUIT IN HERE!" You had to climb this wall to even get to the starting line!! Before the race we honored our military with the National Anthem and the Tough Mudder pledge:
As a Tough Mudder I pledge that:
I understand that tough mudder is not a race but a challenge.
I put teamwork and camaraderie before my course time.
I do not whine; Kids whine.
I help my fellow mudders complete the course.
I overcome all fears.
As a Tough Mudder I pledge that:
I understand that tough mudder is not a race but a challenge.
I put teamwork and camaraderie before my course time.
I do not whine; Kids whine.
I help my fellow mudders complete the course.
I overcome all fears.
Every 15-20 minutes a new group of "Tough Mudders" started the race. We were lucky to have an 8 AM Start time! Thousands of people ran this race throughout the weekend!!
My first few steps into the race and I am FULL of nervous energy!!
The running/jogging didn't last long! During the first 3 miles of the race, we climbed 3,000 feet up the mountain. During the climb, I turned to my brother in law and said, "I'm going to eat an entire cow when we're done!" It was exhausting! Oh, and throughout the climb, the snow making machines blasted us with snow and drenched us with water!!
Difficult to read, but here is a layout of our course map & a description of the 26 different obstacles.
My sister attended as a spectator. She took these pictures for us. This is just one of the crazy obstacles we conquered!
We finally made it to the top of the mountain! Note: I am STILL smiling! At this point, we had tackled 6 grueling miles and about 8 obstacles. We climbed through tunnels of dirt, ran unpaved paths through the woods, and swung from gymnastics rings over a freezing lake. I fell from the rings, made a very un-graceful splash into the freezing lake, and swam across the lake to get out. ALL of the boys stayed nice and dry! We also carried logs a 1/4 mile with a teammate, and completely submerged our bodies in a full ICE BATH. We had to swim underneath a wooden wall to get out of the ice bath.
Spectators of the race were allowed to take a chair lift up to the top of the mountain to take photos and cheer on the runners. I was thrilled to see my sister half-way through the race. Just after spotting my sister, military fighter jets flew overhead and the crowd went wild! It was just the motivation that I needed at the half-way mark!
Spectators of the race were allowed to take a chair lift up to the top of the mountain to take photos and cheer on the runners. I was thrilled to see my sister half-way through the race. Just after spotting my sister, military fighter jets flew overhead and the crowd went wild! It was just the motivation that I needed at the half-way mark!
Matt conquering the "Log Bog Jog."
Lots of high fives and encouragement kept me going!!
12 foot military walls! TEAMWORK at it's finest...and me teaching the boys a thing or two about cheerleading! :) (Who said I couldn't be a top girl?)
Charging toward our next obstacle!!
Drenched in mud water....but CHECK OUT THAT VIEW!!
Oh... and I'm getting a little tired!! haha
Oh... and I'm getting a little tired!! haha
Up next was the "Kiss of Mud."
And now we know why it's called the Tough Mudder!
Yes, that is snow and YES, those wires are electrically charged! OUCHIE!!
Matt pulls himself up the quarter pipe like a boss! No help needed. The rest of us needed assistance from our teammates and fellow Tough Mudders!!
Started and finished the race as a TEAM. At this point I'm exhausted, beyond muddy, a little cranky, and very thankful to see the FINISH LINE! Words can not describe my feelings at this point in the challenge!!
4 hours and 30 minutes later.... WE DID IT! We earned some super ugly orange Tough Mudder sweat bands! Headbands are only given out to people who complete the challenge successfully. I wore that ugly headband ALL DAY because I earned it!!
During those 4 hours, we met tons of inspiring "mudders." We laughed, screamed, jogged, & climbed as a team. That's the cool thing about this challenge... it is impossible to complete on your own. You have to use each other to climb the walls and conquer the obstacles. I met people who were not part of a team at all, but ran as an individual using the other "Mudders" for assistance. I witnessed an entire team of women running in memory of a victim of breast cancer. I also met tons of active and retired militaty members. To top it all off, I saw two athletes with prosthetic legs. TALK ABOUT INSPIRING!!! WOW!!!
During those 4 hours, we met tons of inspiring "mudders." We laughed, screamed, jogged, & climbed as a team. That's the cool thing about this challenge... it is impossible to complete on your own. You have to use each other to climb the walls and conquer the obstacles. I met people who were not part of a team at all, but ran as an individual using the other "Mudders" for assistance. I witnessed an entire team of women running in memory of a victim of breast cancer. I also met tons of active and retired militaty members. To top it all off, I saw two athletes with prosthetic legs. TALK ABOUT INSPIRING!!! WOW!!!
During this race one of my teammates shared this quote, "You're better than you think you are and you can do more than you think you can."
To me, that was more than just a quote. It was motivation to keep going, determination to run faster, strength to climb higher, and encouragement to keep up with my military teammates. During the course, a middle aged woman passed me while jogging and the back of her shirt read, "Don't Suck." That was motivation too!!
I was mentally and physically exhausted for the remainder of the weekend. I ate my "cow" after the race and had a big fat bacon cheeseburger. I even took a 3 hour nap the next day!
Mud, blood, sweat and NO FEAR.... This was one of the most rewarding challenges I have ever put myself through. I am fully recovered and looking forward to next year's race!
ARE YOU TOUGH ENOUGH? www.toughmudder.com
To me, that was more than just a quote. It was motivation to keep going, determination to run faster, strength to climb higher, and encouragement to keep up with my military teammates. During the course, a middle aged woman passed me while jogging and the back of her shirt read, "Don't Suck." That was motivation too!!
I was mentally and physically exhausted for the remainder of the weekend. I ate my "cow" after the race and had a big fat bacon cheeseburger. I even took a 3 hour nap the next day!
Mud, blood, sweat and NO FEAR.... This was one of the most rewarding challenges I have ever put myself through. I am fully recovered and looking forward to next year's race!
ARE YOU TOUGH ENOUGH? www.toughmudder.com