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Lazeegirl Challenge #2 Tough Mudder
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Thanks, Tricia
Heya all, been lurking a little due to prolonged absence from running due to illness. Six days&counting, not expecting to run till Tuesday but possibly longer if my chest doesn't clear up.
Congrats on the promotion LG, how have the sessions in the higher group been?I'm sure with a little encouragement we'll see you running 12 miles by July. I realise it's not a conventional race, but with the distance being similar, it might be worth taking a look at some half marathon schedules, and adjusting them a little to suit your purposes/life.
Running on conference is always possible, but I rarely manage to get quality sessions in, and none at all last week, 2/3 hours of feverish sleep between 8 hours+ of talks, networking etc. for 4 days left me with little energy.
It's a bit rubbish this no exercise stuff isn't it?I'm proper fed up anyway.
Your talk go well?
I'm a bit fed up because my military fitness results are up but they have mine all wronge (my age, run time and press-ups). It's really annoying.
I just read my talk. The chair moved me at the last moment because a few people didn't turn up and what would have been my actual talk session was a lot busier...but they all said it was interesting (probably being polite) and a few asked for a copy of the paper (I ran out of copies there). The main thing is, I got up, did it, in time and survived!
How was yours?
Well done, glad it went well.
No talk for me, just a free food, drink and networking job. My project's stalling a little at the moment, I could do with dragging it out the rut it's in, so could be a bit of a heavy month.
I'm still suffering with a cough, and have been warned off running on another thread, so sticking to core work for now, but it's at least got me started on that again, it's been a while.
Did you ask about getting your results corrected on military fitness?
So has work taken its toll then?
Hello Everyone, sorry it's been ages. Just wanted to let you all know that I COMPLETED Tough Mudder yesterday!!! I am very sore today and covered in some very impressive bruises and I have slept and slept since I got home yesterday, so it must have been tough! But I didn't think it at the time. I must have been running on adrenaline because the 12 miles felt like nothing - so much so in fact I think they couldn't have measured them correctly and that we actually only did about 8. I had so much fun that I didn't want the course to end! I kept thinking, "Surely that's not (5 miles, or 9 miles, or whatever) miles already? This is in complete contrast to the marathon, where I was dying for it to be over and felt crushed by the end.
In Tough Mudder (TM), I felt like I really enjoyed myself. I did get hurt and I was tired, but a lot of the time, I felt so alive, because I felt like a child again, doing things I wouldn't normally do, like wade through fast flowing rivers, trudge and jump into endless mud and puddles...
The setting was beautiful - around the estate of Drumlanrig Castle in Dumfriesshire. There were people from all over the world taking part. In my group - the first to set off at 8am, on the first ever Scottish Tough Mudder - there were quite a few Americans, Germans, English and Australians and a few Scots :}
We all got "inked up" before the start - TM write your race number in permanet ink on your forehead and limbs to identify your body incase you don't make it....
Next, it was get ready to go. The warm-up was familar to me - it was the same sort of thing as my military fitness classes - running on the spot, high knees, star jumps, press-ups only this time, to cheesy disco and with guys in fancy dress...
The first obstacle was a high (10 or 12 foot?) fence to the start line. This was where I picked up my first injuries. I had managed to get a foothold and was capable of hauling myself up, I thought, but someone behind must have thought I needed help and gave me a prompt "leg up", meaning I went over the top much faster than I expected, hurting my arm and knee on the way over. We then spent about 20 mins, all penned in, chanting battle cries with the MC.....
I thought, from reading other people's accounts of tough mudder, that we would be following a monster truck at the start - not so in Scotland! We ran through tall grass to be greated by a load of barbarians, wielding axes! They actually looked really fierce as they popped up at us from either side of the track. They must have been professional actors who took their parts very seriously...
I think after the first bit of running through the long grass, uneven terrain and barbarians, the first obstacle we came to was a leopard crawl though barbed wire. Now, my military fitness classes often have times where we are told to leoaprd crawl, but usually, I try to cheat because I can't do it. There was no cheating at TM - the low lying barbed wire was real, and brand new! so very sharp....I knew there and then they weren't kidding, but I was still not taking the event too seriously. The next obstacle certainly woke me up to the fact that this was the real deal!
The skip full of ice, not sure if it's called the 'septic tank'? No, just checked, it was the 'Arctic Enema'. Well, it was the worst obstacle for me! I jumped in but then it felt like my heart just stopped and my body went into survival mode. I wanted to go forward, but instead, I hauled myself out of the side of it then tried to catch my breath again. Thought I would never heat up again and wan't looking forward to running for over 11 miles, freezing, but I needn't have worried, I soon warmed up again with endless hill running!
