Primal Mud Insanity, er, Run

Yesterday was the inaugural Primal Mud Run.  

It was insanity.

Cold, cold insanity.

But first, a picture to show that Jason and I completed it.  Go us!

Four hours earlier, here are Jason, Rachel, Megan and I in our pre-race excitement.  Jason, showing his school spirit.  Me, being primal.  Rachel, trying desperately to be warm in the 30 degree weather.  Megan, in her easy to spot bright pink shirt.  Don't be fooled by the lack of winter coats, gloves, hats and scarves - it was cold!

We loaded up in Mom's Jeep and went over to the race to get labeled and pick up our t-shirts.  It was so cold.  Dad, Diane, Aaron and all six kids joined us just before the starting time.  Megan's friend, D, is not shown here, but also did the race with us.

Before we started the race, we were able to check out the pond (also known as the body of water that was as cold as water can be and not be frozen and will be featured later) and see some of the elite runners who had already completed the race.  At that point, I was hoping that everyone I talked into doing this race would still be my friend/relative/husband respectively afterwards.  Rachel straight up told me that I would not be in charge of picking the next race.

We got in line and finally made it to the starting line.

The first obstacle was this wall.  Jason, Rachel and Megan made it over and then came back to be stepping stools for D and I to climb over.

Next up, rolling huge tires up and back four times.

And then on to the cargo net.  Yeah, that is me struggling at the bottom.  I have been doing weights for a couple of months on and off, but my arm strength remains nil.  I did eventually figure out that if I stuck my arm through the hole and grabbed the net on the other side that I could get a more stable grip and climb up.

Having made it up and over the cargo net, we jogged on a bit to a spot where we grabbed 30 pound (I think) bags of sand and carried them in a frigidly cold stream that varied from mid calf to waist deep water.  The water was cloudy and bottom was covered in loose stones.  I copied D's idea and put the bag on my head, which helped keep me balanced and from falling in the frigidly cold water.

Which ended up being moot, because the next obstacle was the pond.  Looking at this picture, I still have a hard time breathing.  The volunteer lied to us told us this water was warmer than the creek.  And it was, for the parts of our bodies that had already lost feeling in the creek.  But, for the rest of our bodies, it was torture.  We all made it under the first barrels, but after that Megan, D and I cheated and went around them as the water was so frigidly cold that we couldn't breathe above water.  Rachel had the same problem, but she is Army Strong and went under them all.  And Jason is a superhero (at least my superhero) and went under them all as well.

The rest of the obstacle course took us out of the range of our adoring fans with their cameras so there is no photographic record.  It is mostly a blur to me now, but the rest of the race consisted of a lot of walls to scale, hurdles to jump, a huge water slide with a pit of water at the bottom (I got knocked into that and then down again by a very apologetic guy), hills to climb, tunnels into the water, hay bales to scale, monkey bars (which I completed on Jason's shoulders), a tire run, some other stuff I am sure I have forgotten and a lot of mud.

And it might have gotten up to 35degrees during the race.

Might have.

In the sun.

With no wind.

It was primal.

About half way into the race, I strained the ligaments or tendons in my knee so I gimped the rest of the race. My absolutely wonderful and amazing husband stayed with me the entire time and I could never have completed this race without him.  He was incredibly helpful.  Both physically, providing a leg to climb up and shoulders to sit on, and emotionally.  About every 10 minutes he told me that we were almost done and that he could see the end.  And yes, he could see the end, but we weren't almost done.  The race course zigzagged across the land bringing us closer to and then further from the end multiple times.  But, even though he lost credibility after about the third time he said that, his encouragement really helped.

Rachel, Megan and D went on ahead of us and finished together.  Here is a cool shot of Rachel going under the barbed wire at the end.

All together for the finish:

 Jason posing on the second to last obstacle:

Up top is the picture of Jason and I going over the finish line.  Here is our "after" picture with Rachel.  We got in about 20 minutes after everyone else and Megan and D had dispersed to their cars in a desperate search for warmth.  Which was hard to come by even after a warm shower, blankets and warm food.

So, we did it.  I ruined Jason's time, but I did complete every obstacle.  I pulled something in my knee and probably can't work out for a few weeks (or months) and have some lovely bruises on the back of my legs.  But, I did it.  Luckily, I still have friends/relatives/a husband - many of whom are contemplating the Warrior Dash in the Spring.  None of us ever want to do this particular November race again, but we had a good time.  

Quotes of the Day:

Megan: (something to the effect of) This race is like childbirth.  Really painful, but you forget how bad the pain is afterwards.

Me:  This is the stupidest thing I have ever done.

Jason:  You are overcoming your natural instincts...and your common sense!