There's no need to fear! ... Underdog is here!On Saturday, November 8th, Heather and I completed the McGuire 10K Mud Run. This was a “fun” run.. and it was to keep my mind occupied ....as I took it “easy” recovering from the marathon….yeah... but more amazingly is the fact Heather elected to do this with me!!....Heather who does not like to garden because she will get dirty……Heather who has not run more than 5-6 miles at one time in her life…..Heather whose idea of entertainment is watching back to back movies curled up in bed……Heather who must have been in a really good mood when she said YES!…
Here are some details about the course: The 10K (6.2 mile) course encompassed different types of terrain, including asphalt, dirt, hills, water hazards, and LOTS OF MUD! Here is a list of the obstacles we had to encounter:
Mud trench/hill -15' wide x 20' long x 4' high. Runners run up 4' hill and then down into the muddy goodness.
Tire steps -the tires will not be packed close together, but will be distributed across the width of the course. There will be 40-50 tires.
Hurdles - 4' high plastic horses. There will be a lot of them!
Low crawl -crawling into natural creek bed, about 4' deep, 4' long. 60’ pipes will form the roof of the crawl. Also using the natural creek bed, but covered with trees. About 4' deep, 6' long.
Climb into wet creek bed - down creek bank using ropes to get down, 8-10 feet embankment. Cross creek that is 15-20' wide, 60’ deep and sandy. Scramble up creek bed on other side.
Wall climb - 15' wide, 5' high, a mud pit may be placed on the other side.
Hay bales -bales placed in a pyramid to climb over.
Tunnel mud trench -15' diameter pipe half buried. Have to crawl/run through the mud.
Rope cross -using parallel ropes (one for the hands, one for the feet) cross over creek without falling into the 5' deep water.
Run cross - fjord the creek
Now the REAL fun part of this race is that once again I got to play dress up!!.... YES … costumes were encouraged and they were awarding prizes for the best costumes. ....There were a few people from my work doing this race… and most of them were going in costume.. So of course I couldnt resist... and of course Heather wanted no part of that!…... so I went as UNDERDOG…
YES.... I was determined that this time.. I was going to win the costume award….so I spent a quick few hours the night before the race whipping up a jiffy underdog costume…me and my “superior” sewing skills.. I just prayed that it would hold up enough to get judged… well I sewed up a complete costume with dog ears and cape… !!!
...boy when I tried it on.. it sure was KINDA TIGHT.. Joe said I looked like a giant red condom.. it was made out of that 70’s kinda PVC plastic material… and hopefully it was NOT going to bust right off at the first obstacle!
I am NOT going to go into details of how it looked when Heather and I drove up to the gates at McGuire Air Force base to get checked in by the military dudes… while dressed as underdog.. some how I think I should be humiliated..
But alas I was not... it was well worth it.. I had a blast... BUT ONCE AGAIN.. I was robbed of my victory… !! …I am two for two.. TWO LOSSES… this time I lost to the Dirty Dishes.. ..UGH... where is the justice??!!! .......ALAS!!!
My friend Denise, Heather, and I started off the race together... until the mud crawl.. where you had to crawl on your hands and knees under ropes… boy was that mud cold and wet! .. I remember looking over and seeing Denise to my right and thinking..WTF did I get myself into!!!??..... thankfully the mud and grime slid right off my super duper underdog costume ... so off we go running down the path… Heather taking the lead…
I told Heather I would run with her.. she was a bit nervous about not doing good and finishing last… I am glad that worked out for her… me running with her that is… .. she ran ahead of Denise and I and never really looked back.. is the motivation to know I am behind her really that great???....
… next were the hurdles.. and no not typical hurdles.. rather large slabs of something.. Heather seemed to bound right over… Denise too.. zing.. zip... zoo... up and over.. me….. G_D …I am just glad I could lift my stinking tired old lady legs up that far…. let alone, over.. ….. and how many of these are there..!!??.
