New kicks!

Finally broke down and bought my new trail shoes today!

Inov8 Trailroc 226

I have heard great things about Inov8 shoes. Specifically from the world of OCR. Not only are they supposed to be great trail shoes, they say the tread on these shoes is excellent for obstacles - climbing walls, ropes, getting through mud, etc. I am a minimal shoe girl, but my last pair of trail shoes was way too barefoot for me. What I mean by that is I felt EVERY single rock I stepped on. My old shoes were also very "floppy" and not great for gripping on obstacles. So for my next shoe I wanted something minimal, yet less BAREfoot than my old shoes. This shoe is minimal yet it should offer me more protection from rocks. It's still zero drop but it has a bit more cushion to it. Should be right up my alley. Plus I'm very excited to see how the tread will perform in obstacle races.

I got them from Running Warehouse for 85 bucks! Not bad for the pricier than most Inov8 brand - they retail around $130. The colors are not my thing, but it's the only color they offer in the Trailroc 226. Oh well, I have seen worse colors for running shoes!

Sadly I don't think they will get here before my next trail run... but I only have to get through 1 more run in my old shoes - which literally have holes in the sides. Can't wait to see this box on my doorstep!

Sadler's Creek Camping Trip

Today is Memorial Day. I think about our veterans alot, because without them I would not be here today. I am incredibly thankful for their sacrifice. I do not take it for granted.

It's been a good Memorial Day weekend. A nice balance of doing stuff and not doing stuff.

On Friday night we drove up to Sadler's Creek Park in South Carolina. This is a campground that's on a huge lake on the SC/GA border. The place has a fishing pier for my husband and nature trails for me. We made it up to our tent campsite that evening. By the time we got settled in and went down to the lake it looked something like this..

We hang around at the lake for a few minutes while the dog played in the water. Then we had our camp dinner - mine was Frito pie and my husband's was hot dogs. And of course we had smores. Our style of camping is simple - tent, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, and some basic supplies. No electricity - maybe just some battery powered lanterns/flashlights and a radio. Everything is cooked on the fire or with boiling water - we have a Jetboil from a previous backcountry camping trip where no fires were allowed. Other than taking pictures, I picked up my phone maybe 2 times during the whole trip. Life is nice and simple when I'm camping.

Unfortunately for us - this was a highly populated and tightly packed campground. I expected it to be crowded on a holiday weekend but the sites were closer together than any other campground I've been to. And there were many many families with young kids. Like... kids that are way too young to be camping. My husband was at his wit's end because our camping neighbor had a kid that cried ALL NIGHT LONG. It was also very hot that night. I was able to fall asleep in about an hour but he pretty much didn't get any sleep.

But at least I got to wake up to this. This is what I love about camping. Falling asleep under the stars. Opening my eyes and seeing trees. The chirping birds, cool breeze, and morning sunlight were nice touches too.

The morning was nice - we got up, had our coffee, and set to work on breakfast. Grits and bacon! And of course we had a conversation about fitness over breakfast. Afterwards we headed to the pier so my husband could fish. I suited up in my running gear to go check out the bike trail. There was a 6.5 mile trail and a .5 mile walking trail. I ended up on the .5 mile trail by accident, so I ran that and moved onward to where the 6.5 trail started. The trail was all forest. Some small hills, nothing too steep though. I caught some brief glimpses of the lake through the trees. The trail crossed over the main road several times. I made my way around the park, to the "primitive campsite" which looked to be a picnic shelter. Then I encountered a few more small hills and alot of pinestraw. Running on pinestraw kind of sucks, it's slippery and makes the trail hard to see. I meant for this to be a leisurely run,  but it's hard to turn off my "I wanna go fast!!!" switch. All of a sudden the trail abruptly ended in a ball field. I scanned the treeline to see if I could locate the rest of it, but I didn't see anything. I was really confused. So I started to run alongside the road. Saw an entrance to the trail again but it forked to the right, which was the direction I just came from. I wasn't sure if this would put me back on the same section of trail. So I just decided to run back towards the pier instead of risking getting lost - something I excel at! The run ended up being about 4 miles. I guess that's for the best because I didn't have a ton of energy anyway. But man did I feel great afterwards. Walked out onto the pier, popped open a beer (lime flavor!) and enjoyed my runner's high on the water. Easily among the best beers I've ever had.

