Well, we started out clean, anyway!
What an awesome day we had at the Warrior Dash! Anyone who is considering doing this race should absolutely go for it - we had a BLAST! The event was well organized, there was a lot of camaraderie among racers, the food and drink was fun, and the mud was unbelievable. I'll give a run down of the day, and will update again later if/when we get official race photos of us out on the course (since we didn't take a camera out with us into the mud).
The temperature ranged from 52-60 degrees. All day long. While not necessarily cold, that's a bit chilly for us southerners, especially in April. And it had rained the night/morning before the event, as well as earlier in the week. That made for a VERY muddy event site, which led to a parking location change that required shuttles to get to the event site. Our only complaint of the day was the delay in getting on site due to shuttle lines, but we planned ahead, and 40 minutes really wasn't THAT long. It probably would have seemed faster if we'd been wearing more than shorts and t-shirts...
In future mud races (Warrior Dash or otherwise), for which we know Gear Checks are available, we will bring warm clothes. No matter the time of year. Because a chilly temperature + wind + mud + cold water swimming + a very cold shower afterward = chattering teeth and fingers so cold they don't want to grip the beer can properly. Just sayin'.
However, after the shuttle bottleneck, things actually moved REALLY fast once we were on site. We were through the Check In, ID Check, and Gear Check lines all within 20-30 minutes, easily.
Upon previous advice, Jay decided to duct tape his old Gorilla feet on. Notice that the time chip = your free beer. Very important not to lose it on the course! Jay zip-tied his on, while I was able to lace mine through my old Mizunos.
Before we checked our gear, we checked out the finish chute and the last 4 of the 14 obstacles, all of which were view-able from the Spectator Area: 14 = Muddy Mayhem, 13 = Warrior Roast, 12 = Cargo Climb, and 11 = Deadweight Drifter. That's right, they changed the course again at the last minute, AND they had us swimming (and getting pretty clean in the process) right at the end, then throwing us into the biggest mud hole of the course at the finish. It was AWESOME!
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| The finish chute, with spectators lining the sides |
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| Muddy Mayhem |
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| Muddy Mayhem (the dozer continually cleared mud to keep a safe depth - note the barbed wire overhead) |
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| Warrior Roast, with Cargo Climb in the background |
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| Deadweight Drifter (swimming over/under floating logs) |
We watched a bunch of runners finish the race before we headed over to the Start to "warm up" (no pre-race running, but we jumped and bounced and got pumped up by the DJ/race officiant). We had planned to start at the back, but our excitement got the better of us and we moved to the front of the line. At 1 minute to race time, we looked at each other and yelled "What the hell were we thinking doing this?! We're crazy! Don't leave me!" And then the horn blasted and the fire lit above the gate and we were off!
The 1st obstacle ended up being 2 sets of tires that we had to run through. I would have much preferred Road Rage (jumping over wrecked cars), since I SUCK at tires. I have zero grace (thanks mom!), and while Jay tip-toed his way quickly through them while surrounded by hundreds of screaming runners (yes, people were CRAZY excited), I cursed and jumped, but I survived without crashing (into the ground, or any other runners). Whew!
Obstacle 2 was Rubber Ricochet. The crowd had thinned slightly by this point, but I still feared for my neck as Jay went tearing through the obstacle, sending tires flying every which way. Crazy man nearly hit me, but my ninja-like skills kicked in and I jumped out of the obstacle just before the end, as a tire came barreling back at me. Oh, and there were more dang tires to run through on the ground too.
Number 3 was Storming Normandy. Not hard at all. I didn't even crawl. In fact, I held the net up for a few folks that were coming out after me, including Jay (some obstacles were easier for the taller guys, and some were harder), and started to get into the flow of the race.