……it was kinda funny to have people sing to me as I ran… they would sing me the underdog theme song.. some of the runners behind me and some of the military volunteers on the course......next came the rope climb down a muddy embankment into a river bed.. then running down the creek... in which the water was up to the knees in spots….. oh and yeah.. I am sorry to the guy who I had to slightly push outta my way….. I mean I AM UNDERDOG...... and get outta the way there bud… !!!...oops sorry.. this is suppose to be a fun run……
Now it’s hard to remember exactly all the obstacles and in what order and how much we ran in between each one.. but…we encountered a wall, hay pile, and I think a mulch pile…… we also had to go across a creek that was 5 feet deep.. YES THAT IS NO TYPO.. it was 5 feet deep in one section.. so it was easier to do a couple swim strokes… how cool is that or WHAT!!!
.. then came the rope crossing.. . you had to shimmy across the creek with just a rope on top and one on bottom .. well of course the rope I pick to go across has a rather large BUFFOON... oops man on it and well he is kinda heavy and he tilts the rope so that now we are both leaning horizontal...you know how freaking hard it is to hold your entire body horizontal with gravity forcing you down...?!!.... and then trying to move hand over hand down the rope...!! ??... these pidgon arms did A-O-K... once I was across I looked back and noticed Denise was struggling on her rope.. it appears she had a rope that was too loose and thus she ended up falling in the creek… so knowing how strong a runner Denise is I knew she would catch up to me.. .so I went ahead... it didn’t take long.. and once again we were side by side…
I told Denise to go ahead.. I felt she looked rather strong and I was really not in any kinda condition to make any sorta power moves.. ..but she said no… and so we ran together… we talked and commented on how strong Heather looked and before we knew it .. it was the end of the race…
....as we were coming down to the end.... two girls passed us… UM.. Denise.. "LETS GO".. I say… so we sprint.. it’s one thing to be passed when you are in the middle of the race and you are only using this as a fun run.. but it’s a WHOLE different thing being passed with 100 meters to go.. fun run or not!!!… so Denise and I sprinted to finish… oh yeah and we passed those gals!!.....
then thats when the pushing started…
...the finish … "No you go”…… “oh no - you go…”….. "OH NO>>> Y-O-U GO…!! [PUSH]…..… “NO YOU">> ....…[harder PUSH]…… this is Denise and I at the end of the race ….. we had all about STOPPED running right before the finish shoot and each of us were graciously offering up the way first to the other.. ...we both were trying to force the other ahead..…I guess we should be thankful that those two gals we passed didnt repass us while we were being a-ses!... now that would NOT HAVE BEEN FUNNY…
.... but alas my dear beloved friend Denise who is in my age group and ran the entire race with me...... PUSHED me over the finish line first… OK… now I know what you all are thinking. …!!!... HONEST… I DID REALLY TRY and force her over first.. . YES .. I did..!! REALLY!!!
By her kind gesture… I placed third in our age group… who would have thunk it…!? …. (of course after the race Denise said, “OH .. I didn’t know we were that close to placing”…I am sure she aint going to be that nice ever again… tee hee..
So what to do with the medal?... should I have Joe saw it in two and share with Denise??....or should we go with the every other day option..??... like I get it T, TH, F… and she gets it M, W, S… leaving Sunday as a free day??..I mean is it a win or not?....
I am really glad I took it easy this weekend… Joe will be soo proud of me!
PS: I will post pictures once they are published.
PSS: Race Results
PSSS: Heather..who hasnt run but maybe twice in the last three months.. and this being her first 10K race ever...and it being a tough trail mud run... beat both Denise and I.. coming in 6th in her age group.. 136th out of 330 runners... CONGRATULATIONS HEATHER!!!....
{Heather, can you imagine what you could do ..... um.. if you actually trained a bit???}
PSSSS: Wait till you see what I am making for the Jingle Bell 5K costume contest on December 6th.