Our day was filled with pier time - my husband was fishing but they weren't biting. I just loved being in the sun and around the water - with some music and beer. 

Me and the dog went swimming in the lake that evening. 

We got back to camp around 5 and prepared for dinner - and to head home. My husband couldn't possibly bear another night of sleeping around all those noisy people. He has trouble sleeping as it is so I don't blame him. So we packed our stuff while our fire got hot, ate dinner, then hit the road and got home around 8:30. But not before my husband snapped a picture of me !

I think the trip worked out nicely. Despite all the annoying people it was quite relaxing. I think our next camping trip might be Black Rock Mountain or something along those lines. This one wasn't really "for us" - the search continues!

Aside from that we've been doing nothing, running errands, had tasty food at Genghis Grill, and I did shoulders/triceps/back this morning. Oh and we watched Pain and Gain - the bodybuilder murderer movie! Good stuff.

Viking code

I'm getting used to this morning thing!! I'm 2 out of 3 for morning workouts this week. Planning on being up early for some strength training tomorrow morning.

It's definitely putting me in a much better mood. I'm much cheerier and there's more of a "spring in my step"

Spartan Race posted in their blog about the Virginia Super. The title made me laugh - "Virginia - Home of THAT Course" Yes. It's like 3 months away. I'm scared. I'm just going to go climb a bunch of hills and pray. Next weekend I'll probably go do some hill training.

This weekend I won't be doing anything crazy. We're going camping up in South Carolina. I wanted to go to the mountains but the stars didn't align on that one. So instead we're going to go chill on a lake in SC. My husband can fish and I think there's even a running trail I can go bounce around on. I love camping so I'm really looking forward to it - sunshine, on the lake, trees everywhere, campfires, smores, and sleeping underneath the stars. These are the things I love!

So I found this little Viking themed message...

This is truly how I try to live my life. I feel it applies to fitness in a big way - because fitness is a way of life. So, this applies to both my fitness mentality and my everyday life.

"Strength is life - for the strong have the right to rule"
Fitness - You train to be stronger. Once you have become stronger, you are able to conquer your goals and reap the rewards of your work.
Life - I try my best to be strong in all situations. Things like fear, stress, sadness, criticism, and opposition can weaken our spirits. Be strong of heart and rise above it all. One day these things that used to hurt you will be like arrows bouncing off of a reinforced shield.

"Honor is life - for with no honor one may as well be dead"
Fitness - Cheating. Whether it's in a race or your own training - cheating harms others and yourself. A faster time is not worth sacrificing your integrity. At the end of the day you are truly cheating yourself. You will know deep down that you did not give it 100%.
Life - Being honorable in daily situations will pay off. Maybe not every single time, but each time you act with honor, you set a pathway for all future actions. Tell your spouse the truth about where you're going tonight. Return the wallet to the little old lady who dropped it. If someone did a better job than you at something, don't be a sore loser and congratulate them on a job well done. You will find that over time your good luck increases and you will gain more friends. A person without honor will find themselves all alone in life.

"Loyalty is life - For without one's clan one has no purpose"
Fitness - Embrace a healthy lifestyle. Don't think about it - just go out there and do it. Show up for your workouts, give them 100%, and feel awesome for the rest of your day. Think about what food you put in your mouth. Be LOYAL to your new lifestyle. But don't do all of this at the expense of alienating your friends and family. Go out and do stuff with them even if it takes away from training. Enjoy some good food with them. After all that hard work, these moments are well earned and will be even better.
Life - My advice - choose a small circle of solid family and friends. Don't invest in a relationship if you can't be loyal to that person. Be there for them in their time of need and depend on them during yours. Live out your life to the fullest with the ones you love.

