We went on this adventure with Ian, April and Caroline.
After training for months, we were ready to take on the 10 mile course we had been preparing for. After checking in, they told us it was an 11 mile course and during the pre-race pep talk, they said their GPS tracked it to just over 12 miles. Just 2 miles more than we trained for - no big deal...right?
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| April, Amanda Ian and Caroline getting pumped up. And Victor's not paying attention. |
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| Victor, Amanda and Ian before leaving for the Tough Mudder. Mud free! |
We signed up for the latest wave possible because the event was a 90 minute drive. Mistake. By the time we'd gotten to a lot of the course, big pits of mud had dried up, the huge flames had become smouldering piles of ash and all the professional photographers were gone. If you're a good drive away, either camp out near the race or spring for a hotel. You'll have a much more authentic Tough Mudder experience.
After the first half-mile, we'd crawled through drainage pipes with a mud/ice floor, took a 25 meter swim in icy cold lake water that maintained its temperature thanks to diligent Tough Mudder employees dumping ice buckets into the water and got a nice jog in to help us warm back up.
We bypassed the first water station and dove headfirst into The Smokehouse. The smoke was awesomly thick and we couldn't see the huge mudslide we were about to fall down. The mudpits awaiting us at the bottom were thick and got us entirely covered.
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| Us emerging from The Smokehouse. |
Just for fun, we took some dives into the mud outside The Smokehouse.
This was obviously still within mile 1.
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| Amanda takes a dive for the camera. |
We did two small loops on the inside of the motocross track, sprinkled with small obstacles, before the Tough part really kicked in. That's when we hit the tree line and began the climb. Rollercoaster Run was an obstacle that took up 4 miles of the course. These rolling mountain hills left us sucking wind and one climb required us to get on our hands and knees and grasp at small saplings to stay on the trail.
Up in the mountains was Hold Your Wood, an obstacle where you or you and your team sling a huge log across your shoulders and jog it around a half-mile loop.
We came out of the mountains for a mystery obstacle before heading right back up into the hills.
Here we were SO thrilled that we not only brought Gatorade in our Camelbacks, but that we brough carbohydrate gel chews. At this point, we were at mile 10 and we started getting some muscle twitching. (We also didn't have an appropriate race day breakfast, which was another mistake.) Amanda had Sharkies and Victor had some Hammer Gel and we quickly recovered our energy. We were also really glad that our training not only included distance running, but interval training. Spiking your heart rate with a sprint and then actively recovering while jogging was probably the most important aspect of training.
Besides cardio, lower body workouts were crucial, especially for all the hill climbing required in the Georgia Mudder. Upper body was important, but specifically for the Monkey Bar portion. Grip strength, which can be defined by rock climbing, was just as important as upper body strength on this obstacle. We both made it all the way across!
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| Victor dominates Funky Monkey! |
After Funky Monkey it was - that's right - back up into the mountains again.
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| Group posing before heading back up into the mountains. |
We did quite a few more up and down sections of the trail, before finally coming out for good. At this point, Amanda had dislocated her left knee (but didn't know it until the next day) and everyone was slowing down.
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| Us taking a few minutes to rest up before the next obstacle |
The balance beam came right before the run through fire. If we had come through earlier, we would have caught the fire in all its flaming glory. Unfortunately, we hit it near the end, as a smouldering mess. There weren't any flames, just heat and smoke to catch in your lungs.
On the way to Walk The Plank, a 20 foot jump into a frigid lake, we passed a pile of shoes. People had been removing and throwing away their heavy, muddy shoes to make their upcoming swim easier. Luckily, we were wearing Vibram five fingers and didn't need to get rid of our shoes. We were so muddy, it was a welcome dip to clean off.
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| Look closely and you'll see us almost hitting the water. |
After running more than a half marathon, we were hot and sweaty. Hitting the ice cold water was a total shock and shot our hear rates through the roof. Amanda had such a shock, she couldn't catch her breath, swallowed quite a bit of water and was assisted out of the lake by a lifeguard.
Dripping wet, just out of the lake and right when we thought we were about to cross the finish line, Electroshock Therapy stood in our way. We could see the finish line through the dangling live wires and just went for it. With power ranging from 10-10,000 volts, the big hits dropped a few of our group to the ground.
As we stepped away from the last wire, we crossed the finish line and were awarded the coveted Tough Mudder orange headband.
We missed out on the after party because our start wave was so late. They had begun packing up and most of the free items were long gone. The firefighters were still there to hose us off, but we opted for the emergency blankets and headed to the car. On our walk back, three people behind us were comparing the results from their GPS watches. The trail that was originally 10 miles, then was 11 and 12 miles ended up being 14.2 miles when it was all said and done.
1.1 miles more than a half marathon and one of the most fun trail runs we've ever done.
Definitely do a Tough Mudder, but remember:
1. Do an early-ish wave. You'll miss the after party and the giveaways, plus the course won't be as well maintained later in the day.
2. Interval training, strength training and distance training. We did a half-marathon plan for distance, threw in some sprinting with jogging for active recovery and then some weight training.
3. Bring fuel! Water won't suffice for 14 miles. Carbohydrate gels and Gatoraid is a good bet.
Did you love the Mudder? Are you planning on one?
Tell us in the comments below!