The course plan wasn't too plan at all! At the start, we seemed to be in water most of the time, wading through fast flowing streams, up to our waists at times in freezing cold water. The traipsing through mud seemd relentless, all the way through, but that wasn't the mud of Tough Mudder - no, there was trenched to crawl through and huge mounds of very slippery, red,clay earth to clamber up - lots of them - between chest deep pits of muddy water. There was logs to climb over and under. Not just one log, but 3 or 4 trees stacked atop each other at a time, when you are soaking wet and can't get a grip and slip off. I had to laugh when a guy next to me got stuck atop a log and called for assistance from the guys behind who said, "Sorry mate, your shorts are a gonner, you're showing to the world!" when he ripped his seams on a sharp bit of bark going over a log.
I also thought they would be kidding about the fire. No. It was a real fire and very smokey. I tried to hold my breath as I ran through it, but was coughing by the end.
The lectric shock therapy was the worst. I was looking forward to the 'water slide' as I walked up a hill towards what I thought was just a plastic sheet down a frassy hill, with someone pouring water from a hose onto it, until I noticed the electric wores hanging down....I had thought the electric shock therapy was just a run through event at the finish line. I learnt we were to get ours over a wet, crawl though. some guys ran at the slide and sli right through, Superman style, in one slick motion. I tried to do this, but failed miserably. I got stuck, not even half way through. I had to tried to crawl through, whilst some sadistic woman soaked me - and the live wires - with a water hose. But there was no escape route except to crawl, painfully, forward. I was shocked a number of times, screaming, "Aaargh!" each time, much to the crowd's delight. By the time I got to the other end, I felt quite dizzy. But it was onwards again.
I still had the monkey bars to look forward to. I saw a few guys in the water below, swimming to the other side. Stupidly, my brain computed this as they simply wanted a swim, or that they were doing some sort of "crowd pleaser". It didn't enter my head that the water could be THAT deep below these monkey bars. Well, it was. I slipped from my grasp right under the freezing water below, taking in a gulp of the filthy water and almost choking my lungs up. I looked frantically for the other side and spotted, thankfully, somoene with a hook to rescue me, but the "rescuer" was too busy chatting to notice me flailing about in the water. I somehow managed to scramble to the other end of the water where Mr Hook Man was still chatting and standing on the only way out. I felt like souting, "Hello! I'm almost drowning here!" but there was no point, he was oblivious. Besides the death waiver, we had also pledge not to whine, so I hauled myself out and onwards to the half pipe...
there were a number of attempts made at the slippery half-pipe, made by people who were soaking wet and covered in mud, who had to run at full pelt to the top and just hope that someone caught you in timke and pulled you to safety. Many times we all slid back down again, but the crowd were amazing in sharing our deflation and elation.
And yet there were still MORE electric shocks awaiting us to get to the finish! This time, we had to run through the wries, by clambering over bales of hay at the same time.
Of course, there were many many more obstacles inbtween that I haven't even touched on because I would be here all night. Suffice to say that I absolutely LOVED Tough Mudder. The 12 miles course, despite the tough obstacles. seemed very short (probably because I enjoyed it so much). The organisation of TM was excellent and the whole event seamless, from start to finish. Well done the people behind Tough Mudder, Scotland, 2012.
Well done, LG! Gotta put this on the list for future events.
Thanks, Rennur. I think everyone should try Tough Mudder. It is expensive, but it's a great experience. I would recommend doing it as part of a team, if you can. The organisation of the event was top class - you can really tell that these people have had lots of experience organising this event all over the world. They really know what they are doing. And, despite people throwing up on the course, hobbling around and moaning - a lot of people also looked as though they were having a great time and there was also time to talk to other participants along the way. Everyone helped, whether in the same team or not. It wasn't the horrible, lonely experience of tackiling a marathon on your own, just you, battling the distance against the clock. Tough Mudder is more of gasping at the ridiculous obstacle in front of you, or at the state of your fellow Tough Mudders (who are also laughing at the sight of you, dripping in mud) and helping one another survive each section. And it's just pure and simply good fun! When else would you paddle streams and jump in muddy puddles whilst chatting to nice people from all over the world? It's just such a lovely, sociable idea that also gives you a warm and fuzzy sense of achievement. Even my friend who ran me there really enjoyed the day out (he also came with me to the marathon which he didn't enjoy as much). There was a great mix of people and the entertainment at the start/end (out and back route) was really good, with live bands etc.
When you finished Tough Mudder, you were handed your T-shirt, headband and stuff and, most importantly, a beer, and walked straight into a big party. When I finished the marathon (and could have done with a bit of a lift), it took what seemed like forever to get to the "meet-up" area and it was rubbish, really. Tough Mudder was nothing like that. The finish was right next to the party area.
I would recommend Tough Mudder to everyone because I had an amazing day, but now, having already endured all those electric shocks and the freezing water etc I'm not sure I would be brave enough to do it all again! :} But I would love to try.
And I STILL have loads of bruises all over me, almost 2 weeks later.....but I signed a Death Waiver, so I suppose I got off lightly...
Well done LZ girl!
Hiya Tricia, thank you. your message was nicely timed! I was just sitting on the couch, on my laptop, thinking, "I'll need to get fit again" (I haven't done anything in about 2 months) and I was just wondering what my next challenge might be...
Thanks in advance,
Martin