"Death is life - One should die as they have lived"
Fitness - Live on the couch, die on the couch. But a body in motion stays in motion. So you're less likely to die early. Get out there and move. Go outside, run through the woods, feel the wind on your face and smell the flowers. And do epic shit. Go on adventures, see the sights and have a blast. You have been given a body and a life. Use them to have unforgettable experiences.
Life - In addition to physical activity, get the most out of life by taking any opportunity for happiness you can find. Be spontaneous sometimes. See and do as much as you can. Live each day intentionally, and never let yourself become a mindless zombie. Do the things that make you happy - that's what life is all about!


This is probably one of the few times you'll see me get into this much thought on my blog. But this is my philosophy and how I intend on living my life.

Parcour course - That time I got lost a whole bunch

It's Saturday. And what's a Saturday without a little adventure?

I investigated the Parcour trail on the base today. Above is the completely useless map. My run did not go like this at all!

I wasn't really sure what to expect. I just knew there might be "obstacles"

So there are these signs periodically around the trail. You're supposed to stop and do the exercise pictured on the sign. I ran past a wall from a Marine Mud Challenge from days past, but did not climb it - didn't think I should attempt that without someone else around just in case. As I entered the woods I ran high knees through some tires. Stopped at a few of the signs and did the exercises. Easy stuff. 

Came up to this thing. Lift the logs as pictured on the sign. I thought this was pretty cool. Not difficult though.

After this point things got interesting. The trail kept branching off and I took a few wrong turns. Once I was sure I was in the right place, the trail pretty much became nonexistent. Bushes, fallen logs, and trees were all over the place! It was obvious no one had taken care of the trail in many years. I felt like I was going bushwhacking instead of trail running. I prayed none of this stuff was poison ivy. At least 5 times I had to stop running to push aside a branch, climb over a tree, or simply just figure out which way to go.

This was literally the trail. I knew I was in the right place because I could barely see a white sign underneath all that mess. Also, wooden thing that used to be something.

  

I tried to go through this by going towards the left. But it eventually got to the point where there was no way to get through it and even be sure I was still on the trail. Since getting hopelessly lost in the woods wasn't on my agenda for today, I turned back and made my way back to the fork in the trail. At this point I was back on the main trail which was a wide dirt/sandy road. Came across some balance logs, but half of them were really old and rotten. So I hopped across the safe looking ones before running onward.

Back into the woods for more signs with exercises, a log that you had to hop over side to side, then I emerged onto the great sandy road. Running in sand is hard! But it's good for me.

And... Logs! The military loves their logs, apparently. These were the things I fell off of at Marine Mud Challenge, only they were covered in mud. However these logs were dry, so I had no problems today. The first 2 you could climb over, but the middle 2 were higher so I had to push myself up and roll over. Then there were 2 more small ones. I completed this twice.

Now for more sandy roads! And some hills! The road branched off SO many times. I would take one path, find a dead end, turn around, pick another - rinse and repeat 4 times. Eventually I found this

I've conquered alot of fears since I began my adventures over a year ago. Heights being one of them. But for some reason I still have a fear of balance beams. I've never been talented in this field. So I figured it was high time to Spartan up and make these logs my bitch. I chose the 2nd from the left log to be my buddy. The first time I got midway up and just froze. Ended up coming back down. I told myself I can't let some stupid logs get the better of me. So, attempt #2. Turned off my thoughts. My body knows what to do. So it did. I got to the top, but then hopped off. 3rd attempt - climbed up, got to the top, used my arm as a support, and climbed down. Then I climbed up and down 3 more times. It may seem a silly thing to fear, but I just do not like balance beams. But I faced it, and am now just a little bit stronger.

After the logs I got lost at least 3 more times. I kept hitting dead ends with every path I took, and all the right leading paths would have taken me back towards the woods with all the bushwhacking nonsense. So at this point I started trying to make my way back to my car. But not before - getting lost some more!

Made a wrong turn and found this. It was a really pretty view.

After crossing this path I went downhill and ended up in a clearing that looked like this.

Where the hell was I??? Was I still on the base? Really confused! Since there was no way out I went back the way I came...

I took the lefthand path that I should have taken before. And eventually it did lead me back, past both sets of logs, and to the main trail once again!