We ran in between all the obstacles, but not the entire distance. In fact, I'd say we ran about half the course. The rest of the time we walked quickly, chatting with fellow runners, stopped for water, held hands, "ice skated" across mud-slick trail sections, and caught our breath. Jay's foot hurt him a bit (still recovering from plantar fasciitis) and I definitely felt my usual shin splint and calf pain. After the first mile or so, we both warmed up though and the rest of the race was a bit easier, running-wise.
Also in between the obstacles, there were random mud pits. The event site was Mississippi Off Road Adventures, so the course followed a "trail"/road where every turn or dip in the road was gouged out by truck tires and filled with mud and water from the recent rains. And of course, after each mud pit, there was at least 20-30 feet worth of mud-slick trail before it turned back to packed mud/dirt. In fact, when we hit the 1st of those mud pits, everyone was running around the far edge (on the trailside vegetation) and I followed them. Not Jay though. He just yelled "Come ON guys! We paid for MUD!" and tore through the middle of the pit. Promptly falling on his a$$. Too funny! My laughter didn't last long though. Mud pit #2 claimed my clean bum as I slid like a cat on a hardwood floor. After that, I was ready to get filthy!
The 4th obstacle was Barricade Breakdown. This one was probably my favorite! We jumped over walls (too tall to hurdle, so you had to stop and hoist yourself over) then under barbed wire blockades. It repeated for 5 walls (I think).
Obstacle number 5 was Teetering Traverse. Luckily, neither of us have a fear of heights, since it was HIGH and there was no cushion (i.e. water, thick mud, fluffy clouds) below. We kept our balance (thank goodness) and tip-toed up, across a few planks, then down. Jay got held up by someone who WAS afraid of heights though. In fact, at least a quarter of the obstacles slowed us down simply because we had to wait our turn. But we expected that, and honestly didn't care about our time, since we were just out to have fun and get muddy.
Next up was Chaotic Crossover. Jay helped EVERYONE out on this one by shouting that the best way to get through it was to simply lay down and roll across the 3 sections of cargo net, rather than try to find foot and hand holds. He has learned much from Survivor!
After that, we hit 2 of the 3 walls, and these were definitely the hardest obstacles for me. I'm pretty sure we got held up at the Great Warrior Wall for 5-7 minutes. This was the one where you used a knotted rope to scale a 12 foot wall with teeny little 2 inch ledges spaced 2 feet apart. I tried one rope and couldn't get past the first knot, so Jay went up the one next to me to scope it out. He FLEW up that wall and sat at the top to encourage and coach me. So I tried his rope, made it up 2 knots, and then started to slip. Remember, EVERYTHING in this race was covered in mud, so my little 2 inch foot hold was packed solid and super slick. As was the rope. I couldn't get a grip on anything, panicked, and jumped down before I got so high that I'd risk hurting myself if I fell. Then I stood there debating... do I go around it, or try again? Luckily, there was a race worker there to give tips and tricks and monitor safety. He sent me to the rope at the edge of the wall, so that I could reach around the back of the plywood and grip mud-free wood in addition to the rope. Brilliant! Of course, I had to wait in line for it, since 3 others were doing the same thing. Once I got my turn, I made it up quickly, climbed down the ladder on the other side, and felt VICTORIOUS! It is so awesome to conquer something that you're not sure you can do!
Next we crawled through the trenches. Jay came up just before me, to my benefit, warning me not to lift my head too soon, due to barbed wire. The Trenches was actually one of my favorite obstacles too. I felt like a little soldier, Army crawling through the dark muddy tunnel.
Then we got to the 2nd wall, Vertical Limit. I knew this one would be hard too, and while Jay seemed to just jump up the 8 foot wall, I stopped and started, trying to find a spot with enough rock climbing holds that were close enough together for me to reach. I did it though, all on my own (no booty boosting or getting pulled up from above). The route down was a fireman pole - SO MUCH FUN! We stuck around that one for a couple of minutes after, trying to coach a scared girl (again, afraid of heights) down the pole, but gave up on her when she wouldn't budge. Don't worry, she had friends with her. There were actually a LOT of teams running in each wave, and we thought it was great how they would help each other and wait for each other. There was so much chatting going on between obstacles, it was unlike any race I've ever done. You could tell people were just there to have a good time, for sure!
