This run was a victory in many ways (1) Because it was over Mother’s Day weekend, I got Chris and the kids to come with me. Score! (2) It was my first official Mud Run. It was insanely challenging and I finished! And (3) I was recovering from a sprained ankle and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to belly up to the Start Line until I ….. Bellied up to the Start Line. I’d rested all week. It was brutal but my ankle felt fine for this race.
This is me with the kids before the start of the race. This is bliss for me. I do one organized race a month and I rarely have people with me.
After check-in, we were all branded like cattle. They corralled us at the start (1) Competitive Males (2) Males (3) Competitive Females and (4) Females, children, walkers, those with recent hip and/or knee replacements and what not.
I was convinced that I should be in the 4th corral because I had never done this or any other Mud Run before, but I was told at the start that if I fit enough to run the whole course, as opposed to those who chose to walk it, I could consider myself a Competitive Female. Fair enough. So we were off!
I was thrilled to find that I was equal to the classification of "Competitive Female". While I was hardly the first to cross the Finish Line, I remained with my pace group! I spent a lot of time climbing dirt hills and trudging through muddy water. This is a notoriously challenging course and I was honored to finish it.
Here I am taking a moment to wave to the camera. As you can see, there were several able-bodied individuals who were bested by the mud. We were all just trudging through it. There were times when I got passed by people, but never at a sprint. The mud was heavy and cumbersome.
This is Jayda watching me climb out of one of the many tubes.
By the time I reached the canal, my shoes were so full of mud I could barely lift my feet, but my kids were running along ‘side m me cheering me on. See Jordan on the left, running along the canal? You gotta love kids!
Jordan wanted to cross the Finish Line with me. This has got to be one of the best feelings in the world.
Kids are great, really. Here they are at the end asking, “Did you win, Mommy?!” I told ‘em I’d won before I started.
Can I get a “HELL YEAH!!!”
Then Chris took me over to Tri-Running and bought me a new pair of running shoes. Brooks GTS 11. Perfect for my flat feet and overpronation. Can’t wait to start putting miles on these!
This is another pic of me and the kiddos after church on Sunday.
This was a great weekend and I can't think of a better way to celebrate motherhood. Happy Mother's Day!!!!
Congratulations! That looks like one nasty course!
ReplyDeleteThanks! It was worse than WipeOut. But I'm so glad I did it. Next year I will choose better shoes. My shoes got way too bogged down.
ReplyDeleteLooks like so much fun wish we had one of those around here... bet your shoes were a mess, and what about your thought of running in 5 fingers...
ReplyDeleteHope there are lots of hot showers for your guys after the race.
now I need to know how long something like that takes?
you are a star to look so strong at the end.
Hey Coach!!! RE: the 5-Fingers. I wish I hadn't second guessed myself. I think I would have done *much* better if I'd worn 'em. They were originally created to be deck shoes so they were made to get wet and I've never done this before, but apparently they go in the washing machine with no trouble.
ReplyDeleteI was going to take my shoes off in the middle of the course, but my husband was there and he vetoed that.
No showers at the end. The Canal was meant to "rinse us off" and the Navy gents told us to jump in and swim across. I could barely stay afloat, my shoes were so heavy.
The super stong folks finished at around 38 mins. It took me 1:05. I was in the top half of finishers, though.
Thanks for all your encouragement. I really appreciate it!!!