Done! 3+ miles (I stopped my watch a few times while I was bushwhacking/trying to figure out where the hell I was going)

This was a pretty cool experience. Still undecided on whether or not I'll be coming back here again. I was kind of hoping to find some climbing walls or ropes. But if I ever want practice at balancing or climbing over logs, or even running through sand, I can come back here! I now have a general idea of where to go (avoid the right half of the trail and stick to the sandy road) but I still would need to anticipate getting lost alot. 

After the run I walked around the PX enjoying my awesome post workout feeling. My husband showed up, we got breakfast, then went shopping for plants and some more marble rocks for landscaping. I actually had fun lifting the heavy bags of rocks. What have I become ... lol!

Soon I think we're gonna head to Mellow Mushroom, where I shall chow down on their awesome Jamaican chicken sandwich!

Too much

Well I've only been able to get in 2 workouts this week.

I ran on Monday
Strength trained Tuesday. That's where it went kinda bad.

I did way too much. I was shaking for like 30 minutes after I was done. Because it was a total body workout I have been sore all over since then, but my legs are just obliterated. It's been difficult to walk!

With this I have learned a very important lesson.

I shouldn't be trying to exhaust myself. Shouldn't be working so hard that I have no energy left at the end. That is not efficient. And now it's left me so I can't really do anything for 3 days. Also not efficient. I can't continue to train that way, I won't ever accomplish anything.


I have learned that I should feel "pumped", not exhausted at the end of my workout. Instead of trying to do too much too soon, I need to focus on a few movements and repeat them for a few weeks. Focus on good form and not rushing through them. Master those movements.THEN change it up. That's the only way I will learn and get good at this.


I swear one day I will be good at strength training ... lol!

Tomorrow I should be better and will do 1 of 2 things - either hill running or the obstacle course on the base.

It's too early...

Today marks my return to early morning training! Game of Thrones got it wrong - SUMMER is coming.

I really struggled to motivate myself this morning. Last week I had intended to start morning training and slept in TWICE. So this morning I fought with that little voice in my head telling me to go back to dream land. I told myself "What excuse do I have to NOT get up and run? Seriously - what legitimate excuse do I have?" None. So up I got.

I ran so slow. And I felt like I was running fast. Normally I start out at an 8:45 pace, look down at my watch and make myself slow down to about a 9:00 so I don't tire out. Well today when I looked at my watch it said 9:45. Ugh. My legs felt like noodles. There was just no energy in my muscles. I did get a little faster at the end, getting down to a 9:15 minute mile. Still - much slower than running the same route during the daytime. I might need to eat something first. Think I'll try half a banana before my workout and see if that helps. This also might just be one of those things I need to get used to. And I will get used to it in time - morning training is my new reality. Even strength training will be done in the morning, because it's much simpler to wake up at the same time every day.

But I'm glad I got my workout in already - I'll feel good all day, I have some extra time to sit here and type this before I go to work, and I'll have more free time in the afternoon. There are advantages to morning training - all I have to do is get past the mental barriers and make myself do it on a regular basis!

Yoga sunday

This morning I did a yoga session. I used to do yoga every Sunday (or nearly every Sunday) but lately I've fallen out of the habit. It's probably been a good 3 months since I've done yoga. And I know how badly my rigid, inflexible self needs yoga.

Well I'm happy to report that I did really well for being so out of practice. I have not lost what little flexibility I had before, and it would seem my strength and endurance has actually improved. My body was pretty stiff from not having done much yoga or flexibility work, so this really helped to loosen everything up. To be clear - this yoga workout is NO joke. It's the original P90X "Yoga X" - 1.5 hours of Ashtanga yoga. Very fast moving and intense stuff. I felt really strong the whole time, aside from Twisting Triangle and Right Angle poses - those 2 are hard for me, and Right Angle is just not fun for my right hip. I gave it my all during this workout and it felt wonderful. The amount of sweat coming off of me was ridiculous. Partly because I haven't installed a ceiling fan in my gym room yet. I was able to make it through the winter without a fan and just opening the window, but a ceiling fan is gonna have to happen within the next month or so.

Oh, and I'm getting closer to being able to do Crane pose - one of my 14 in 14 goals!

