Gettin' Muddy

Well, I did it! I completed the Tough Mudder. I might have been the slowest one in the group, but at the end of the day, I set a goal to complete the TM, and I reached that goal. I'll get more into detail with that, but first, let me give you a little bit of insight into the days leading up to the Mudder. This post will be a lengthy one, so I hope you're ready!

Last week didn't go as I'd planned, in general. Every day I planned to go to the gym, something came up, and I wasn't able to do the workout I'd intended. I made it to the gym three times, but not as much as I wanted, so I began feeling more and more unprepared. Then, Charley decided that sleeping wasn't really her thing. Wednesday and Thursday nights, she was up several times (probably due to the heat and lack of central air in our duplex), and although she went right back to sleep after waking up, I wasn't so lucky. It's always taken me awhile to get to sleep, and last week was no exception, so I was a little bit sleep deprived. On Friday night, she slept like a rock for 13 hours, so I was pleased! I thought for SURE she'd do the same for me on Saturday, because clearly she was wiped out. No such luck!

When tired toddlers shop...

On Saturday morning, I went to work as usual, but instead of going to my mom's house, Charley went to her friend Sawyer's house to play. She had a great time with her little buddy, and Sawyer's mom said Charley had been great, but seemed to be running a fever. Sure enough, her head was a little warm. But she didn't seem to be acting unusual, so we met up with my friend Kim for some shopping and lunch. I'd been on the hunt for a pair of lime green athletic shorts, because one of my fellow Tough Mudders said that everyone was going to wear them along with our team shirts to complete the race. We ended up at TJ MAXX, where I found some incredibly neon shorts for $7...Totally in my price range! We went from there to Panera where we ate lunch, and chatted for a bit. Charley ate some of her lunch, but after awhile, she put her head on my lap, and before I knew it, she was asleep! I knew she was tired, and it reinforced that her fever might have been due to something more than a growth spurt. When she woke up from her nap, she seemed to feel great and went to bed easily. "Woohoo!" I thought. "She's in bed early, and I'll be able to get to sleep before 10!" Ha! Not so much. One of my TM friends had sent an e-mail earlier in the week, encouraging everyone to check out the obstacle course in advance, so we could be prepared. I looked at The Berlin Wall, and several others, and figured they wouldn't be a problem. I'm strong as crap so strength events don't bother me. Then I saw one called The Boa Constrictor and another called The Trench. I was instantly in panic mode. I am extremely claustrophobic, and these events required crawling through small, dark spaces. Suddenly, my nightmare seemed as though it would become a reality in less than 24 hours. The thought freaked me out, so I took some melatonin to help me get to sleep.

Then, in the middle of the night, Charley started crying several times, which meant I was up several times as well. Around 1:30, I heard a loud popping sound. Then a minute later, I heard another, and it sounded very close by. I had an internal panic attack, because I like all of my neighbors quite a bit, and I was convinced I'd just heard a murder-suicide take place. Perhaps the lack of sleep from the previous days was getting to me? Anyway, that kept me up, ultra-paraoid, for about another 30 minutes to an hour. So much for getting a good night's sleep before the TM! Charley woke up, happy as she could be, around 4:30 a.m., and she was ready to go! I think if I did the math, that means I got a total of about 4 hours of sleep on Saturday night. I knew I could handle it. I'd make myself some coffee, and that would perk me up! That's when I realized that the bag of coffee I'd purchased the night before was full of coffee beans...not ground coffee. Typical! I intended to get out the door in time to pick up some Starbuck's before heading over to my team's meeting place, but that didn't happen, so I ate my Cliff bar, and drank a bottle of water, and prepared myself for a long, grueling day

