I had originally chose not to sign up for this race for 2 reasons:
1. It was "just" a 5K.
2. I don't want to contribute any amount of money towards a race that does not reap a medal around my neck in the end. (I'm all about the bling...the life long souvenir...the memento.)
But after some "peer-pressure" from one of my MOPS friends (Shout out to Blanca!), a couple of weeks ago, I decided to go ahead and sign myself up too!
I'm so glad I did!
Our morning started off by riding the shuttle...a double decker bus...with Grammy...to the START line...
When we arrived at the course, we met up with our friends...
And then I got ready for go-time!
My friend Michelle is an avid runner as well, and yet we have never ran a race together...or have even run a block together, lol. But God had ordained a special experience for us both this day. Most of our other friends had decided to run together as a group, and so I looked over at Michelle and said, "Let's try and stick together." She said, "Okay...BUT...I want to have fun." HAHAHAHA! Me!?...No fun!? LOL! But I totally knew what she meant, and surprisingly, I was of the same mind set. The competitor in me did not show up to THIS race...the 7-year-old-girl-that-wants-to-play-in-the-mud showed up to THIS race! I have never done a Mud Run before, so it's not like I was trying to beat a previous finishing time anyway.
Let the fun...in the mud...BEGIN!
Now again, I wasn't too concerned about this race when I first signed up for it..."It's only a 5K"...but boy was I sadly mistaken about the strength that would be required from me on this race! The Mud Run is a challenging 5K run with hills, obstacles, 4-foot walls with mud, tunnel crawls, slippery hill climbs, and oodles of mud pits! Not to mention, hurdle after hurdle of hay bails...and then my least favorite, hurdle after hurdle of heavy plastic walls that you had to heave yourself over...I.HATED.those...all 5 (or so) of them!
The mud pits were definitely my favorite...and there were TONS of them!!! I usually take a lot of pictures in the midst of my races, and if there was EVER a race that I could have had a camera with me the whole time, it so would have been this one! All of the things they had us doing...and going through...was incredible!
Michelle and I stuck together the whole time. She pushed my rear up some inclines, and I pulled her body up other inclines. We were a GREAT team!
Highlight of the race for me: Running (and practically slipping) through GOBS of mud on solid ground...and then Michelle says, "Hey, this is just like frosting!" (You know how much I love chocolate...and anything that enhances cake!)
Low light of the race for me: Getting mud splashed in my eye (by my own doing), which got lodged behind one of my contacts...OUCH! Fortunately there was a water station right in front of me, and I was able to quickly flush the gritty particles out of there!
Eventually...after enduring scrapes on the palms of my hands, and shins...having a BOULDER (I might be a bit dramatic) lodged between my shoe and my ankle...running up, up, and up too many inclines to count...practicing Lamaze breathing over plastic wall hurdles...slipping on mud, which resulted in falling HARD on my rear...and most of all, having experienced one of my favorite race experiences EVER (sorry...but my mom, my stepmom, and the kids surprising me at the Tinkerbell Half Marathon, and Wyatt finishing the remainder 3 miles of that race with me, was still the VERY best!)...we finished!!!
A 5K usually takes me about 30 minutes, but we completed this challenging 5K in just over 55 minutes, LOL!
Immediately after I crossed the finish line, I was greeted by some old friends, from WAAAAAAAY back when...I'm talkin' toddlerhood! My sisters are gonna be sooo "jelly" of me that I got to see these girls! ;0)...
Then, we played the waiting game. There was another set of runners going through the course, and so Wyatt's 1K run wasn't due to start for another hour and a half. Most people got to immediately shower off after the race, but since I was going back in the mud with Wyatt, I figured it didn't make sense to clean off just yet. Instead, I ate the lunch I packed...I was STARVING...especially after all that talk of frosting...and then fudge frosting...and then buttercream frosting...and then talk of being in Willy Wonka's chocolate lake....MMMMM! ;0)
Finally, the moment Wyatt had been waiting for...it was time for his race to start!
Our "before" picture...
It was not mandatory for the parents to accompany their children on the course...but initially, I wanted to.
Many times during the first trip through this race (especially towards the end), I kept thinking two things:
1. I don't have the energy to do this all over again with Wyatt! :0(
2. Eeeek, these mud pits are deep...I'm gonna HAVE to have the energy to do this again with Wyatt!
I'm really glad I had some down time in between the races. By the time his race started, I was super excited to then get to go through the course again with my buddy. :0)
He was awesome! We held hands the en.tire.time...that was definitely more out of my fear for him, rather than is own fear for himself. I'm telling you, some of those pits were deep...and when you weren't in a pit, even the level ground was SUPER slippery with mud!
He had a BLAST! He loved everything about it! And once we were done, and I was thanking God that my race day was now over, Wyatt shouted, "Let's do it again!"...Ummmmm, yeah, that's gonna be a big "N-O", LOL! This mama was TIRED!
And tired of being dirty...
After the race was over, the kids played some more in the "fun zone"...
Where they competed with Grandpa in a donut-on-a-string eating contest...
...Grandpa's the winner!!!
Then came my next favorite part of the day...SHOWER TIME!!!
Wyatt didn't share my sentiment though. :0( The VERY COLD, and very public experience left him saying that he never wanted to do the Mud Run again, LOL!
Aaaaah, we're now CLEAN...SO much better (in MY opinion, lol)...
Believe it or not, I did not care that we didn't get a medal...well, I wouldn't have turned one down ;0)...but we got more than a medal at this race!...we got MUDDY! And you can't get muddy at just any race! :0)
Such a fun day!...Such a cool mom day! This guy always makes me swell up with pride!
When the sting of Wyatt's shower experience wears off (his reaction still has me laughing!), I look forward to doing this race again with him...and my mom???...and my dad???...and whoever else I can convince to join in! :0)
What a great re-cap of the whole day! I couldn't say it enough, I'm so glad we were in this together! And, I had so much fun!
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