My stupid tight hip feels much better after all that. Hopefully a once a week yoga session will fix whatever's wrong with it.

After yoga I talked to my dad and some of my relatives - he's up in Cincinnati visiting his brother and sister - then went out for a walk and enjoyed the beautiful day. I feel very accomplished, and fully content to be lazy for the rest of the day!

The Suffering

So it's the first weekend in a long time where I am NOT racing! How am I spending my time?

Well, last night I went on a spontaneous ice skating adventure! We have this friend that my husband works with and I guess she has been really into ice skating with her quasi-boyfriend, so we joined up with them. And I ice skated for the first time in at least 10 years. It was fun! I'm not amazing at it but I did ok, and more importantly I did not fall on my ass! 

I fully expected my feet and ankles to be furiously sore today, but they aren't sore at all!

I had a nice morning with my husband - breakfast at Cracker Barrel. However - lately there has been this growing, creeping feeling inside me. Frustration. Pent up energy. The need to do STUFF. 

See, the last 2 months have been quite busy for me.

I have run 5 obstacle course races - 

2 Spartan Sprints

1 Warrior Dash

1 Tough Mudder

1 Marine Mud Challenge

And a 10 mile trail race

And I kind of fell into a pattern - race saturday, be sore for 4 days - but then by the time I stop being sore, it's 2 days before my next race and I don't want to be worn out and sore on race morning. Why train? What's the point when I just have another race? I probably shouldn't have done this, but it happened. 

I've kind of been going crazy from lack of exercise. 2 years ago I never thought those words would ever come out of my mouth.

So this afternoon around 2:30 I was fed up. I stood up and proclaimed to my husband "I'm going running."

It's 85 degrees and humid. 'Yall know I can't take the heat. But I didn't care. 

I went out there for 2 laps around my neighborhood. I was sweating before I even started running. I began my run. A neighbor was grilling out and the smell nauseated me. The long, gradual incline at the front half of my neighborhood slowed me down. The heat was setting in. I fought hard to control my breathing, to abstain from taking short and shallow breaths and instead take slow, deep breaths. My head was pounding. That Cracker Barrel breakfast was regretted. Sweat was pouring into my eyes. My legs became heavy. I passed my house once and wanted to stop. But I did not let myself. I finished faster than my last training run which was a month ago.

The whole time, 2 thoughts were repeating in my head. 

"Why am I doing this?"

"I love this!"

When reflecting on the last 2 months and today's experience, I have realized. I love the suffering. I thought back to something Joe Desena (creator of Spartan Race) said - "You have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable" and he pretty much hit the nail on the head. Embrace the pain and suffering. Rise above it and conquer it. I push myself. I am tired, aching, bruised, bleeding, physically and mentally drained, and even scared at times. But in these moments I am free. There is just something about challenging your limits, something about simply getting out and moving the way nature intended, that is just truly liberating. Whatever bullshit you're dealing with in life is gone. It's just you, the great outdoors, and some good old fashioned hard work. And I feel alive. I'm doing what humans were meant to do.

I probably sound crazy and I know it's something few people will understand. But it's who I am. I want to explore, go on adventures, be outside in nature. I want to use and improve the body I have - to push pull, carry, lift, climb, run, and jump. I love having stories to tell. My mission in life - Do epic shit. 

Now I am about to sound even crazier. I have signed up for the Spartan Super in Virginia. 8-10 miles of black diamond ski hills, plus 20 obstacles. This course is BRUTAL. People have said that this course is harder than a Spartan Beast. I'm scared. But I have until August to train. Hills. Walls and ropes. Carrying things. I'm going to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Looking ahead

So I'm sitting here in my car on my lunch break. Reflecting on the past few months, the crazy whirlwind of running and OCR racing. I have done a lot - pushed myself, faced new challenges, and had a blast doing it all. But now it's time to train, and think about what is on the horizon.

