Feb 11, 2012
The Pledge:
As a Tough Mudder I pledge that…
- I understand that Tough Mudder is not a race but a challenge.
- I put teamwork and camaraderie before my course time.
- I do not whine – kids whine.
- I help my fellow Mudders complete the course.
- I overcome all fears.
Tough Mudder is an event, not a race. Three months ago I wanted to do something amazing so I started a program called Jet Set Body to physically change my body for the better. One of the things I understood was I needed something that would motivate me to fully comment to the program. I didn’t know at the time, but Tough Mudder was the answer. I knew I could have done Tough Mudder at my current physical ability, but I wanted more. I didn’t want to just do Tough Mudder, I wanted to kill it.
Well, February is now here and the event was a day away (at the time). The weather wasn’t looking so go. The weekend before we had some amazingly warm weather with temperatures being around the upper 60′s. This wasn’t the case for Saturday the 11th with a high of 41 degrees with up to 20 miles per hour winds. So yes, it was a little cold, but this just added the extra Toughness making Tough Mudder live up to its name.
It’s three days before my birthday, 10:40 am and I was ready to take the challenge. It was a pleasure to run with Jody who works with Yana, and Mark who is a friend of Jody’s. We stood with 500 other people who all wanted the same thing; to show that they have what it takes to claim themselves as Tough Mudders.
The obstacles presented their own challenges, some were easy, but some really challenged you, which was great, but I wanted more. I feel that my favorite obstacle was the Funky Monkey because it took everything I had to cross without falling in the cold water. The bars were slippery making every gripping moment a struggle…But I did it.
People on facebook talk a lot about the Arctic Enema and I can see why, it was cold, freezing cold and I’ll borrow the words from Jody when he said he felt the closest to a sex change that moment entering the water. I couldn’t have said it any better than that.
We ran to every obstacle, which at first seemed easy enough, but became harder as we pushed closer to the 11th mile to finish. The last mile took everything I had. My shoes were muddy and wet making every step seem like I was running barefoot on ice. 
It didn’t help that we had just done the Walk the Plank into the lake followed by some extra muddy areas, topping off the coldness and wetness of the event. Again, giving even more reason to why it’s called Tough Mudder.
I believe we completed in under 3 hours. We didn’t rush to finish, but we weren’t walking either. My thighs were on fire while I pushed through the pain, because I wasn’t giving up. We rounded off the last corner seeing the finish line, but we weren’t done yet. We still had to cross the electroshock tunnel. I was shocked, I believe twice, in my right arm with what I think they said was 150 volts. I didn’t drop to the ground like others, but it wasn’t pleasant. After crossing the finish line, I was presented the orange Tough Mudder headband and an awesome shirt from Underarmer. I followed that up with a nice kiss with Yana, which at the time I didn’t realize I had mud all over my face so let’s just say she got a taste. Sorry Yana… : )
I can’t wait for the next Tough Mudder challenge….
