It started Friday afternoon where because of a few issues I had to rent a Hertz car to head up to Mt Snow. They were very kind and I got to take an Accord up for very cheap since it was a body damage & they couldn't rent it. Even with the delay I still got to the inn at about 4. Got a really great chicken pasta meal for dinner & hit the hay early in prep for the race Saturday. We ended up getting a noon start time, which for me is not ideal because it allows time for my mind to wander and second guess everything. Had I known what time we were starting before I booked the place, I would've never stood Friday. The drive up would have killed time and kept my mind off the race, and when I got there it would be go time. Instead I ate breakfast at 7:30 and laid around the room until I finally couldn't deal anymore and headed to the mountain at about 10. I met the rest of the team, and as my nerves would have it I lost my bib within 5 minutes. I was able to locate it a few minutes later, but not off to a great start. We got to the warm up area and got the "Tough Mudder Speech" before heading up the mountain. Eighteen obstacles were before us- and if I could do it all over or have advice for others, it's focus on leg work and train on hills! They were more brutal than any obstacle that was before us. The very last hill was pretty much vertical and almost took me out. I am so grateful for the leg work we were given to do at bodyco, and though I definitely could have used more, would never have completed the race otherwise.
At the start of the race we all agreed we would run our own race, but do the obstacles together for the most part.
A little breakdown of the obstacles...
1) Kiss of Mud- Basically a barbed wire crawl through the mud. Not difficult, just dirty. Tip- learn to stay low and army crawl. Hands and knees won't do it for most.
2) Quagmire- More mud. This time you had to go down a slope into mud about thigh high and sticky. Not terribly difficult, but definitely something that you can wipe out on if you loose footing...like me. I face planted the mud and nailed my knee on a rock that was in the mud. My blue knee looks worse than it actually felt. I jumped back up and was fine, aside for the sand in my contacts. Tip- go slow through it.
3) Liberator- Basically moving pegs up a 12-15 foot wall as you climb. This got the best of me at first, but some nice dude gave me lift and I used one of my hand pegs for my foot and pulled myself over. Tip- Focus on upper body strength for this one!
4) Bale Bonds- Huge hay bails you had to climb/ jump over. This one was pretty fun. You don't need a lot of prep for it. Just go at it and climb.
5) Beached Whale- A 15ish foot blow up tube that you have to climb up and over. This was the first obstacle that I really had to rely on my team for. There is no way you can really run and jump up. The two guys on our team got up there first, then reached their hands and pulled the rest of us up. I got a running start and though missed the first time, got a little more speed and nailed their hand on the second. Tip- practice run and jumps. Maybe box jumps could be helpful here as well. Also trust your team. Going into my first run I had "he will never be able to lift my ass" in my head and didn't go at it with full power. If I wanted to get over it I had to trust my team and go all in. It was a great set up to our next obstacle...
6) Everest- Basically a half pipe sort of thing with a rounded top. Again, get a running start and do your best to reach for those above you. This time all three guys headed up. There was a rope that they could drop down some, which was really helpful because if you couldn't run straight up, you could grab the rope and pull up enough for someone to grab any possible part of your body and you both pull up together. Again, definitely not something you can conquer alone.
7) Birth Canal- A small enclosed wood frame with a tarp above you and water pushing you down. Tip- stay as far to the side as you can and bear crawl through. Again, hands and knees are going to make it harder.
8) Funky Monkey- Just as it sounds. Monkey bars above the water that then transition to a straight moving bar. It's all upper body strength so if you're lacking in that department like me, just be ready to swim. It took me a second because I wanted to get a few bars in so I wouldn't smack my head on the ledge, finally just dove forward and in.
9) Prairie Dog- A long black tube that you push yourself through ending up in more mud. I kind of liked this one. If you're scared of small spaces I can see how it might freak someone out, but it was pretty fun.
10) Skid Marked- An inverted wall about 8 feet high. Tip- utilize the people above the wall and below with you. A nice guy gave me a lift and I pulled myself around the side, but Jesse was at the top ready to help pull me over if needed.
11) Devil's Beard- A huge heavy cargo net (maybe 50 feet) that you have to get through. We rolled the entire way, which was ok until I had to stand up at the end and thought I was going to fall over. Had to sit and collect my head again before continuing. A group behind us when I got up were all walking under it together in line, which seemed to work well.
12) Warrior Carry- Carry your partner half of a distance (maybe 100 yards) then switch. Andy carried me half, then we walked the last half. I was going to give it a go and carry him but he wouldn't let me.
13) Balls Out- You have to get yourself across an inverted wall using a series of ropes to swing from one to the other. This was one of two obstacles that I failed. I got two across and couldn't grab on to the third. Got back up and fell back off on the 4th. Tip- people seemed to have a good rhythm and moved fast through it. I think if you hold on and stay in one place too long (as I did) you will wear down your hands quick. Grip strength is very important on this one.
14) Arctic Enema- Slide into a dumpster of ice, jump over a wall halfway into the dumpster then back in the water and out the other side. I was told by many that this was the worst obstacle. I am always cold, so my friends were sure this would kill me more than anything else on the course. I actually found it to not be that bad. I had just failed the previous obstacle, so I think I was in redemption mode, but I would certainly do this one again before a few others. Tip- move fast. That's about it.
15) Walk the Plank- Jumped off a 15 foot plank into 12 feet of water, then swim out the other side. This was one of two obstacles I didn't do. I was feeling a little below average and didn't trust my ability to swim up from 12ft deep water.
16) Cry Baby- Crawl through a chamber filled with some sort of vapor rub tear gas. This was the second obstacle I didn't do. I would have certainly done it, had I got gashed my elbow at some point a little bit before and had to go to the medical station to get patched up. They took forever to wash and bandage it and when I was done, my team was already waiting for me on the other side.
17) Berlin Walls- Climb up and over a 12 foot wall. This was the second obstacle I failed. There is no groove in the wall to get a lift on and I couldn't get good footing on the side support to get myself high enough to reach Jesse. I gave it a few tries, but at that point we were so close to being done that I didn't want to hold anyone up.
18) Electroshock Therapy- Run about 50 feet through live wires. The rest of the team got to bypass this obstacle since they are legionaries (have done a mudder before) and complete something else, so I was flying solo on this one. Again, this was the other one people told me I was crazy for doing and I didn't think it was half bad. I got hit once on the top of my head, but it hit my headband so I barely felt it. I did see a few people get knocked down though.
For the above reason, I ended up going through the finish line by myself. I was so jacked up about finishing that I was ready to jump into the arms of anyone, whether stranger or teammate. I however did neither, and instead squatted on the side of the finish line, reflected and shed a tear while I waited for my team. I was a little aggravated that the wall got the best of me, but was over it in about a minute considering all the positives that came out of the day. I never expected to do as well as I did, especially by myself on many things.
We spent Saturday night celebrating with some good dinner, a little dancing, and hot tub action, which included my leg giving out on me as I was getting in and I landing on top of Rick. #awkward
I rode back early Sunday solo, but with some new found confidence in myself. I've already been asked if I would ever do another one & the answer is, with the right people (including those I teamed up with this weekend), yes! It was a difficult course, but definitely something I encourage everyone to try once. Go at your own pace, and get out there and put in the work. In the end, there is no time on your orange headband, so earn it however you choose!
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