Training resumes -
Monday and Wednesday - strength training
Tuesday and Thursday - running
Friday - rest day
Saturday - long run or big activity
Sunday - yoga or rest day

Here are some new training ideas I want to try this summer

Parkour course
Wall climbing and rope climbing if I can find it
Sandbag and bucket carry
Hill training, climbing and running, repeats
Possible gym membership for heavy weight stuff
Rock climbing wall sessions

I'm going to be looking for new ways to challenge myself. My Spartan Super is a few months away - Virginia or Asheville, not sure yet but hoping Asheville. Either course will be hard, so I have a lot of work to do!

Marine Mud Challenge

It's Sunday morning. And I hurt alot, thanks to the Marine Mud Challenge!

This was a local obstacle course race on Fort Gordon. I wanted to do this last year but did not have a team (teams are required). Fortunately this year some people from my husband's platoon got together and signed up this year!

Behold! The Blackguard platoon team shirts! My team name was "Blackguard 2" and my nickname was "War Turtle" Yes. Other names included Starfox, Pickle, Swamp Donkey, and Mammilton. Can't remember the rest.

I loved the shirts. They were fun and made it really easy to identify everybody on the course, since I don't know the majority of the guys/girls in my husband's platoon. We had 3 teams of 3-4 people and we all stuck together through the entire course.

We set off on our 5 mile, 30 obstacle adventure. And let me tell you, this race did not disappoint! We were clean for about 20 seconds and then we hit the first obstacle - a mud pit, crawl through a concrete pipe, then a rope climb up a wall. The mud had tons of sharp rocks and stuff in it, my wrist was already cut up and bleeding and I saw that some of the guys had cuts on their legs too. The wall was actually pretty hard because the foothold was small and covered in mud. But we all got over ok and moved on into the woods.

We waded through a pond, ran some more and then came up to this

Marine Mud official photo

It's a water crossing using 2 ropes. I have no clue how this guy managed to get all tangled up in it but it's freaking hilarious. This is actually pretty easy. The trick is to lean forward so your own body weight stabilizes the ropes. We all made it across and ran onward. We ran for quite some time before reaching the next obstacle. A series of 5 log hurdles. You have to push yourself up with your arms and roll over the log. Problem was, everybody was covered in mud which made for super slippery logs. I got over the first one. The second one took a few tries but I made it. The third one was a little taller so a guy boosted me up. I was on top of the log and making my way down the other side... when I rolled right off of it. Fell right on my bad hip. It hurt like hell but no broken bones. Luckily I landed on my butt/hip and avoided hitting the bones in my lower back. I soldiered on and crossed the last 2 logs (with some help) I wasn't the only one to fall either, one of our guys fell and some other random guy did too. Once all of us were across and done with falling, off we went. Next up was a giant mud pool. Felt great and cleaned us off a bit! We had a tractor tire climb, followed by a vertical tire climb, where the only way to get up was to find a tiny ledge in the stacks of tires.

The next parts are kind of a blur. Alot of running and trying to keep up with the early 20's guys in the platoon. I was always in the middle or towards the back cause I'm not as fast as them. I took a couple walk breaks with my friend who is a smoker, that way she wouldn't be left out and plus I got a break too! The guys up front would stop every now and then to make sure we were all there. I think the next obstacle was the 15 foot wall. It's basically a ladder, so not too bad unless you don't like heights. Then I believe we did the cargo net climb, completely vertical and probably about 15 feet high as well. Next we crossed through a creek, complete with yelling "Splish splash I was takin' a bath!!" at the top of our lungs. Once we got out of the creek we started climbing up this huge, neverending hill. And at the top of the hill was an 8 foot wall. So you're at a height disadvantage because you're on a slope, and you're tired from climbing the hill. The placement of this wall was truly evil. Some of our guys stacked on top of each other to help people up. I climbed on a guy's shoulder and then another guy helped boost my foot as I pushed up. We all made it in one piece. I saw some other teams skip this obstacle all together! Immediately after the trail turned to the left where they made us climb up and down a steep hill 3 times. 