The Tough Mudder was exciting. They say it's a team activity, and that's the truth. It was like the ultimate team task, and I couldn't have been on a better team. We all met up at Colleen's house (she'd done most of the organizing for the race), and broke off into carpools from there. I rode with some of my fellow coaches, and we had a great drive out to Somerset, Wisconsin. As we got closer, the excitement continued to build, and we were all pretty ready to get going. I was nervous. Not nervous about the obstacles, but nervous about the running. I'm not a runner. I've talked to several of my fellow gymnasts, and we've all determined that good gymnasts have more difficulty training themselves for endurance- based events. We were trained for so many years to go really hard in short spurts, but have trouble with distances. Plus, I knew my asthma  and allergies would be an issue, because nearly all of my training had been indoors. Well, I was right. I struggled with the running, quite a bit. By Mile 3, I was convinced we HAD to have run like 6 miles already. Ha! I probably walked through half of the course. I felt like the girl on one of the Real World Challenges that held up her whole group. With that said, my team was SUPER supportive and really fun to work with. I completed all of the challenges without any issues, although I chose to skip the obstacle that required climbing over hay bales. Could I have made the climb? Sure! But I would have been wheezing and swollen for the rest of the day, so I opted out. The obstacles were challenging, but definitely my favorite part of the course. Even The Trench and The Boa Constrictor weren't nearly as bad as I'd anticipated. They were actually kind of fun! At one of the last obstacles, we had to climb monkey bars that went up at an incline, and then down. I climbed across like a kindergartner, one hand at a time, but I made it all the way across. One of my teammates looked at me with a questioning grin, and said, "Did you make it?" "Yeah!" I replied. "I'm strong as crap, it's just my endurance that sucks!" Ha! My favorite parts were the obstacles that required us to climb over mounds of slippery mud. We got to slide down the mud into puddles of MORE mud, and we even took a couple of breaks to float in the mud. Needless to say, the entire team was a muddy mess! But that was part of the fun.

The entire course was full of hills, and challenging paths, and if my team hadn't been there, I certainly wouldn't have made it through. But I genuinely enjoyed the comradery within my team. Everybody was having fun, helping each other, scaling walls together. It was quite an experience. I loved every minute of it, even when my legs were cramping up and I was struggling through The Arctic Enema (swimming through ice water). As much as it was a challenge, I think I would do it again. The teamwork and "mental grit" the Tough Mudder requires, made for a long, but incredible day. I think the best part of the day was when the entire team kicked up into handstands, and crossed the finish line together. It was awesome! Then we were given our orange headbands, t-shirts, and well-deserved beers. We hung around for awhile, talking, and washing as much of the dirt and mud off of ourselves as possible (I was still covered in a layer of dirt when I got home, despite my best attempt of cleaning off with a hose). We walked back to the cars, sat outside, shared some drinks, and headed home. It was a day I'll never forget.

Now, after all of that, the team went back to Colleen's house to grill out and recover. I had to leave, unfortunately, because Charley still wasn't feeling well, and she was becoming pretty anxious for her mommy. Duty calls! I was happy to see her, and we both slept like rocks last night. This morning, I took her back to TJ MAXX so I could buy some more running shorts. After wearing my first pair through the TM, I might officially convert from leggings and a tank top, to running shorts, and athletic shirts. There really is a difference in comfort!

So, to sum up, I've learned the following random facts in the last week:
1. The Tough Mudder is every bit as extreme as it's advertised to be.
2. I can make my way through enclosed spaces without having a panic attack.
3. I clearly don't know what a gun shot sounds like, because all of my neighbors are still alive (thank goodness!).
4. Running shorts are amazing.
5. I should wear shorts and athletic headbands more often. One of my teammates told me I looked like I was 20, and the lady at the check in for the TM questioned my age.
6. The Kenwood Gymnastys are awesome (although I really already knew that).
7. The TM makes me sore. Not just a little sore. Waddle like a duck, sore.
8. It's possible for me to have scratches and bruises all over my body, and not be able to pinpoint exactly when any of them took place.
9. I'm not discouraged because I was the slowest team member. In fact, I'm motivated NOT to be the slowest one next time!
10. Slow and steady might not win the race, but definitely still completes it!

If you read through all that, you deserve a drink! Wine tonight, anyone? Cheers!