Setting Goals and Wallowing in Mud

I did something a few weeks ago that I haven't done in a long time......and by long time I mean 12 years....ish.  I ran in a race.  Well, technically, it was a "run" because they clearly said "This is not a race!"  But, let's be honest, if you cross that finish line first, what are you going to tell people?  I just ran a run!  Or....I just won the race suckaaaas!!!!  Yeah, that's what I thought too.  Anyway, I ran a "run."  Specifically, a mud run.  Even more specific the Mud-Stash 5k at Perfect North.  

Let's go back in time a little, shall we? 

I work out three times a week.  I like to think I work out pretty hard...considering when I leave the gym my shirt is a different color, because it tends to do that when it is drenched in sweat.  Where do I work out?  Oh, thanks for asking....Rob Frommer, Personal Trainer, Bellevue.....look him up!  I seriously cannot say enough good things about our workouts.  I can feel muscles in places I had no idea there was potential for a muscle.

Back to that mud run.......

I've seen video clips of these mud runs.  They involve barbed wire, climbing over cars, scaling walls.....I was in no way ready for that craziness!  My cousin told me she was doing one and I looked at the video and thought "Holy crap....good for you, but I'm never doing that."  But, my friend (you may remember her as the friend who tricked me into going to a zumba class) said "Hey!  Let's do this!  We need goals!" 

That last race I ran 12 years ago?  It was on a flat concrete road.  The course was to run down the road and come back.  I am not kidding.  I just recently started running again.  Why am I signing up for this?!

So, we signed up for the Mud-Stash. 

Our trainer told us "Oh, I've seen the course.  You won't even get muddy until the very end."  The first obstacle was a mud pit and half the runners lost a shoe....or two.  Liar.

We did it.  It was hard, but we finished.  We did not win the race run.....but we did not sit on the couch. This run did not have barbed wire or cars....but it did have walls!  It had swinging ropes, tires, monkey bars, lilly pads, an ice pit and other crazy obstacles.  We had so much motivation from our trainer to keep moving.  He probably could have finished the course twice and come back to check on us, but he stuck with us.  Thanks Rob!  And, crazy enough, we had fun. 

After race....shower and shave....

Now I have a new goal.  Do it again in September.  Faster.  I am only racing against myself.


Trust me....that's enough!