Marine Mud's photo of the inverted wall

I believe the next obstacle was the tower. You climb it and then jump onto a giant cushion. I tried to kick my legs out and land on my butt, thinking it would be better than landing on my feet and potentially twisting an ankle. The impact from the fall kind of jolted my spine. It didn't hurt, but I definitely felt "something". My neck is sore today. I don't know what happened but I'm not seriously hurt and I'm thankful for that. We saw an injured girl at that obstacle. Right after the tower were the inverted walls. A lady on my team offered to boost me up and I gladly accepted. However she is rather small, and I am not a small girl so... she dropped me. I fell, maybe landed on my feet for a split second, but because I wasn't prepared for it I tumbled backwards and hit the ground. And guess where I landed? If you guessed "right hip" you win a giant black and blue bruise! Yep. The exact same freaking spot!!! And this time it hurt alot more. But once again... no bones were affected, so I sucked it up and moved on. Climbed the inverted wall - it was hard because there wasn't really a good place to hold onto on the other side. But I did it and trucked right along.

MM's photo of the low crawl

Here was alot of downhill running, a good chance to goof off and joke around with the team. Our conversations ranged from toenails falling off, to finding "mud eggs" in our pockets, to someone who's BO smelled suspiciously of onions. We reached an uphill and downhill log balance. I kept slipping off of my log, but once I tried a different log I was ok. We ran up and down all kinds of crazy hills, then approached a massive crowd of people waiting in line for the monkey bars. These were Tough Mudder style monkey bars. Our teams voted to skip them because after 5 minutes of waiting the line did not budge. 

Next up we had some more log hurdles, but this time they were dry so I cleared those with ease. However, we were about to get as far away from dry as possible. We approached a series of 2 very muddy low crawls. You had to really get your face down in the mud because there were ropes overhead. Of course my friend had the brilliant idea to go in on her back, which messed up her hairdo and made it pretty hard for her to move! So now that we were all about 40 lbs heavier it was time for more running! And a log balance over a pool of water. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to do it as I am not the world's best balancer, but I did it without falling in! I may have heard a splash or two from my other teammates though. 

Marine Mud official photo - pole obstacle

Still good and muddy, we approached the next trial. This thing. I don't know what you'd call it, but you basically lift yourself up onto the lower of the 2 bars, then navigate your way over the high bar, and down the other side. I got a boost up, swung my leg over the first bar, did some crazy foot maneuvering and before I knew it I was sitting on the top bar. I used one of the logs on the side to navigate my way around, and dropped down. This was a challenging one!

We were close to the end now. I was pretty worn out but had a little fight left in me for the final onslaught of obstacles. Our next challenge was the mud box. Climb a wall, then jump into a giant box of mud. It was peanut butter thick. You were supposed to crawl under a pole to get your belly all muddy - some people hopped over it, but I went all out and got muddy. Then you had to climb out of the box, which meant another wall. You and the wall are covered in mud, plus you're standing in deep mud. It was hard. People were sliding and falling down all over the place. But we did it! 

There was a Tarzan swing, which we all underestimated and failed miserably at. I think most of us fell into the mud pit. But we all laughed about it.

As we approached the finish line, I saw my husband there in a prime spot to take pictures of us. We crossed some giant dirt mounds, then jumped into this mud/water pit for some low crawling. 

Then it was over the final wall! (I'm the one on the right)

And we sprinted to the finish line!

We all posed for pictures

Then Roy got us all beers!

I had an awesome time! My first ever local OCR, and I have to say it was pretty tough! But of course, it has the word "Marine" in the name - it ain't gonna be your grandma's race! This was definitely the muddiest and most cut up and bruised I've been. Spartan Race is a close second, but I mean look at this...

Running with my husband's platoon was cool. Since I usually do these things alone and just make friends along the way, it was nice to be on a team for a change. I got really really lucky - I fell down a few times and had the potential to seriously injure myself, but luckily no major damage has been done. I think if something was seriously wrong I would have known right away. But I'm just sore and in pain today. I may have to take an extended recovery break, that's all. I think this is just one of the aspects of having a "mom and pop" race as opposed to a national circuit - you're gonna have more risky obstacles. I don't think any of the big league racing series would have put the logs after the mud. But it was a good learning experience for me - it showed me the kinds of things I need to be mindful of in the future.

We did it, and had an kick ass time doing it - Blackguard, and me, the honorary member of Blackguard

Shirt, medal, and a sweet drawstring bag!