After that, all we had left was Tipsy Tightrope (another one of the easy ones, but Jay still beat me across, even though he started after me!) before we rounded the corner on the 4 final obstacles.
As we approached the water, the lifeguard asked if we could swim. Yup. So he let us through to jump in the deep (cold) water and swim across. Then up the muddy slope we went, only to jump right back in for the Deadweight Drifter obstacle. We weren't sure if we were suppose to go over or under the suspended floating logs, so we decided to tackle them together, using both our body weights to push them down one at a time and roll ourselves over. It wasn't hard, but I think this was the obstacle that tore up my knees more than any other. As we came out dripping clean, we skipped over to the Cargo Climb and both went up and over in a flash. The flames were next, and even though Jay offered to do it hand-in-hand, I was worried my lack of coordination would land him ON the fire, so I declined. He jumped and pirouetted over both Warrior Roasts while I played it safe and jumped over hurdle style. Then all that was left was Muddy Mayhem, where we slid in head first to swim/crawl/shimmy through the soup and under the barbed wire (and past the dozer). And once we were there ourselves, we realized why everyone was tip-toeing into the finish line rather than running it out - that final stretch was SLIPPERY!
As we crossed the line, a couple of volunteers placed medals around our necks and sent us over for water and bananas. And we were greeted by Sandy, who arrived just in time to see us finish, snap an "after" photo for us, and get herself geared up for her own race, which started in 30 minutes. Our wave started at 1:30pm, and just after we crossed the finish line, the 2:30pm wave started. Our official time was 59:24, so we made it in just under an hour. And yes, we got passed by people that ran in the 2:00pm wave. The overall top time of the day was 24:something. DUDE!
Anyway, here ya go. Before and After. Clean and Dirty. Parents and WARRIORS!
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| We each had ONE little clean spot at the end... |
After grabbing a photo of Sandy in the Start gate before her race, we threaded our way over to the other side to watch the start of her wave.
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| Here's the group giving the Warrior sign - helmets up! |
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| Can you see the flames above the gate as the wave started? They were so warm... |
After hanging around for the 3:30pm wave start as well (those flames were so nice and toasty, and we were so very cold), we made our way over to the Spectator Area to watch for Sandy's big finish. Check her out! Flame Jumper!
She made a friend during her race (of COURSE she did, Sandy is like Jean, she makes friends everywhere she goes) - the
former Mayor of Greenville!
Ah, time to visit the Warrior Wash. I've never showered with so many men before...
I think my poor husband was even colder than I was. His skin was RED after the hose down!
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| Product placement! |
We are WARRIORS!
SO many people donated their muddy shoes after their races! The pile grew and grew while we were there. We decided to keep our yard shoes though, and forgo the flip-flops that would have led to us REALLY slipping and sliding all over the event site after our showers.
Cheers! Beers!
Mmmm... so many turkeys lost their lives. (The corn on the cob was DELISH too!)
To truly celebrate, once we were cleaner and WARMER, we met Sandy to calorie-binge on Mexican food and toast our success with another round. And yes, we had many stares at the restaurant. And in the car on the way home afterward.
So, who's up for joining us in the next Dash? There's one in Baton Rouge in October...
(P.S. Since I know most of you are curious, James and Cora spent the day in the loving care of Dawn and Stirlin, playing with their buddies Coltin and Emma. We were away from our kids for 10 whole hours, and it was the first time we left town without them. We missed them, but we really did have a wonderful day away from parenting duties, and we didn't worry about them once while we were gone. In fact, from the stories we were told upon pick-up, we were quite pleased to have missed The Great Poopsplosion of 2012. Stories for another blog post though... Thank you again Dawn and Stirlin for allowing us to get muddy and celebrate properly - we had a GREAT day and hope we can return the favor!)
