1 Tough Mudder

So this past Saturday i competed in my first Tough Mudder. Not only was it my first tough mudder event but it was also my first race/competition/challenge i have ever done. I must say after finishing i had such a feeling of accomplishment. I mean sure, its just a "race". But at the end of it all.. The sweating. The bleeding. The burning lips and stinging eyes. The pit of fear in my stomach. The freezing cold water. The smoke in my lungs. The shooting pain of my calf muscles turning into stone. The 10,000 volts of electricity hitting my right shoulder. The gash on my right leg from tripping over a log in the woods and falling on a rock. The slow march up the many hills. The dried, then wet, then dried mud all over my body reminding me of Predator. The rush of adrenaline. The smell of smoke. The distance cry of hundreds of mudders beginning their march of madness as I enjoy a twisting turning trail run in the rugged mountains. The sudden silence of nothing but your heavy breathing and the beating of your heart as you make your way out of the woods. The cheer of fans and spectators yelling and screaming for you making you feel like a celebrity for the day. The dirt in your eyes that you cant wipe out because everything on your body is dirty with mud. The feeling of anxiety a week before the event contemplating if i can do this or not.... and at the end of it all.. it was ALL WORTH IT!!

And all i can think now is... When is the next one?????

 Fellow Krankstas

 Just finishing the fire run.  This was awful. The fire wasnt so bad. Basically it is just a trail of haystacks that are on fire...controlled fire so the flames arent super high. Its about maybe 15 yards and is nothing but smoke.  This is the worst part of it. Getting a lungful of smoke did not help. Immediately afterwards most of us cramped up.  Me especially.  My calves tightened up like stones. I had to literally push down my muscle down my leg at one point.. ughhhh

These pics are me being bad ass going under barb wire. We were one of the first so they were pretty low. Later pictures will show the wires are a lot higher. I would imagine alot of people hitting them and pushing them up. 

 This was the "Shock Therapy" obstacle. One of the more famed ones. Primarily due to the fact that you are getting hit with up to 10,000 volts of electricity.  There are a bunch of ropes and wires hanging down that you run through. I assume (for safety sake) that all lines are not live. I remember only getting hit once. I could have gotten hit more but it was the one that i remember. It felt like a very strong punch to my shoulder.

a true bad ass

 After we finished. I must be the only true mudder hence the beer in my hand. The truth is.. those other tough mudders drank their beers faster than me!  DANGIT!!!

Scared as hell. This is about 25 minutes before the race start. I was very nervous and had no idea what to expect.

Mud mile

I so knew the cameraman was there.  Hence the "smile"

My future "battle Scar"

Running down muddy hills. Doesnt get any better than this!

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 This was the most challenging thing i ever did.  Basically jumping off a plank into 40 degree water.  The second your body hits the water it just shuts down.  It was like tiny pinches and tingling going throughout my body. I jumped in and tried immediately to find the surface.  Once i made it i took a deep breath and tried to find my whereabouts.  My body was confused. My brain was like mud (pun intended).  I looked around confused and saw where i had to swim to.  I was like a deer in headlights flapping my hands around. One of the lifeguards in the water with us, asked if i was ok. I immediately said "im good" and realized at that moment that i must look like i am drowning.  This forced me to start trying to swim. I began throwing my hands out in front of me trying to swim. my legs barely made it to the surface and my arms too weak to really paddle.  After a few strokes i gave up. I realized all i was doing was getting my head cold as it was going underwater with each stroke. I then took a deep breath and got a moutful of water which of course i swallowed. Panic set in and i realized i need to do something. I started to "frog swim". When you put your arms out in front of you underwater and just kick your legs. Kinda like a frog. This worked nicely.  I saw Anthony in front of me and just tried to follow him at the same pace. Eventually i was getting closer to shore. I tried to touch the floor..no dice. Gotta mouthful of water again. I continued to make my way to the shore when finally about a foot away an arm came out for me to grab.  One of the lifeguards helping people out extended his arm to me. All i thought was...i did it.. i am alive!!

Greased Lighting obstacle. not too slippery for some reason when we did this

Looks decieving. I am basically sliding on dry rubber..haha

The course

The meal aftewards. Like heaven on a bun and in a glass.