Fun In Da Mud
My apologies for such a long delay in between bloggings, but I was just cleaning myself off from this weekend. Yes, you read me right, I am still picking mud out of my ears, rinsing off dirt, and getting the sand out of my hair. Yes, you read me right, and it is indeed Tuesday. However, this morning I cleaned out some dirt from my ear that came from this weekend. You must be wondering the heck I did this weekend that got me so filthy. Well, why don’t you stick around and find out?
Anyways, yes, about all the dirt this weekend. In all actuality, “this weekend” goes all the way back to August (August is considered “all the way back” since it is nearly October!) when Katie, a P3, asked if I wanted to do the “Mud Run.” I was quite perplexed as to what this “Mud Run” entailed, although the title gave me a pretty good idea of what I could expect. She went ahead and described it as 4.2 mile obstacle course/run through mud, with more than 30 obstacles in the way. How could I say no? Actually, it took a little persuading on her part, but I decided to go out on a limb and go for it.
So this weekend was the run itself, and our team consisted of myself, Katie, Danielle (another P3) and her boyfriend. I made sure to pick out my worst shoes, a shirt I no longer wanted, and my worst pair of gym shorts and headed out to the National Guard base where the Marines had so kindly put together the course. The excitement was high, and I will admit, I was a little nervous if I was going to be able to hang for 4.2 hard miles, but our time came up, and off we went jogging straight ahead and around the first corner into…the unknown!
That “unknown” became “known” within about 200 yards when we came to a 6 foot concrete drop that we had to slide down, and then help the other team members come down. Next was 6 feet up with the same teamwork. Down the side of a steep hill and over some concrete pipes later and we came to the 20 foot high wood obstacle that required climbing, going over, and then coming down. It was at this point things get a little blurry as my natural fear of heights, exhaustion, and mud covered eyes made things pretty hazy for a couple of miles.
Aside from the intense physical demands, the race offered up several opportunities to display teamwork. From cheering each other on, to encouraging one another to get up that last hill of mud, or lending a helping hand, the quality of teamwork was stressed throughout the run. The teamwork was so great, in fact, that participants were helping those that weren’t even on their own teams!
The end of the race came when three team members had to carry the fourth on a stretcher for the final 100 meters or so. Katie got the call to lie down while the three of us ran her across the finish! By the time we crossed that line, we had mud EVERYWHERE, bruises, scratches, and some great memories from a difficult but fun afternoon. I will admit that I am even looking forward to it next year! As for now, I think I need to go buy some more q-tips to get that dirt out of my ears! Take care!